Whether you’re into the “coat-and-tie look” or not, most of us have to wear a suit at some point, and for those times, it’s amazing how much can be done with just a few basic steps. Look at the photo above, for example – two men in suits, but wearing them to very different effects. The man on the left looks great. The man on the right … less great. So much can be done with just a few simple changes.
Get Your Pants Hemmed
You want your pants hemmed so that there’s either one break, or no break (a break is the small indentation on your pants as your cuff “breaks” over the top of your shoe). You may find, however, that even with properly hemmed trousers, you pants will slip down a little throughout the day, which will ruin those clean, vertical lines. Some simple solutions: wear suspenders, which will keep your pants up at all times; get your waistband and belt adjusted by a tailor, so they fit you better (although, you’ll always experience some slippage with belted trousers); or simply, pay attention to where your pants are and pull them up when need be.
Show a Bit of Cuff
You want about a quarter-of-an-inch of shirt cuff to peek out from your jacket sleeve. There are, however, some complications with this.
First, if your shirtsleeves are too long, you probably don’t want to shorten them. Shirtsleeves need to be a bit long, so that the cuff doesn’t ride up on you as you extend your arm (think of it as having some slack). Instead, you just want your cuffs to stay in the same position, regardless of how you move around. To achieve this, bring your shirt to an alterations tailor and have him or her tighten or loosen the cuff by moving the cuff button. It shouldn’t cost more than a couple of bucks.
Second, if your jacket sleeves are too short or long, you’ll need to have a tailor either let out some material from the edge or take your sleeves up from the cuff. The second process can be complicated by “working buttonholes,” where the buttonholes are actually punched through and not just for show. Don’t skimp here and let that last button sit too close to your sleeve edge. Instead, have your tailor take the sleeve up from the armhole, but know that it’ll add to the cost.
Wear Better Shoes
Finally, wear better shoes. Ones that are made from full grain leather, not corrected grain. Cheap shoes look bad when they’re new, and worse with wear. Luckily, the market for good, full-grain leather shoes has gotten a lot more competitive over the years, which means the entry price has dropped to about $200. You can start with this list of good brands. I’d add Jack Erwin to that now, although I think you still get a nice jump in quality as you move from them to Meermin, Herring, or Loake (conversely, Jack Erwin is located in the US, so it’s a lot easier to return shoes if need be). If $200 is too much for you, there’s always eBay and thrifting. For eBay, you can use our customized search link or smart shop smartly for Ralph Lauren. To learn how to thrift better, check out Jesse’s three-part guide.
Doing just those three things won’t make you look like Cary Grant, but they’ll make you look better than most suit-wearing people in the world. To look even better, read Jesse’s very reasonable and easy tips here. To look even better still, learn about the fit and silhouette of tailored clothing.
(Photo via White Hawk Warrior)