How to Pull Off the Black Suit
By Hendrik Pohl
Black suits are right up there with black neckties on the list of things you shouldn”t wear outside funeral homes while the sun is up. With the right pieces, though, a style piece as classic as the black two-piece suit need never be limited to dusk and deaths. It’’s all a matter of perfecting the balancing act that is modern men’’s fashion.
Add Color
Most men become too somber in a black suit simply because they don”t wear any other piece that catches the eye. Unless you”re attending a themed party where a 100% black and white outfit is needed, taking the all-monochromatic route isn”t the best way to go.
Optimize your necktie by picking one out in a bold color to compensate for the lack of variety everywhere else in your outfit. If you”re skipping the necktie, pick up a colored shirt, something in a light pastel like blue or pink would work great, that gives a stark contrast to the uniform black of your suit. Better yet, pick up both and match the shirt to the necktie for the ultimate sartorial combination with the black suit.
Accessories should also help set off the sobering black of your suit. Pick up a pair of bold cufflinks, like the colorfully striped ones made popular by British label Paul Smith. Add a pop of color with a pocket square in something eye-catching like royal blue or pale red. Contrast is the key to making a black suit seem less formal but no less stylish than they usually are.
Leave It Undone
One of the worst fashion sins you could commit when wearing a black suit is to wear it exactly as it’’s prescribed, because the prescription only works for final rites and burials. Wearing the usual black suit as its draped on the department store mannequin is the worst way to do it because you evoke all those negative connotations connected to it.
Finish dressing up in a black suit in the usual way, and then undo two to three things on it. Take off the necktie, for example, and then undo the top button on your shirt. Go one step further and leave a second button open the same way Tom Ford does it. Don a shirt that’’s naturally wrinkled to give your outfit some depth, or don”t leave your pocket square perfect and pristine. It’’s the little imperfections that give character to your black suit.
Black suits have a simple problem in terms of fashion: they”re too formal and structured. The trick to solving it is combining the suit with items that are its antithesis. Casual items that any five-star maitre d” would consider sloppy are the best pieces to contrast with the extreme structure of the black suit. Yes, the idea might sound ironic at first. But the two ends of the spectrum can work together, and it takes sloppy to make the suit look sharp.
Have Faith in Black Suits
Insiders of men’’s fashion will tell you that the black suit is one of the most style-safe pieces you could own. Wear it with anything from a multicolored polka dot necktie to a Ronald McDonald’’s fire engine red kicks and you will still look put-together.
For most men, it takes a bit of experimentation to pull off the black suit without looking like you”re applying as a mortician. Mixing and matching is the crucial element to pulling it off, and what works for one guy doesn”t necessarily work for you. Give yourself an hour or two in front of the mirror so that you”ll have time to find that right combination.
Don”t be afraid to mix things up. A couple of decades ago, pairing a black suit with items as unkempt as wrinkled shirts were unheard of, yet it’’s de rigeur today. Who cares what the fashion magazines say? If it looks good on you, wear it.
About The Author
Hendrik is a regular writer with articles on mens fashion and style. To date he has more than twohundred articles published on mens fashion. He is also the founder of online tie retailer: http://www.bows-n-ties.com/ - a site offering quality neckties, bows, and cufflink sets.