Buy one! Do not rent

A lot of men take the route of renting a tux. Well you will just be wearing it for several hours so we really cannot blame you if you opt for that. Our point is that it is your wedding and not just your high school prom. Rented suits will not give you that perfect fit. Make your day extra special and get a suit that only you will be wearing.

Go for the getting-married-look

You will be exchanging vows and you will not be presenting to a board of investors. You do not want the business-y look but you want to look like a handsome groom. Spend more than what you normally spend. Go for a three piece black suit. It is worth it!

Perfect fit

Make sure you go to a very good tailor who can craft the best suit for you. Even if it will not be the very expensive suit you dreamed of, a nice-fitting suit will make it worth millions.

Choose the finest fabric

Depending on your budget, you should go for the best fabric that you can afford for your wedding suit. The tailor can give you the nice cut and adjust the fit here and there but the foundation of an excellent suit will be the best fabric.

Get the perfect fabric

Superior quality fabric has a thread count of more than 100 while the average items get around 80. Invest on tailored shirts that use the right fabric so you will be comfortable when wearing them.

Fit

You need to get a shirt that fits your body type. Your designer can help you pick the right one. Most offer the classic fit that will suit most body shapes but you can also go for a slimmer fit to have a tailored, classier effect that will give you a leaner look.

Collars and Cuffs

The shirt should always look fresh whether it is the start of the day or when you are rushing to a dinner meeting. Get something that has a thick collar and cuff that can keep its appearance through your long hours at work. Good collars and cuffs can save the day given the unavoidable wrinkles on your shirt.

Should match your face

Your collar’s style can change how you look. Remember that the cut of the collar spells a big difference depending on the shape of your face. It is important to go through several choices before settling for the tailored shirt that does not make your face look bigger.

Stitching

Make sure you get a shirt with double stitching. This is a sign of excellent quality. This kind of stitching ensures that they will move with the fabric and you. Check the buttons as well and see if they will not easily fall off.

Look at the back

Check the yoke of the shirt. This is the fabric that runs down its back. Premium shirts make use of a split yoke where you will see a seem in the middle.

Get the right size

A common mistake for the big guys dealing with a big tummy is that they buy big clothes to hide it. This approach though will not pool anyone and will only make you look bigger. No need for slim fit either. What you need are clothes which skims your body contour to smooth out our shape. You can buy a full-cut garment and have it altered by your tailor to have a better fit.

Attention to details

You can use accessories to draw eyes away from your big tummy. You can use a lapel pin or pocket square to help you with this goal.

Custom suit

Depending on your budget, you can have suits customized for you. This ensures that it will fit you perfectly compared to wasting your money with off-the-rack ones. Ask your tailor to help you achieve the look that you want. Remember that a longer suit will somehow elongate your body. Pinstripes and darker colors can also help you slim down visually.

When standing, try as much as possible to have the jacket buttoned for a better shape of your body. Draw the eyes upward by having a wider notch. For the trousers, make sure you have some room so it does not highlight the girth of your trunk.

Refined yet simple

Your casual get ups should stick to the basics. No need for bold patterns or loud colors. The main idea is to have the eyes of other people to your face instead of your body. Do not over stuff the pockets of your pants with cellphones and keys. If you have a lot to bring, then have a nice bag to go with the look.

Keeping it simple with thin layering

Look sharp but relaxed when you blend a slim suit with a thin cardigan and a comfy t-shirt. This style always looks clean and confident but will not have the aura of being too serious. When girls see you on this, you will send out an impression that you are a self made gentleman who knows what he is doing. It is safe to have this from the start of the day until night time.

French inspired

If you are dreaming of a Paris holiday this spring, this look will work. In order to complete the look you need a solid color t-shirt or stripe t-shirt that with a nice neckline that fits you well, and a textured fabric suit like a corduroy. Do not forget your sunglasses for your trip.

Day thru night

If you have nice, basic pieces in your wardrobe, you will not have any trouble coming up with combinations that can last from morning until night time. If you have a suit-and-tie work getup, you really do not have to rush home to change but just bring a pair of sneakers and a dark shirt.

Putting a layer right in between

A well tailored suit in a dark shade can go well with a casual top even when you think they are on opposite ends of the fashion spectrum. So any layer that you think can go in between them should work well. Throw into the equation a hoody, a henley, crewneck, turtleneck, cardigan, or a vneck. No problem.

Midnight tuxedos

Everyone has a black tuxedo and you can be a bit different but not shout look at me with a midnight blue tux. Some formal wear purists might actually tell you it is the better choice since it goes well with the evening light. Do it snappy with a low stance jacket to give you a longer look. Throw out the tie and use a bowtie. Go minimal for the insides with a solid white shirt with point collar plus French cuffs.
Keep everything minimal and let the elegance of the tux carry everything. Take simple cufflinks like silver or black. Oh, and never forget a good pair of socks which is a tone darker than your pants.

Velvet Jacket

Velvet is perfect for the fall and the winter. Aside from the texture, the fabric also helps to keep your warm. You can go for a pleated shirt and formal waistcoat for the dandy look. Make sure when you fit the shirt that it highlights your shoulders and chest then tapers off the look as it goes down your waist. Finish the look with seamless leather black shoes. Again, keep things minimal.

White jacket

A dinner jacket in white? Most actually come closer to the shade of ivory. Fashion gurus will say it is better in warmer weathers but snow and white can also mix. Opt for your tux pants in black or midnight blue. No breast pocket jacket also achieves a cleaner look.

Grey suit

The charcoal grey suit is perfect if you want to have that sharp but bad ass aura. Underneath you can don a French cuff white shirt and black tie plus the usual formal accessories—shoes, cufflinks, watch, etc.)

First, it should be mentioned that white looks great in the summer when it is very hot. The color obviously suits the weather. To be honest, weather is the biggest dictator when a guy wears white. For example, wearing a white suit on a rainy day is really not fashionable. Likewise, wearing it on a cool spring day is not too brilliant either. The absolute best weather for a white suit, is hot and maybe humid.

Second, typically white suits are better fits with outdoor functions such as garden parties, weddings in the park, or even dinner at a resort or on a cruise ship. The white seems to absorb the other elements in an outdoor venue and then looks like it belongs. If someone were to take a picture, all the elements would interact and look wonderful when the picture was developed and put into a frame.

Third, cities and work areas tend to be too dirty to wear white. Walking down the street at lunch time is only going to ruin the suit’s fabric and appearance. It is hard enough keeping white clean and neat looking without adding the day’s dirt to the mix. Plus, wearing a white suit to work will probably end up in stares and odd questions such as “are you on your way to your wedding?”. It truly is not an acceptable color for men to wear to the office.

Fourth, even if you are wearing a white suit in the correct venue, how you dress up the suit will be important. You have to be careful here not to add too many colors to your appearance. Where women can easily pull off the bright colors and accessories, men tend to look garish if they add all kinds of stripes and patterns. Forget the phrase your mother taught your sisters that everything goes with white. It does not ring true for men!

Blacks and burgundies are nice accent colors because they are deep, matte colors. They blend with the white making the overall look more creamy. And a tie that matches the shirt color is rather sharp looking. So the tie and the shirt would be the same fabric and the same color. You wouldn’t wear a patterned tie in this instance.

Unfortunately, there is plenty of debate about the shoes. Many male fashion advice columnists say that men should not wear black shoes with a white suit (something that doesn’t work particularly well on a black suit). On the contrary, they recommend beige, brown or burgundy. I am not sure about that because if I am wearing a black tie and black shirt, I want my shoes to be the same and not look out of place. In any case, the key is to match what you are wearing and downplay the shoes. You absolutely do not want the shoes to become the focus of your outfit.

Black, like white, can be a very stark color. It is quite severe and people do notice when men wear either ends of the spectrum. Having said that, one of the better ways to wear a back suit is with fabrics that have accent colors. For example, a black wool suit might contain a hint of purple in the twist of the wool. A patterned tie that also has the same hint of purple will offset the black in the wool and would actually be a great complement to the suit. Plus, the look is not so “bam in the face”. Everything blends. Pin stripes offer the same effect. The tiny hues of other colors make the black more palatable.

Indeed, the real beauty of a black suit is its versatility. It can be dressed up to look very formal, or it can be toned down to look more casual or more acceptable for the workplace or at informal events. The key is to wear accessories that best suit the occasion. Whether you wear your black suit to a funeral, job interview, or wedding, the color and design of your shirt, tie and socks should be appropriate for the event. For example, wearing the black suit to an evening gala fundraiser would look sharp with a crisp white dress shirt, bow tie, diamond and gold cufflinks, and maybe a matching hankie in the breast pocket.

But if you are going to a job interview or funeral, you never wear a bow tie. Tone down the look so it is not so ostentatious. A funeral is more somber and you do not want to bring attention to yourself. Likewise, unless you are in the fashion industry trying to make a statement, if you attend a job interview, you want to bring attention to your skills, not your clothing faux pas. And, as with most suits, a belt is a must for a black suit. Going to an interview unbelted with the empty belt hoops showing is really an indication that you do not complete things, and that you might be untidy or unorganized.

Another feature of a properly fitted black suit is that it can double as a tuxedo. In all honesty, if  it is quality made, and fitted to your proper size, then there is no reason why you should not wear your black suit in place of a rented tuxedo.

One last piece of advice. Although light colored brownish socks and even lavenders are seen with black trousers, a general rule is that black pants look classier with black socks. Do not wear socks that match your tie or shirt. Black dress pants are always better with black socks, especially if you are wearing black shoes.

Please don’t try to pull this off if you don’t have a slim figure. Single-button slim-fit Armani suits are notoriously bad for us “more athletic” men, and I can’t pull them off either. You will rip seams, and you will regret it when looking at yourself in the mirror. When Armani say slim-fit, they mean slim customer…