Men Style Guide - Illustrated Menswear Articles

21st Century 3-Piece Lookbook

Check out the lookbook below for some great examples of how to wear the 21st Century 3-piece:

Conclusion

It’s not wrong to assume that most of your wardrobe is a modern variation of a fashion forefather. The idea behind our updated twist on a traditional look can be applied consecutively across the board when done carefully and with consideration! Have a scout around and see what you can bring in to the 21st century.

• What do you guys think?
• Have you been wearing this particular look for a while?
• If so, what combinations are your favourite?
• Alternatively, are you a purist that thinks the 3-piece shouldn’t be tampered with?
• What other looks do you think need an update or subtle twist?

Men's Dress Shirts - A Deeper Understanding of Custom Shirts

Many details go into the construction of a men's dress shirt, and the more attention one pays to these the better results one can achieve in purchasing and wearing one.  this article deals chiefly with the construction and design features of men's dress shirts. If you haven't yet read our, we advise doing so as that it lays a foundation for this article's topics.


In retail stores, men's shirts are sized by collar circumference and sleeve length. Most are cut to fit the most corpulent members of each size, and thus look blousy on most men. Those with an uncommon pairing of neck size and arm length have difficulty even finding a shirt that fits in these two places. Since even the simplest alterations can add 25-50% to the price of a dress shirt, it is often more economical to have shirts made to one's exact measurements. For a man starting out who is unable to afford custom-made, the best bet is to try on a lot of shirts until one finds a particular size of a particular brand that fits him well in the chest, stomach, neck, and sleeves, and then buy as many colors and patterns of these as he can find.

Aside from fabric and fit, a man has a few matters of construction to consider when picking out or ordering a shirt: Collar, cuffs, pocket, and pleats. As with fit, in retail these are standardized to the lowest common denominator and one has little choice in the matter. Even in a store with thousands and thousands of shirts, you will likely be able to count on one hand the few that are really what you want.

Shirt Collars
The men's dress shirt collar is the most important, both in determining the garment's level of formality and in flattering the wearer's unique face. Button-down collars are the least formal, and are the best collars to wear without a tie. They also go well with a tie and sweater, blazer, or sport coat.  The wing collar, which does not cover the band of the tie around the neck, is reserved for formal wear. 


Most men's dress shirts sport some sort of   but there is huge room for variety here. While the standard point collar looks good on most men, those with narrower faces do better with slightly shorter ones, while round faces carry well above long collar points. As a general rule, the greater the angle between the short sides of the collar points, the more formal the presentation. Spread collars, which leave a wide opening between them, take large tie knots especially well. The edges of the  nearly form a straight line above the tie knot; this is the most formal collar arrangement. An exception to the parallelism of spread and formality is the tab collar: here little tabs of fabric extending from each side connect behind the tie knot, holding the collar close together and projecting the knot outward for a precise, no-nonsense look. The white , in any style, with or without matching white , is a favorite of power-dressers. While it certainly raises a suit-and-tie above the masses, let the wearer be warned against it if he cannot equal its eminence.

On most decent dress shirts, the collar's points are kept straight by . These 2- to 3-inch pointed splints are inserted into slots on the underside of the collar after ironing, and later removed for washing. Besides the plastic ones that come with most shirts, you can buy them in brass, silver, and even ivory, but their material has negligible effect on their function.


Shirt Cuffs
Barrel cuffs, standard on most dress shirts, come in a variety of styles and except for the most formal of occasions are never the wrong choice. The common variety have a single button; cuffs with two or even three buttons are somewhat more artful. French cuffs are de rigeur for formal wear; they look good with a suit but are always optional. A button in the sleeve placket helps the sleeve to stay closed during wear and can be opened to iron the cuffs; it is optional but nearly ubiquitous. 

Shirt Pockets
The traditional left breast pocket adds a little depth to a dress shirt, especially if worn without jacket and tie, and can be useful for holding pens, tickets, and the like. A shirt with no pockets can look slightly cleaner with a coat and tie, but since the coat covers the pocket the difference is minimal when wearing a suit. As with most things, simplicity equals formality, so the pocketless shirt is the dressiest.

Shirt Placket
The placket is the edge of the left front panel, with the button holes on it. The standard placket is a strip of fabric raised off the men's dress shirt front with stitches down each side; this is what most casual shirts and many dress shirts have. In the more modern French placket, the edge of the shirt front is folded over, creased, and held together only by the button holes. This cleaner front sharpens more formal dress shirts; it should not, however, be combined with a button-down collar.


Shirt Back
A man's back is not flat; thus we use pleats on the back panel of a shirt so that the fabric may hang from the yoke (the piece covering the shoulder blades) and better conform to the body. There are two common varieties of pleated shirt back styles: the box pleat consists of two pleats spaced one-and-a-half inches apart at the center, while side pleats lie halfway between each edge and the center of the back. While the former are more common on ready to wearshirts, the latter better align with the actual shape of the back, and thus fit most men better. A well-made custom shirt can be cut and sewn to fit its wearer perfectly without pleats, and this makes it cleaner and easier to iron. Nonetheless, many men prefer to have pleats even on their bespoke dress shirts.

Monograms
Finally, a man may elect to have his shirt monogrammed, usually on the edge of the breast pocket (or in a similar place on a pocketless shirt). Monogramming originated as a way to identify one's shirts in a commercial laundry, akin to writing a child's name on the tag of their jacket. More recently, as the shirt has taken a more prominent role in men's dress, the monogram has emerged as a way to subtly communicate the care a man has taken in obtaining his clothes. While large, garish monograms certainly do more harm than good, many men enjoy the quiet display of their initials, usually in a color similar to the shirt's own.

Introduction as to How to Choose a Tailor

Choosing a tailor used to be easy; you either went with the tailor who had been servicing your father or you headed to the knowledgeable suit salesman who would make the proper introduction. Today unfortunately, the task is harder – good tailors are hard to come by, and the average menswear salesman does not have the knowledge to point you in the right direction. In this article, I equip you with the tools to find a reputable men’s tailor whose services can transform you and your clothing.

The below steps are in order of action to be taken, and are meant to be used in conjunction with one another to select a competent tailor. The first point is very important, and should not be skipped.

1. Educate Yourself before looking for a Tailor

Before you talk with a tailor or seamstress, you need to have a foundation in The hardest thing for most men to do is to find a few hours to sit down and read about suits, shirts, and other menswear; however most men find once they start reading the material they become enthralled. Reading about the intricacies of quality menswear you start noticing men’s clothing details you never saw before; you pay attention to the fit of suit jackets, working sleeve buttonholes, and the break on a pair of trousers.

Stepping into the world of menswear, you’ll realize just how important your clothing is in sending messages about who you are. Most people you pass by everyday know you only by the clothing you wear; your appearance is the only way they can make any sense of who you are and what you do in this world. The suit, shirt, and tie combination you put on in the morning covers 90% of your body, and before you open your mouth this garment combination and the way it fits on your body announces who you are and signals to others whether or not you deserve attention.

To build a solid foundation in the basics of men’s style, I recommend reading any book by Alan Flusser, Nicholas Antongiavanni’s “The Suit”, or Bernhard Roetzel’s “Gentleman” and spending time in , Once you have a foundation, you should then seek clarification and interact with knowledgeable people at places like Style Forum, an online community of men’s clothing enthusiasts. When you find you can speak the tongue of custom menswear, you are ready to start interviewing tailors.

2. Tailor Recommendations

Be careful here – most men are not selective in choosing their tailor, and stay with their current tailor only because they are unaware of a better option. Combined with the fact most men do not understand what proper fit is, it is very possible that a tailor who receives high praise only does so because of the cluelessness of his patrons. Do not assume because someone calls themselves a tailor or seamstress that they know anything about men’s style or can assess proper fit.

Take a critical look at your friends – who among them are smart dressers? These are the people you want to ask for tailor recommendations. You can broaden your search by asking women as well, but be careful. The way clothes fit on a man versus the way they should fit on a woman is very different. A skilled woman’s tailor does not necessarily have the right skills to tailor men’s clothing.

3. A Tailor’s Communication Skills

You now have a list of tailors – next you need to start talking with them. You can do this over the phone or even email, but your goal is to see if this is a person you can work with. Do they have good communication skills? Do they actually listen to you, or are they trying to push in a direction you know you don’t want to go down? Do they have time to talk, or are they in a rush? To be fair, you shouldn’t hold the last one against them if you call their office out of the blue – but any professional should be willing to put aside 20 minutes to speak with a potential client at a set time within a few days of calling.

You want to work with a tailor whom you feel confident in – this decision is very personal and should be based off the tailor’s knowledge and communication skills – ideally you find a tailor with strong skills in both areas. Unfortunately, a combination of the two is rare except in larger cities. You can have a very skilled tailor, but if he does not understand you or feels he should ignore your wishes and do what he thinks is right, both parties are going to be disappointed. Communication is vital, and making certain that both sides clearly understand and respect each other is key to a long term partnership.

4. When is the Tailor satisfied?

There is one answer here; the tailor should not be satisfied until you are satisfied. This doesn’t mean that a skilled tailor or seamstress always gives you what you want or doesn’t make mistakes – no, a tailor really worth keeping is one who learns what your idea of the perfect fit is and constantly works to achieve this.

5. Does the Tailor understand style and timeless fashion?

I mentioned this earlier, but do not assume a tailor or seamstress understands classic men’s style. Although many skilled tailors are experts at building anything you can imagine, their eye for what color fabric or style of jacket suits a man is often at odds with reality. Culture differences can also play a factor here, as that many of the most skilled tailors today are native Chinese, Thai, or Indian – what worked in Mumbai in 1970 may not be applicable today. With your foundation in classic men’s style (see point 1), you should be able to figure out quickly if the tailor possess an eye for timeless fashion.

6. Samples of the Tailor’s work – Custom Suits and Tailored Shirts.

Pictures, example pieces, alteration miracles – you are looking for samples of their work that validate the tailor’s claims of greatness. If the overall garment looks good, spend a few minutes studying the details – does the stitching look secure and clean, is the build and silhouette something you want in your clothing. Be wary of a tailor who doesn’t have anything to show or happy customers to refer you to.

7. Tailoring turnaround times? Is the Tailor available?

The best tailors out there are very busy people. They have more work than they can handle, and unfortunately wait times of more than a month are not unheard of. Ideally you want a tailor who can attend to your needs quickly, especially when you need a quick fix before an important appointment. Be upfront about your needs here, as that most tailors will accommodate emergencies knowing it creates loyalty and goodwill.

Notice I didn’t mention Price – this is the least important factor and should be a minor consideration even for those tight on money. You want to find a skilled tailor who can help you realize your vision of the perfect custom fit. Saving twenty dollars and not getting what you want is a waste of money – spend a little more and getting exactly what you pictured is always worth it.