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Tag >> shirt collars
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One thing the Brits know how to do well is wear a good suit - and we have certainly not been short of sartorial inspiration during the celebrations. The chap that has stood out to me the most as looking especially suave at every occasion of the Olympics is David Beckham.
A beautifully tailored suit, David wears a single breasted, two button jacket with notched lapels, double vents and straight flapped pockets paired with straight leg trousers. The pale pink shirt with black contrast tie works perfectly. You'll struggle to find Beckham without a Tie-pin when wearing a day suit- love it!. When the torch arrived in Britain David Beckham accompanied Princess Anne and Lord Coe, the chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. They had the honour of lighting the cauldron to celebrate the flame's official arrival. For this special occasion he returned to a notched collar and selected a darker suit colour, going with a navy.
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1. Suits YouSimply put, does the colour of your suit suit you?Salt 'n' Pepper hair colour = greysRed head = autumnals; browns
Point-to-point elements of the garment should be adjusted to fit if needs be; sleeve/trouser length. 3. Shirt Sleeves need only reach the top of your hands - they are not mittens and need not provide any protection for the hand. Jacket sleeves ought to be cut 1/2 shorter than the shirt sleeves' length if you like to shoot a little cuff.Shirt collars should fit with space enough for one's index finger to be inserted between collar and neck. Any larger and the collar will kink and buckle when the tie is tightened.
4. Tie A contrasting coloured tie or simple pocket square can make all the difference in setting the tone and can also set-off an otherwise run of the mill suit. Be sure to choose a tie colour that contrasts and compliments both your suit and shirt. If you have a club tie by all means wear it but this is no excuse for not observing the rules regarding colour-matching.And remember, it is better to be the only man in a room wearing a tie than be the only man not wearing a tie.
5. ShoesShoes can quite literally make or break a suit - or any outfit for that matter.Ask any woman and they'll tell you that what lets most men down is their choice of shoe.I generally let the toe-shape of the shoe dictate what shape trousers to wear e.g. narrow or bootcut for a longer toe shape, drainpipe or slightly tapered for squared toe shapes
6.Wear Care: PressingIf you've had a suit made for you, have it pressed before its maiden voyage - off-the-peg suits are pressed before they reach the shop floor, tailor-made suits are generally not.
7. Wear Care: Storage for Trousers After each wear, hang trousers upside down from the ankles using a clamp hanger or a skirt-clip hanger. This will keep the creases that you want, where you want them and eradicate others.
8. Wear Care: Storage for Jackets Your jacket ought to be hung on a hanger that best supports the shoulder and will keep their shape better if worn by you yourself - wool will take the shape of whatever it is draped over, hence if your hanger is too wide the sleeve head will remain misshapen. Hang jackets outside your wardrobe overnight before returning to storage. This gives the garment the opportunity to breathe and aerate.
9. CleaningContrary to popular belief, suits do not require dry cleaning every week or even month! Limit dry cleaning to twice a year but steam and press as often as your suit requires freshening up and/or sharpening up. I generally have a suit pressed when the centre crease is no longer easily identifiable
10. AccessoriesI am referring of course to adornment and not shoes.A simple pocket square can really set-off a suit and is the only item which is exempt from the rules of colour matching and can be a different colour to all items in one's ensemble.
If you have any sartorial dilemmas, then please do get in touch!
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I'm a big tie wearer, strange for a girl I know, but it's the classic details perfectly balanced together that really make your suit work. So many gents (and ladies) get the balance between shirt and tie so completely off that the harmony of the two is lost and comes across as more of a battle than a pairing.
But before we go into shirt collar rules, a quick history lesson. The tie and collar union may seem like a reasonably modern invention, (give or take a couple of hundred years) but most things have their grounding in the past. The huge ruffs we associate with the Elizabethan era stemmed from a draw string at the neck of the shirt used to close a gap that was big enough to get your head through. This simple style was taken to extremes and is some what removed from today's subtle shapes. It does though serve the same purpose as the collar and tie, an accessory to frame the face.
Elizabethan neck ruff
All fashions flow in and out of style and it was the puritans desire for simplicity and their increasing influence that lead to a simpler collar. In the early days these were still fairly extreme but they lead to a flatter, more open neck shape under the reign of James I. This paved the way for the more subtle collars we see today. The ruff, though, did not truly leave us until well into the 19th Century. It was synonymous with the three musketeers and other French heroes, today a cravat would be the appropriate alternative.
James I in a large shirt collar
While starch was still used to maintain the shape of the collar it wasn't until Victorian times that we really started to see shapes that are common today. Nowadays we use interfacing to create the starched look, although for an extra bit of crispness having a bottle of spray starch handy can be a life saver!
Victorian collar
These three lovely chaps all have different face shapes. Remember that the purpose of the collar is to frame the face so different shapes need a different shape collar.
Victorian collar
These three lovely chaps all have different face shapes. Remember that the purpose of the collar is to frame the face so different shapes need a different shape collar.
Three lovely chaps
A rounder shaped face needs a shirt collar with close points to give balance to the overall appearance (fig 1.) A spread 1 collar would be a good choice. A chap with a fairly average shaped face needs a collar of mid range, a spread 3 or 4 would work here. Alternatively if you have quite a long angular face, such as fig 3. a cutaway collar is a great option. Go for a spread 6, this will draw the eye out and appear to widen the face. Bear in mind when choosing a tie your face shape and collar choice. If you prefer a big tie knot but have a round face don't wear a wide tie. Give yourself a full Windsor knot with a spread one collar. This will make the collar points stick out. Angular faces look better with wider ties but can pull off something a little thinner if tied with a large knot. Go for a half or full Windsor knot and keep to a slick minimalist look with your suiting style.
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