Ten Fashion Rules of Thumb
If you simply do not have the time to wade through volumes of material about how to dress appropriately and professionally, I’ve culled all that information down to the top ten simple rules you can follow to look your best when wearing dress clothing. The first five pertain to coordinating elements of the ensemble, and the last five cover dimensions, fit, and tailoring. For more on aspects of these guidelines, including exceptions and allowances for the dandy among us, I refer you to the other articles in this Style Guide and to the enlightening reading material suggested on the Resources page. Rules are rarely universal, so these should be no substitute for the counsel of your trusted personal wardrobe consultant.
1. Socks ought to match or coordinate with your trousers, not with your shoes. The only person who propagates the latter philosophy is the man who only wears black shoes and only owns black or navy socks. My father is retired from a 32-year career with UPS, and I consider it one of my lifetime achievements that I convinced him that he could not wear brown socks with everything. If you adhere to this rule you will lend extension to your trousers, and hence, to your overall length. Please remember that shades of blue abound, and the one dozen navy socks you buy all at once every two years may not complement the hue of every navy pant in your wardrobe. When you purchase trousers, purchase socks.
2. What ought to match your shoes is your belt. Preferably, the belt and shoes are made from the same leather. If not, try to match first the color, then, depending on your penchant for obsessive-compulsive tendencies, the texture and gloss. Such coordination integrates the shoes into the overall ensemble and draws the eye upward, from floor to the face, de-emphasizing your possibly disadvantageous horizontal qualities. When you purchase shoes, purchase a belt.
3. Coordinate all jewelry. If your watch or class ring is gold in tone, you demonstrate-I offer no apology for the military parlance—"attention to detail" by wearing similarly toned belt buckle, cufflinks, tie or collar bar, et cetera. Naturally, do likewise for silver. I suppose the same would go for you Gucci lovers who wear the bit loafer. Silver is en vogue at the moment, but I say there is nothing so classic as a double-breasted navy blazer with six smooth gold buttons on the front.
4. When mixing various patterned garments, please vary the scale of the pattern. Nothing is so tiring to the eye as small check tie on a small check shirt on a small check suit. The same is true for too many of the multi-stripe-tie-on-multi-stripe-shirt attempts walking around. If stripes are your cup of tea, may I suggest a simple broad stripe tie on a fine stripe shirt with a classic pinstripe suit?
5. When donning a sport coat, select trousers that offer contrast to the jacket so that you do not appear to be one block of color. After all, is that not the point of an odd jacket? If you wear your navy blazer with your darkest charcoal trousers, why don’t you just put on a dark suit? It would probably be more appropriate for the occasion in any case. And it is never acceptable to try to cobble together a suit from two garments that were not made from the same cloth. A sport coat is supposed to be sporty, so wear that blazer with medium gray, taupe, or tan slacks, and cream or white in the summer, if you dare!
6. Your coat ought to cover your seat. A good, but not universal, rule suggests that the length of the coat equals the distance from the coat to the floor. In other words, you appear balanced between top and bottom. Following any of several rules using your arm length as a guide is problematic because arms are not always proportionate to torso. Fit the body first, then, on a ready-made suit, adjust the sleeve length. ¼ to ½ inch of the sleeve of a properly fitting dress shirt should be visible beyond the coat sleeve.
7. Most trousers look best when worn on your waist, usually at your navel, but no more than an inch below. Your hips are part of your lower body and should be enclosed by your trousers. Pull up your pants, young man! This will cause pleats to lay flat, reduce bagginess in the crotch, and minimize the prominence of any undesirable feature attached to your abdomen.
8. The trouser hem should fall at or slightly above the top of the shoe heel. This length produces a medium to a full break in the front of the trousers. Too short and you are ready for a flood; too long and you appear to be melting into the ground. Take note, too, that a narrower pant leg will break hemmed to the same length as a wider pant leg. A good tailor or wardrobe consultant will pay attention to this effect and compensate accordingly.
9. Pleated trousers are hemmed with a cuff, while flat front trousers are hemmed plain. You may break this rule if you have good reason for doing so. That cuffs catch lint is not such a reason. The exception is the plain hem that is required for all formal trousers, that is, with a tuxedo. You may not break this rule ever.
10. The tie ought to end at the top of the trousers’ waistband. Though some today wear ties a bit longer, I prefer that it reach just the top of the waistband so that it remains fully against the backdrop of your shirt and does not cover up your belt or belt buckle. As with many other aspects of proper dress, the tie length is a matter of balance and proportion.
Again, this list is just a primer, and I encourage you to browse other pages on this site and read some of the excellent books on the subject of men’s tailored clothing and fashion. Better yet, especially for the too-busy businessman or the fashion-disinclined, just contact the author of this article, Powell Harrison, and entrust your wardrobe to my capable hands.