Here at Flex Fashion we agree with The Greatest! A well-tailored suit makes almost every man look good and that’s why YOU need to own one. But which suit should I get? Get a grey suit. Okay, the end. Next article. Just kidding. Let’s tell you why a grey one and why I suggest two more different colors.
The grey suit is arguably the most flexible of all the suits. In one variation or another it is the one suit that is almost universally accepted for every occasion requiring a suit. Weddings, funerals, fancy dinners, job interviews; this one suit covers you for almost everything! Even if you could lose a few extra pounds you would still look pretty good in a grey suit. These are the reasons why we think it should be the first one you get.
The next suit you should have is a blue suit. This one will cover you for many things—even some Black suit events. Although not as formal as the Black suit, it’s still very flexible. Blue is one of the most flexible colors that exists regardless if we’re talking suits, cars, or logos. There are endless shades of blue. A blue suit means business; I mean that figuratively and literally. Serious business occasions and a few non-business occasions the blue suit will have you covered. Choose from navy to chambray to cobalt and many others. We at Flex Fashion say the Darker the better but it’s really up to you what you want to use the blue suit for and which shade of blue looks best on YOU. But wait! There’s more…
The Black suit. Black is your most formal color suit. It will cover you in most of the formal occasions. It’s also another one of those colors that just looks good on almost everyone.
Now you don’t need every color suit in the world to look good and have variety. If you wanted to you actually could just stick with the three colors mentioned above and just get light, medium, and Dark versions of the blue and the grey suit. Add that with your Black suit and you have 7 suits total. And you mix these 3 suits together and make at least 18 different outfits. Each of these 3 colors goes with the others. Wear the Black suit jacket with the grey pants, wear the blue suit jacket with the Black pants, etc. Quick tip: We here at Flex Fashion recommend get each color as a 3 piece suit. The waistcoat that comes with them will give you even more variety when mixing pieces together.
Furthermore, it’s not socially acceptable to go around wearing these suits bare chested so now let’s talk about shirts! Just remember “two is one and one is none”. This means always have at least two shirts for each solid color. You should have the white shirt, the light blue shirt, and the Black shirt. These 3 colors will cover you for just about everything and they each go well with the 3 colors of suits mentioned above. There is no occasion where all three of these shirt colors is inappropriate.
We’re talking about full coverage here so we have to include ties. Yes, you can wear a suit and button up shirt without a tie. However, that’s considered informal. So, when in doubt, wear a tie. If it turns out the occasion is less formal you can just take it off. It’s better to have it and not need it than vice versa. Five ties total is a good amount to start off with. Which five, you might be asking? Solid Black tie, solid navy tie, striped tie, and two micro-pattern ties. You can play around with the size of the stripes you prefer or the type of micro-pattern you prefer. You can double up on the striped tie or the micro-pattern tie. Whichever you prefer just remember a few rules of thumb. First, the Black tie defies all the rules for the other ties. The Black tie does whatever it wants to do. As for the other ties follow these rules. The tie should share a color with the shirt; not always the exact color but in the same color family. The next rule: the light blue shirt with the navy tie combo looks good with every suit imaginable! No matter what color suit you’re wearing, if you’re unsure of what shirt and tie to wear with it just go with the light blue shirt and navy tie. You’ll look good every time. Finally, if you decide to go with different colors of shirts than we already mentioned consult the basic color wheel to find a complementary colored tie to go with it. There are more rules to this than those but you’re doing great with just these.
Let’s address a minor detail with a major importance: the pocket square. It’s small and subtle, but it’s definitely noticeable when it’s missing; kinda like fries with no salt. For formal and business occasions the pocket square should be the same color as the shirt. For dressy occasions the pocket square can share a color with the tie.
Finally, let’s talk about the footwear. There’s only one shoe you need: the Black captoe Oxford. Of course you have the derby, the wingtip, the half brogue, semi brogue, and whole cuts but each of them vary in formality. Your second shoe should be some kind of brogue. The Brown wingtip is a personal favorite. When getting dress shoes you want to be sure to not be cheap. If you have the money invest in premium leather. Real premium leather oxfords start at $200 and generally stay around $400. Stick to that range for quality. Remember the more broguing on the shoe the more informal it is. Captoe oxfords have the least broguing and therefore are the most formal.
Bring it all together by finding a good tailor who can make your suits fit perfect to your body. Also, be sure to have matching leathers (belt, watch strap and shoes) and matching metals (watch and belt buckle).
Take a look at our page on casual wear.
