"The difference between a well-dressed man and an average man is in the details."
This suit accessory guide is written for all men who want to look classy, be classy and dress classy. Our article will teach you how to properly use all the different suit accessories, on what occasions they are required, and how to choose the right suit accessories for your suit. Let's get started!
Wear suit accessories to complement your look
What are suit accessories?
Suit accessories are all the items you use to accessorize your suit. Suit accessories will complete your look and complement the suit that you're wearing. Suit accessories include ties, bow ties, and pocket squares, as well as cufflinks and tie clips (or tie bars). Some think that other accessories that you can wear when wearing a suit, such as watches and bracelets, are also classified as suit accessories, but we don't cover them in this article. If you're interested in all men's accessories in general, be sure to check out our Complete Guide to Men's Accessories.
Why should you use suit accessories?
Suit accessories make you stand out from the rest and gives you multiple styling options for your suit. With suit accessories, you can make the suit look like you and make your look unique. Wearing suit accessories also indicates that you pay attention to details.
The fact is, almost every man owns a suit, regardless of their fashion sense or personal style. Some men own a good suit and some men own a bad suit, but pretty much every man owns some kind of suit. A suit is the only proper outfit for many occasions, like work, formal events, and funerals. It's nearly impossible to live through life not owning a suit, without making any serious etiquette mistakes.
Suits are all fundamentally very much alike, with the details, fit, and materials making the biggest difference. With this being said, it is clear that on formal events and wherever suit is required, you have limited choices to express yourself and your personal style. This is where suit accessories come in picture. They are what sets you apart from all the average men who don't know anything about fashion and how to be stylish.
When should you wear suit accessories?
Suit accessories can and should be used every time you're wearing a suit, and sometimes with just a dress shirt or a blazer. You can use your suit accessories to make your outfit more casual or formal. There is no situation where it's better to go without any suit accessories than to wear some.
Suit accessories list
Let's go ahead and continue with each individual suit accessory and how they should be used. You can use the bulleted list below to jump right into the suit accessory you are interested in.
Tie (or a necktie)
Neckties are the most commonly used men's suit accessory. A tie makes a suit look so much more complete than it would look without it. If we had to choose one foolproof suit accessory for someone who is not comfortable with or used to wearing accessories in general, it would definitely be a tie. The more comfortable with wearing suit accessories you are, the better you can play with different colors and materials to make your outfit interesting.
Go with a classic silk tie, or play with extraordinary materials.
How to wear a tie?
A tie is a good choice for any occasion. If you're pondering whether to wear a tie or not, choose the tie. Keep etiquettes and the occasion in mind when choosing the color, style, and material of your tie. The less color, the more formal the look. To formal meetings, weddings, and funerals, for example, choose a black, grey, or white tie with no or minimal pattern. Remember to keep your tie thinner or as wide as the widest part of your suit lapel.
How to tie a necktie?
Tieing a necktie might require some practice, but everyone can master it. There are several different ways to tie a tie, but the most common of them is called "Four in hand". It's really simple and easy once you've practiced a few times. We added a 5-step picture below so that you can see how it's done. You can go far knowing only this style, but if you crave for a challenge, go ahead and try the Windsor knot or the Pratt knot. Find how to do all tie knots from our guide How To Tie A Tie.
You should also keep in mind the proper length for your tie; the end of the tie should be where your belt is, not lower and not higher.
Bow tie
A bow tie is a great alternative for a tie and one of the most important suit accessories there is. Bow ties are not as widely used as ties, making its wearer stand out from the crowd. The most classic bow tie color is black. If you're wearing a tuxedo, choose a black or white bow tie over a necktie every time.
Bow ties add a great finishing touch to any look created with a suit jacket or a blazer and a dress shirt. For more formal events, choose a subtle bow tie in neutral colors, like black, grey, or navy blue. You can wear a black bow tie for black tie events and a white bow tie for white tie events. For more casual events, you can play with fancy colors and materials. Try a knitted bow tie for example.
Bow tie styles
Bow ties come in many styles. There are wooden bow ties, knitted bow ties, and silk bow ties. They come self-tied, pre-tied or clip-on, with the shape of a butterfly, batwing, or the diamond point. The butterfly is the most common shape, and most bow ties are self-tied or the pre-tied.
How to tie a bow tie?
Tieing a bow tie is a struggle for many men. This is why we always recommend pre-tied bow ties. They are effortless, quick and easy to use, and will not loosen during the day. We offer a selection of high-quality pre-tied bow ties in many styles for uncomplicated class. Make sure to check out our whole collection here.
All the bow ties above are pre-tied for effortless use.
Pocket Square (also known as Handkerchief)
A pocket square is a solid suit accessory for a classy and sophisticated look. They were originally carried by gentlemen so that they can offer it for a lady if they needed a tissue. Nowadays they are no longer used for that purpose, but they do still make you look like a classy gentleman if you wear one. And hey, imagine the level of WOW if you pulled out your handkerchief and offered it to a sobbing woman.
How to wear a pocket square?
A pocket square is very easy to wear. You can wear a pocket square with a blazer, a tuxedo, a suit, or a three-piece suit, but do not wear a pocket square in your shirt pocket. The most common way to use a pocket square is to fold one and put it in your jacket pocket, but if you want to add a fancy vibe, you can wear two pocket squares simultaneously.
What is a good tie and pocket square combo?
Wearing a matching tie and pocket square is not a must. The best way to wear a matching tie and pocket square is if they are both solid color and same material. You can find great suit accessory sets, like the Classy Men Box, for a very affordable price. These sets include a matching tie and pocket square, plus a pair of cufflinks and a tie clip. You can also match the color but not the pattern to create interesting details while still keeping it sophisticated. See a couple of examples of matching colors but not patterns below. All the ties and pocket squares are from our collection.
Tie clip (or a tie bar)
Tie clips are both sophisticated and convenient. They are the smallest suit accessory with maybe the biggest impact on the outlook. They make you look classy and keep your tie neatly on its place. Men who wear a tie on the regular basis know the struggle of wearing one on a windy day. The class that a suit and tie brings easily vanishes when half of your concentration goes into keeping your tie in place when the wind is whipping it all over. Not to mention when you try to eat and your tie keeps falling on your food! By wearing a tie clip, you'll avoid problems like this and make your life with your tie a thousand times more comfortable.
Tie clip vs tie bar
Tie clips and tie bars are both invented for the same purpose, keeping your necktie in place. The difference between tie clips and tie bars is, that tie clips grasp the tie and the shirt in it like jaws, and tie bars slide on the tie keeping the tie and the shirt inside it. We prefer tie clips over tie bars since tie clips work well also for thicker ties, like knitted ties.
When to wear a tie clip?
There's no situation when you shouldn't wear a tie clip. So, whenever you're wearing a tie, wear a tie clip as well. It will either do nothing or save you from having to fix your tie all the time, but wearing one will not do any harm. Just make sure that your tie clip is not wider than your tie so you look well-dressed and classy.
Where does a tie clip go?
The perfect tie clip placement is in between the 3rd and 4th button on your dress shirt. No matter how dapper your suit and other suit accessories are, if you position your tie clip too high or too low, it will ruin the whole look. Also, a tie clip needs to be aligned as horizontally as possible. Diagonal positioning makes you look messy and ungroomed.
Cufflinks
As we all know, details are what sets you apart from ordinary men, and cufflinks are one small but significant detail. They are classy and elegant, but also convenient. Every man should have at least one pair of cufflinks in their wardrobe at all times.
What are cufflinks for?
Cufflinks are invented for keeping your dress shirt cuffs attached. They are a classy alternative for the buttons that keep the cuffs of your shirt fastened.
How to wear cufflinks?
Cufflinks are mostly used in formal events with suits and dress shirts. They can, however, be worn with more casual shirts as well, as long as the shirts have buttonholes on the cuffs. If your shirt has sewn buttons on the cuffs instead of just buttonholes, your tailor can easily modify the cuffs so that cufflinks can be worn. In any case, you can wear cufflinks to all kinds of events and attires. It's optional but strongly recommended for formal events.
How to put on cufflinks?
The most common (and the best) way to wear cufflinks is to put the shirt cuffs together with the inner sides touching and sliding the cufflink from the two holes. This complements both the shirt and the cufflinks, bringing up the ornamental nature of cufflinks.
Does cufflinks and tie clip have to match?
Cufflinks and tie clip doesn't have to match, but you will look so much more put together if they do. They don't have to be the exact same pattern or shape, but if the metals and preferably other colors match, it will be good enough.
Where to buy nice cufflinks?
Cufflinks come in many shapes, designs and materials. You can find a wide variety of cufflinks from stores that sell men's clothes or suits, and from jeweler's. If you don't yet own a perfect pair of cufflinks, or you'd like to add one more pair to your collection, go ahead and visit our cufflinks collection. There you'll find a great variety of cufflinks in many styles, with affordable prices and free worldwide shipping!
Suit accessories are what makes your classy look complete
We all know that classy men love to wear suits. Matter of fact, suits are the only suitable thing to wear in many work environments, special occasions, and events. Having a well-tailored, great fitting suit is just as important as being well groomed and wearing the right suit accessories. If one of these three is missing or poorly executed, it takes a whole lot away from the perfectly dapper look you're aiming for. If your suit is good enough to stand as the base for your classy look, go ahead and visit our suit accessory collection to complement your style. You'll find all the suit accessories you will ever need, with the best quality for the price, and with free worldwide shipping!
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