Most of the style rules aren’t there to keep you caged. Most arise from the most recent thing to come down a runway, while some of this rule don’t last a month and others have the tendency to last forever. only very few have been around for centuries.
In an ever-changing world, only a few of commandments are carved in a rock. These are menswear’s tradition, the ideal way of getting dressed in the morning. It’s not about what’s trending or taste, it is about the basic thing you watch for on your outfit. The rules are there to guide you on how your clothes were made to be worn. To do so in any other way is wrong. @stylewithjibs has curated 7 Men’s Style Rules You Should Never Break
- NEVER USE THE BOTTOM BUTTON ON A BLAZER
It’s safe to say that, when presented with buttons, men do them up. However, the modern suit jacket is designed to flare out at the hips to create the appearance of a slimmer waist. Button every fastener and the fabric pulls and puckers, disrupting the silhouette and destroying the seams.
You run the same risk if you stay buttoned up when sat down. A suit should fit close to your upright body. When you sit, your posture shifts and puts tension on the fastening, which tests your tailor’s stitching.
Sometimes, Always, never – starting with the top button on a three-button jacket and working your way down. For a two-button, it’s even easier: always, never. For a one-button, it’s simpler still: always.
- CLEANLINESS IS NOT WASHING AFTER EVERY WEAR
It’s a misconception that clothes need washing after every wear. Underwear aside, unless you’ve got the table manners of a farm animal, most pieces can stand up to a few outings.
This is especially true of tailoring. The chemicals used when dry cleaning a suit damage the fabric and weaken the stitching. If possible, only subject them to it twice a year. It advisable to brush away the dirt after every wear and giving them at least a day to air out. Then just try to keep your red wine hand steady.
Denim should be washed even less frequently and normal jeans should be washed every few months, whereas dry denim you ideally wouldn’t wash at all. That’s because the indigo dye rubs off naturally with wear to produce denim’s signature fades. Toss them in the machine, and the dye disappears uniformly, and your jeans have no personality.
- TUCKING IN THE WRONG SHIRT DOESN’T MAKE IT SMARTER
We have mum’s to blame for thinking that tucked-in shirts are a prerequisite for looking smart. But this isn’t always the case – it all depends on the style of shirt and, most importantly, the hem.
Dress shirts and tailed shirts are designed to be tucked in, as they’re worn in a more formal context. They have a longer hem at the back, which gets pinched between your body and trousers when you sit down, so the shirt doesn’t ride up or wrinkle.
Try the same with a shirt designed to be worn untucked (particularly anything made from a thick denim or flannel), and you’ll spend all day stuffing it back into your trousers.
- POLISH IS ABOUT MORE THAN SHINE
It important you know that polish stops leather falling apart. A good polish is leather food. It soaks into the pores and keeps it supple.” A biweekly feed is enough to keep any shoes soft, keep water out, and keep you off potato peeling duty.
Before you start dousing your footwear with the shiny stuff, you’ll need to make sure any unwanted passengers have been unceremoniously ejected. When your shoes are clean and dry, apply a generous amount of polish to your shoe brush and buff your shoes thoroughly until only a thin film of polish is visible on each shoe.
Not only will your shoes shine so bright they’ll practically be their own light source, the leather uppers will feel quenched and pesky grime will find it harder to gain a foothold.
- SUIT FIT DOES NOT CHANGE WITH TAILORING TRENDS
while the latest menswear diktat may say that wide are a winner, when shopping for a suit always follow the same rules.
On blazers, make sure the shoulders feel comfortable and finish in line with your actual shoulders. Any bigger and they’ll give you a winged edge, which always looks messy. The sleeves should fall where the base of your thumb meets your wrist, and it also helps to try it on with a shirt to make sure a few centimeters of the cuff is visible. Regardless of the latest trends in suit wear, the rules of good suit etiquette don’t change down south either.
A good fit on the waist of your trousers is important to maintain a smart and clean silhouette, adds Higgins. Don’t go too skinny, but do go slim enough to preserve the cut of the suit overall. If you tend to fluctuate in size, choose a waist adjuster – the aim is always for comfort in the leg.
- NOVELTY ANYTHING IS A NO-NO
Whether it’s neckwear, socks or a set of clip-on braces (shudder), there are no redeeming qualities here. Just say no. It won’t mark you out as being witty or hilarious, just deeply uncool.
Except perhaps under the cover of darkness, there’s no situation in which novelty clothing won’t do your reputation severe damage. “If you’re wearing novelty items of clothing for work, people will think you’re not serious about your job. If you’re wearing on a night out, you run the risk of looking immature.
There are plenty of ways to add personality to your outfit, but this isn’t one of them. A printed shirt worn under a blazer is a better option, as is statement sneakers with a neutral look. Or, for an advanced move, play around with pattern mixing.
- ALWAYS MATCH YOUR LEATHERS
It says a great deal about this rule that, even in an age when juxtaposing suits and sneakers is encouraged, it remains an unforgivably amateur mistake.
There’s no ifs and no buts: the same tones of leather should always stick together. The problem isn’t so much the colors (after all, black and camel make for a killer combination) but the material. “Because of leather’s slightly shiny texture, mixing different colors just causes each piece to fight for attention.
“Whether it’s a wedding or an everyday office look, you can’t invest in a suit without teaming it with perfectly matched leather accessories,” she adds. That means getting precise with your belt, your watch and any bag you might be carrying.
The rule extends beyond accessories. Every bit of leather that you’re wearing should be in complete tonal harmony. So keep that in mind next time you want to throw on a pair of brown loafers or a black leather biker.
