What you need to have is a wardrobe with key pieces that could be mix and match to multiply your options for every occasion you will have ahead from day to night, from week to weekends, from work to happy hour, from work out to vacation. And to accomplish that you will have to have a foundation wardrobe with essential pieces. Which pieces? Well, that will vary greatly for everyone because your lifestyle, your daily routine, your taste and personal style, all combined will dictate that.
What I can do is to give you an idea of which pieces they could be. But this will come in other posts later on, for ladies and dudes. So, stay tuned.
And the perfect shirt cuff length is at the very beginning of your hand, without advancing on it, without biting a little bit of your hand or without showing a little inch of your wrist’s skin. Pretty much how the photo illustrates below.
Photo: Brooks Brothers.
And this length is essential for a shirt with a single cuff, double cuff or any cuff, wearing a shirt solo or with a blazer, a jacket or a coat.
This way your shirt cuff detail will always be spot on.
These two always own their looks. What a stylish couple! Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl. Photo: @johanneshuebl
Regardless of what you are wearing and how you are wearing, nothing will matter most than your ability to own your look. And by own your look I mean, feel comfortable in it, not only in terms of fitting but feeling great, at ease wearing it. As if you were the queen or the king of that particular look. Because if you don’t, it will show and that on its own could compromise the whole look. Even if you are wearing the right shades of color. Even if the look is perfect for your body type and suits your style. If you don’t feel amazing and at ease, this little detail can ruin it all for you.
Although black and brown can be a little bit tricky when paired together in a look, the duo is totally possible. Just like Armie Hammer shows in the photo above.
The trick to get it right? It is a tricky one, actually. And it is because it will all depend on the shades of the color in question, even the shades of black. And to get it right you will have to have an eye for it, I am afraid.
But you can take a clue from his outfit to guide you through cause this totally worked. And it did because the shoes and the coat are brown and the jeans pants and the turtleneck are black. If by any chance he would have bet in brown for the pants and turtleneck and black for coat and shoes the result would not have been this good. In this case, the shoes should be brown and the coat could be black but still, the result would have been way less interesting than this one.
Yes. And no. I explain. If you are going for a classic look or want to follow the fashion rule on this, then yes they should match. However if you want to break the rule or is betting on a more casual look or even if you have a more alternative look, then they don’t. Let me illustrate it better.
With a suit, usually it is a good idea to match shoes and belts not only in the color (and preferable even in the shade of it) but also in the vibe (dress up or down vibe). If you want to go absolutely classic on that. If you want give a little edge to it, then you cam mismatch the shade of color, betting in a dark brown shoes and a medium brown belt. Or in a opaque black shoes and shiny black belt.
And yes, even with a suit there is a possibility of going beltless. Even if your pants have the place to wear a belt. Even without suspenders. It is up to you.
To be honest, I don’t like the idea of wearing, let’s say a brown belt to a black shoes. And vice-versa. Mostly. The only exception for me is in the case that your pants are black and you are wearing brown shoes. The vice-versa here sometimes don’t work as well.
And if by any chance your fashionable self are betting in a gray shoes then your belt could be gray, brown or black.
In a more casual look, then you don’t have to match shoes and belts. Although the deal with brown and black is the one to approach with caution here. Not always is gonna be a good idea.
And speaking of brown… this is a great bet to pair with colored shoes like sneakers, driving shoes, espadrilles etc. Beige is also a good bet. Black? Not so much. But it is possible.
And yes, it is a good idea to bet on belt that is more casual. I will talk more about it in another post.
And although I did this post with men in mind, women can also take a clue from it.
And the fun way can be adopted by a female, a male or a non binary. Here it is how:
Just pick a different neutral color to every piece in your look. This way: navy pants, white shirt, dark brown shoes, grey sweater or coat and voilà.
For that you can use any neutral color. And if you don’t know which ones are the neutral colors, let me tell you:
White.
Off-White (it is a dirty white that can oatmeal, linen, ecru, ivory, icy and so many other shades).
Gray.
Beige.
Camel.
Brown.
Khaki (beige or green).
Navy.
Black.
Blue jeans. In all its shades. Included the light blue jeans. Of course that if the jeans is in any of the color present on this list, it is also a neutral one.
I often include on this list of neutrals other colors that are almost neutrals like:
Olive, Military and Burgundy. There are lighter and darker shades of those colors as well.
Burgundy or basically any dark shade of red alike.
Olive or Military green. Those are very close shades of khaki green. Even a dark green can feature on this list.
And I do include them because like the other neutrals they do talk well with other colors. And yes, you could include that in your fun neutral look, however those colors will add an extra touch of color to your neutral look. If you want to keep a whole neutral look vibe, stick with the first list for your options.
And here it is your answer: the tip should touch the top of your belt. Have a look at the picture. The tip should never go longer than this. It could be a little shorter but never to the point of showing some shirt between the tie and the belt.
If you are not wearing any belt, just imagine where the belt would go or just don’t leave any shirt showing between the tie and the pants. Got it?
And if by any chance you want to break this rule, go shorter (but just a little bit, showing an inch or two of the shirt), never longer. Deal?
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