While there is much talk, in the community, about style and peacocking, I have come to realize that little to no attention has been paid to the basics. One of the basics of basics is the suit. In my opinion, the suit is the male equivalent to the female's "little black dress."

I call it a basic because it's not just for the Wall Street businessman. We all have events in our lives that require us to look good. No, scratch that whole "good" thing. We have events in our lives that require us to look dapper, sharp, and smart. Some of these events include graduations, weddings, funerals, a fancy dinner, and, to be honest, sometimes, I get dressed up in a suit and go out, for no particular reason. I just like the way that I look and feel in my suits.

Yes, I said suits, plural. I have a basic summer suit, made of light material. I also have a basic winter suit, made of a thicker wool. I also have a three piece suit, which is, by far, my favorite suit to don. I have read many articles about suits. Most frequently, wearing a well fitting suit is likened to wearing a suit of armor. When you are wearing a suit and it fits you well, both in cut and color, you just feel different, it feels amazing.



I must admit that I wrote a long, drawn out post, that no one would probably read. So, instead, I have found a couple of videos that do a much better job explaining things, and do so in a much "easier to swallow" format.

Here is an article and corresponding video that I found at GQ.com: GQ article & video. I also found a video on YouTube, also by GQ, but once it was embeded, it wouldn't play. Here it is: YouTube GQ video.

So, when you've got your suit, you need a shirt. There are an abundance of shirt styles, collars, fabrics, cuffs, etc. I suggest starting off with a plain white shirt, try on a bunch of different collar styles, see what works best with your facial structure. From there, get one or two more shirts, in different colors. This is where having a style savvy female to accompany you would help out greatly.

Then comes picking out a tie. This, besides cufflinks on a french cuffed shirt, is where the peacocking comes in. There are so many colors and styles that you can have such a good time picking out ties. One of my favorite clothing lines for ties is Vineyard Vines. Their ties are so colorful and playful that you will get opened on that alone, guaranteed. Keep in mind that you should also have an assortment of "serious" ties for those "serious" occasions.



Okay, so you've picked out your suit, time to tie the tie. Here's my favorite knot:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T6xBfq77hg[/youtube]

Okay, so, suit, check. Shirt, check. Tie, check. Socks & shoes, uuuuum?

Yeah, just like everything else, don't wear white socks. Don't be that guy. Buy some nice, thin dress socks. I like Gold Toe. Shoes? Go to the store and pick up a pair of nice dress shoes. Aldo is a good brand, I love my Aldos. I also have a great pair of Sandro Moscolini shoes that I picked up at The Walking Company. Find some shoes that are clean cut and that you can put a nice polish on. If you don't know how to polish shoes... learn. This video is good, it's basically how I learned to shine shoes.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=GO7_zHM9_Vo[/youtube]

My advice is to keep trend in mind when picking out a suit, but if this is your first suit, or your most basic suit, go with a classic look. There is a book that covers this very well, Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion.

For those of us that do not wear suits on a daily basis, you still need a suit with a couple of shirts and an assortment of ties. When the time comes that you need to wear a suit, you should not be scrambling around thinking about what to wear, it should always be dry cleaned and in a garment bag, ready to go.

Remember, one of the most crucial parts of purchasing a suit is fit. The suit will look awful if it's baggy or hanging off of your shoulders. That goes for the shirt too. The shirt collar should rest against your neck, not strangling you or loose enough for Mini Me to sit in there. The shoulders should sit properly on yours and the cuffs should be right at where your hand meets your wrist.



Credit where credit's due: I borrowed the photos (except for the last one) and the tie tying video from http://www.kinowear.com.

Edit: Link added to "Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion." Also, I had to fix a grammatical error.

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yehhh man

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BAIT>HOOK>REEL>RELEASE

Good post, but where do you wear your suites when you "just go out"?

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Honestly, I just run my daily errands. If I want to go out to lunch or dinner or a nice bar, I do it. Going to the bank and doing other things, it's funny to see how differently people react to me when they see me in a suit rather than jeans and a t-shirt.

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Not only do i agree with Medic i agree with this. Looking professional and dressy when doing normal things not only makes you feel different it makes others treat you differently.

One thing i quickly realized since i started studying social dynamics is that its infinatly better to "be' overdressed then to be under dressed. The honest fact is you cannot be over dressed....no person with any sence of class and style will look down on you for dressing classy and upscale. However being under dressed isnt excusible and i often look at dudes showing upto a club in what they wear to play sports with disdain.

Not only that but people will most definatly treat you differently. Not only women but just people in general. That helps pump up your confidence alone. Then when you have women open you because of your tie, cufflinks or overal style...its all that much better and youve already spent some time being treated well...so your in the mindframe to handle it.

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-Ka-
"Be the same, only better."

Good answers and I agree. I should qualify a little though. You can overdress though. A suite and tie at the beach is overdressed! However it's really how you carry yourself with your dress. If all your confidence is tied up in your looks you won't be able to carry the overdressed look and will appear as uptight instead of confident. Posture and body language means everything.

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Haha, well yes there is a question of apropriatness...however it depends what your doing at the beach in your suite...sun bathing in a sute? thats overdressing....handing out flyers, passing through on your way to a cafe....out of the norm sure but if your not flustered by it then its normal.

However it doesnt matter what your intentions are under dressed...its never acceptable. Showup at a club in shorts and a jersey....not ok no matter how you look at it. One of the biggest mistakes that resturaunt buisness's make is having all the employees looking good and allowing that one waiter/bartender look like a slob.

This doesnt mean you shouldnt coordinate your style with the venue/activity...but having a few nice suites or classy/dressy outfits is definatly worth setting up and using...even if its for shopping or going out.

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-Ka-
"Be the same, only better."

Agreed!

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300+ page FREE body language Ebook: http://bodylanguageproject.com/the-only ... s-to-read/

1000+ term FREE BL dictionary: http://www.bodylanguageproject.com/dictionary/

Main site: http://www.bodylanguageproject.com/

I love suits. I suit-up as often as I can. Everytime I go out on the weekend, I suit-up. Its awesome to see that other people are sarting to jump on board.

-Zeus

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i have yet to get into the suit thing mainly because of the redneck town i live in and in the summer its over 100 here however i wear a dress shirt and tie quite often its always a good look

Great post Medic! I will definitely be checking out those videos and links!
I feel the same. However I don't often get around in a suit. I don't think you need to 'dress-up' that much to change the way you feel and the way people react to you. For me just wearing a nice shirt (with the first two buttons undone - showing a bit of my hairless chest LOL - a tip I got from "The Game"), jeans and my nice pair of pointy dress shoes completely changes the way I feel and the way women react to me. It is so strange that just putting a shirt and pair of nice shoes changes everything! Of course the two are inter-related - women notice when you feel confident - because your confidence feeds through to your body language.

Look at Ka's avatar - that's what I’m talking about! Nice work!

I remember reading a blog post (I think it was on http://zenhabits.net/) which had some simple solutions to give yourself a boost when you are in a bit of a rut. They recommended having a shave, listening to some high energy music etc… But they also suggested putting on your best clothes. Taking pride in your appearance can change your outlook and thus how others perceive you. So this works for PU as well.
I feel more 'up', more confident, more … dare I say it – sexy, when I dress up. It puts me on top of my game. For me my pointy dress shoes are the key. I don't feel the same in sneakers. There is something about them that makes me walk slower, more deliberate and thus alpha when I wear them. I also like the click-clack sound as I walk around.

I guess it is similar to when girls wear heals. A girl can increase her attractiveness massively by simply putting on a pair of heals.

Dressing up is not merely about looking more attractive (although that is important), it is about feeling (and thus exuding) confidence.
I often just liked wearing a simple thin black tie. I saw Jude Law in "Alphie" doing that and it looked great so I stole the idea But of course it won’t allow me to be opened regarding the tie. So go with Medic's advice.
This is really important! Especially if you are clueless, as I was. Just make sure you get a girl with good taste. I had a girl go shopping with me and she wanted me to dress all preppy. LOL - not my style.
Unless your Michael Jackson. :p

Two girls told me that nothing looks better on a man then a dark suit!

And you will definitely get a better response.