Fridays with Bri - How to choose your suit

This post is for the men out there, and I'll be talking about how to dress properly. It has taken me a while to figure these tips out through trial and error, as well as from the wisdom of others. But this basic list will help all of you guys out there who want to look good

a Jack Reid suit

1. Matching: when you are picking out your clothes, make sure everything matches. This means turning on the lights...good. Now, when you look at your black suit, you need to make sure that the pants are the same black as the jacket. I know it sounds strange, fellas, but there are different shades of black, and you never want to get caught wearing a blue-black jacket with black-black pants.

Brown shoes brown belt

2. Belt and shoes: One of the biggest mistakes I see when men dress themselves is wearing a black belt with brown shoes or a brown belt with black shoes. Make sure the belt matches the shoes. This mistake happens all the time and it is one of my biggest pet peeves.

3. Your shirt: this is the piece of clothing that is most important for determining what colours you can coordinate in your outfit.You may take your jacket off during the day, but your shirt stays on. The simplest way for choosing a shirt is to go with solid colours; if you have chosen a pattern, make sure that it is not competing with the pattern in your tie.

4. Your tie: this can be the major statement piece. For a muted but sophisticated look, wear lightly patterned blue and green ties with cool shades and  blues in your suit. If you’re looking to draw attention to yourself, go for the stark contrast of a bold red tie on a light colored shirt. The red tie is called the “power tie” for a reason; this combination works well for presenters as it captures wandering eyes and points them right to the speaker’s face. A tip for a basic way to choose your tie: if you have a light complexion and light hair, stick with light or pastel colours. For those with dark hair and light complexions, you have a natural 'contrast' so try on ties that have a clearly-defined line between the colours in them. Those with a dark complexion and dark hair can pull off both a high- and low-contrasting colour combination.

Beige striped shirt, brown vest brown shoes and a silver pocket watch

 5. Accessories: I recommend a watch, a tie pin, and cuff links. keep it simple; there is no point in having a dashing suit if your are just going to wear a ton of loud jewellery. That being said, when you are choosing your accessories be sure that they all match: a silver watch with a silver tie pin with silver cufflinks, for example. And make sure they all complement your shirt: yellow gold jewellery with a brown shirt will make you look dated.

To sum it all up - make sure you match; turn on the lights and take a look--in fact, get your partner to look for you. 8% of all men are colour blind so don't be afraid to ask for help. And keep it simple. Follow these guidelines and we'll have you looking great in no time!