Casual Fridays & Smart Casual

This morning I spoke to a friend on the phone and we talked about his profession. He works in the pharmaceutical business.  As a product manager, he wears suits every day (he loves to wear suits). He told me that you could really see the difference between the suits and style of product managers and product-group managers. The difference in job level is also reflected in the style of the outfit; the product-group managers try to look better than the product managers. Why can’t we all look great at entry-level? There is however a day in the weekly life of people were they can be themselves: the Casual Friday (or Dress-Down Friday). Unless you have important meetings, most companies allow you to dress more casual as a first step into the weekend.

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How to wear the correct sleeve length of your suit?

Different people make different choices, but everybody should let their sleeves of the shirt pop out a little bit. How much exactly? That is where you can let your creativity kick in. You should always take two aspects in account; the sleeve length of your shirt and the sleeve length of your suit.

A sleeve is defined as something that covers your arm, not your arm and hand. From this basic principle, we can continue our story.

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Tying a tie is something that most men hate, but not here on the Suit Society.

Though ties are usually not very comfortable to wear since the collar of the shirt needs to be closed and rubs the neck skin, they can make or break an outfit. The tie adds perhaps the most value to someone’s appearance. A man wearing a suit and a shirt alters the entire outfit with a tie.

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Hard hat vs Soft hat

As a younger lad, I have always worn baseballcaps to prove my support to my favorite team. They kept my head warm and just like superdandy Beau Brummel, I never took off my hat ’cause it would ruffle my ruffled hairdo. As the weather is getting colder outside, I long for something that can keep my head warm and looks better than the average sailors bonnet.

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White tie is a dress code that is also known as cravate blanche and evening dress. White tie should only be worn after sundown (18:00) or if there is no other way you may wear it before sundown with a black vest. You need a black tailcoat that is cut in a way that resembles a double breasted jacket. The tailcoat is never closed. You also need black pants with a satin strip, a white French cuffed shirt with a patricide collar (winged folded points), a white vest and a white self tie bow tie. Black long socks are to be worn with the black varnish shoes. You do not wear a belt or a watch, which is similar to the black tie dress code etiquette. A white pocket square or boutonnière could be worn.

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There are some crucial aspects of one’s appearance during a job-interview. It’s important to present yourself flawlessly as a first impression and example of your capabilities and performances. Therefore, make sure you fully understand your outfit and leave nothing to coincidence. Maybe the most important aspect of the job-interview is self-reflection. Think about the kind of employee the company is looking for and tune your outfit to that expectation. Some companies will accept a smart casual look, but most companies prefer a professional look. It’s always better to play it safe with the professional look to make sure you are respected no matter who is on the other end of the table.

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Ascot tie; fashion/style statement or hiding a fat neck?

In my humble opinion, I believe that the majority of men look silly when wearing an ascot tie. Only few men, especially those with manly characters and a fatter neck might subtly hide this excess fat by tying an ascot tie around it. Still, for some reason I find that ascot ties should be left for Mafiosi and playboys..

Subtle = nice! “The well-dressed man is he whose clothes you never notice” - W. Somerset Maugham.

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In my personal view this is the most nonchalant way of folding a pocket square. Lapo Elkann is often seen wearing his pocket squares in this manner. The trick for this way of wearing a pocket square is to style the pocket square in such a way that it looks good in your personal view/taste. Some men like to only show a bit of the pocket square while others prefer to show much of the fabric that is popping out of the pocket of the jacket. Read the rest of this entry »

How to wear a scarf with your suit

This week I noticed that a lot of stores already received their new winter collection. Beautiful materials and colors this winter, but I get hot just looking at the bristly, wintery fabrics such as flannel. It seems that retail keeps on dropping the winter collection earlier and earlier. The first one that introduces the winter collection has the first pick by the consumers? However, I believe that there is a phase between the summer and winter, where you can keep warm and stylish with just a scarf: easy and breezy in autumn equinox.

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Tailor-made vs. off the rack shirt.

WARNING!!!!! Once you go ‘made-to-measure’ you cannot go back to wearing off the rack shirts. It is addictive because these shirts are tailored to your body and personal preferences.

There are many stores and brands offering made-to-measure shirt services. I would advise you to always have them done by a professional in a physical store, and not via the Internet. Those Internet services will ask you to measure your body at several points. But you are probably unskilled and will therefore measure the wrong things. In addition, the salesman in the store can tell you which great things are possible with made-to-measure wear.

The typical process goes like this (Sometimes you will first pick the fabric and have them measure you later)

• 1. You make an appointment with a professional:

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