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| Suave in a Suit |
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| Cool factor |
Can I sufficiently describe what a dapper looking man in a suit does to me, be he 19 or 91? You cannot imagine my pleasure that suits are becoming hip and are trending at the moment. Now when I say suit, I mean a well tailored suit. Fit-to-form, great shirt, fantastic tie, pocket square, cuff-links, tie-clip, socks, great pair of shoes and a lovely watch. Yep, the ‘little’ details make the suit.
When I see a man in a good suit, I mean – suit not coat, (because y’all know some guys be wearing some trench coats!) my brain freezes, my eyes get greedy, my hands twitch and my mouth goes dry. Make him a tall, dark, attractive man in a suit and I’m gone I tell you! I can’t recollect how many times I’ve gotten side-tracked and flirted shamelessly with my accounts officer, G of X-bank because I can't get over how debonair he looks in a suit.
Tall drink of water - check
Polite and charming - check- check,
Power Suit - check - check - check.
Now, I’m in a profession where we live in suits, come rain, come shine. Believe me when I say I’ve seen suits and then some more suits. Up in the Courthouse and other places where we do our business, men can be seen parading all sorts of suits. Granted we are only permitted to wear a preferably a black suit (some have been known to get away with wearing dark gray or navy blue in court) and a crisp white shirt, but really! Some guys be wearing some rag-tag, 'I can hide a bazooka and an assault rifle Oshodi- type- suits'.
Now don’t get me wrong. Buying an expensive suit is no guarantee that you’ll look good in it if you don’t get the rudimentaries right. Suits are not relegated only to the work place. You can work your swag in a suit at a wedding or special occasion by taking your accessories up a notch or two. Here are my humble tips on nailing it stopping traffics and hearts every-time you step out.
1. Work Out:
Burn some calories on the treadmill or the gym. Better yet, take a quick early morning or evening jog. We don’t want you bursting the seams of the suit or popping any buttons. Worse still, that belly hanging over the belt.
Keeping in shape will guarantee you look good in any suit.
2. Fit:
Ideally, a suit should be tailored. Yes I mean tailor, fabric, measurements, cut and sew. In Italy and most parts of Europe, suits are tailor-made i.e. made from the scratch by a tailor for his clients and it remains to be seen what other men can look as good in a suit as the Italian men. They look like they were born in a suit. Their secret? Tailoring. Having a suit tailor- made, contrary to our belief in this part of the world is the ultimate sign of affluence, class and major big bucks.
However if you cannot afford an Italian suit and can’t quite trust your tailor to construct the whole thing, here’s how to make sure your regular suit fits and look like a million bucks.
Take to a good tailor and have him carefully take out the lining and take the sides in a few inches for the lean, long look.
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| Elongated torso. |
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| Fit is everything. |
Your suit sleeves should never cover your hands and double as hand warmers. Take it up a few inches, so your shirt sleeves peek out from under. The overall effect on your attire is to take you to a new level of class and sophistication.
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| Dapper! |
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| Peek-a-boo sleeves. |
Your pants should have little or no breaks. Breaks refer to the point on the trouser where the fabric hits your shoes. Multiple breaks refer to those folds of fabric pooled around your shoes. It ends up making you less groomed, unkempt and definitely less cool and it doesn’t matter how much the suit costs. So unless you haven't stopped growing and are in danger of shooting up a couple of more inches, have your tailor take in the hem of the trousers a few inches so that it hits the top of your shoes. Aside from the modern, smart and lean look this gives you, it’s a great way to display your socks and fabulous shoes.
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| Zero break. |
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| One break. |
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| Smart! |
3. Carry a Man-bag or a man-purse
Now you aren’t going to go through all the trouble of having your suit tailored to achieve the perfect silhouette only to have you stuffing all those phones, keys, pens, card-holders etc in your pockets are you?
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| Billykirk 1. |
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| Billykirk 2. |
This accessory has been carried around for decades by European men and is finally being embraced by men around the world. Far from being effeminate, it steps up your look as a power dresser, gives you a place to carry around all those work essentials while retaining your silhouette.
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| Classic White. |
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| Working the accessories. |
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| Croc-skin Man-Purse... Lurv! |
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| Leather folder. |
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| Allen of Fr3shwallstreet. |
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| Fab! |
Major cool ingredient to looking trendy and fabulous in a suit.
4. Choose your accessories carefully.
There are certain items which are a must for wearing a suit. I cannot over-emphasise the importance of a basic white shirt and a black tie. Where all fails, this nails it every-time. Good quality shirts, belts, socks, cuff-links, tie - clips, pocket squares, watches and shoes are a must. Take it a step further with sun-glasses, scarves or hats. In other words, accessorise, accessorise, accessorise!
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| Killing it! |
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| Dapper! |
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| On point! |
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| Classic Black & White. |
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| Cheetah skin accessories. |
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| Tasselled beauties. |
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Christian Louboutins. |
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| Missoni silk tie. |
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| Gucci Sunglasses. |
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| Caviar Exotic Wood Collection Sunglasses. |
5. Colours, Colours, Colours!
Pump up the volume of your suits by wearing colours. Don’t be afraid of colours guys. From your shirts, to your belts, socks, (ditch the white and black socks abeg!) sunglasses, pocket square and shoes. Yes! Colour! What better way to express your personality than through some quirky colour peeking out from here or there.
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| Beautiful colour. |
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| Power man-bag. |
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| Quirky socks. Lurv! |
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| Blazer umps the outfit. |
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| Colour block people. |
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| Chic! |
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| Neat whites & pinstripes. |
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| Colour block. |
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| Lurv! |
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| Real men wear pink. |
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| Bullseye in Business class. |
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| Business class. |
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| Colour at the Ozwald Boateng X London Fashion Week '10. |
Men do wear Pinks, Greens, Limes, Reds, Oranges, Torquoise, and all the different shades of the rainbow. Do I hear somebody say major swag?
All my Love.
xxx
Isi-Aki.
Credits to Fr3shwallstreet for the Inspiration.
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