Men’s style and grooming by Yatan Ahluwalia: Looks for the urban man

Here’s how to look your best, in a formal or semi-formal setting

Presenting two looks for the urban man, both for formal as well as not so formal occasions. And suggestions on how to look different every day!

The formal suited look

Sport the formal look for business meetings, conferences, interviews, presentations or an important day at work. For this day look, I suggest straight fit cuts and two or three button jackets. Short length jackets are a modern favourite and for good reason – they give your suit a sharper and smarter look as well as balance the proportion between your upper and lower body.

Embrace light colours; a grey or beige palette. Alternatively, you could break the monotony by wearing shades of olive green or brown.

You always need to wear a full sleeve shirt that looks dressy enough to be worn with a suit. You have the option to wear a contrasting coloured or a colour coordinated ‘tone on tone’ shirt under your jacket.

Cufflinks by Voylla

Style tip: Fitted shirts with sharp well- defined cuffs (with or without cufflinks) add that little extra to your overall look. The cufflinks need to pop up against your shirt, so choose a colour or style that contrasts the distinct colour palette that you are wearing.

Trousers

Never wear trousers that do not fit you well. You can choose between a straight cut, a comfort fit or a slim fitted pair. Straight or slim fit trousers look and fall a lot better under jackets than pleated ones do.

Style Tip: Trousers should always end at the ankle. If at all, there should be just a single trouser cuff or fold. A double cuff or fold will change your silhouette.

Fabrics

Day suits should be made with light, soft and crease free materials – plain, textured or printed. Always wear fabrics that are light and airy – so you can stay well ventilated and the suit itself, feels light and easy.

Style tip: Single button jackets add a young and trendy look to your suit. The buttons on your jacket should be subtle and almost blend into the base fabric. Take my word for it, in 2020 you are better off with matching than contrasting buttons!

The semi formal no tie look

The ‘no tie with jacket’ look is ideal for a casual client meeting, leisure weekend, to wear to the club, Sunday brunches and dress down events – even a casual day in the office.

Always ensure that your jacket allows you to move with ease and that it does not crease too much – especially around the shoulders and sleeves.

You can wear a jacket without a tie, provided you are wearing a pair of jeans or casual trousers underneath. When doing so, ensure the jacket is not too dressy – a printed (check or houndstooth) jacket is ideal.

I suggest you wear a semi-formal shirt. This should ideally contrast with the colour of your jacket. Suggested combinations: Grey with pink, brown with yellow, blue with white.

If you do decide to wear jeans, they need to be as plain as possible – no aged or treated materials and nothing that has a textured look. A slim or straight fit is recommended. When in doubt about the colour of your jeans, go safe with a black or dark blue pair.

Accessories

Match semi-formal accessories with this look – closed laced shoes with rounded tips are ideal. The belt could be textured or plain, in leather, cloth or canvas. Keep the belt hidden under the jacket (except when you unbutton it).

Style tip: Always wear slim belts with simple buckles: the less attention your belt takes away from your suit - the better it will look. Always choose buckles that allows fuss free fastening (and unfastening) for your belt.

Three fashion queries answered:

1. To tie or knot?

Some guys prefer to wear a coordinated suit without a tie, while there is nothing wrong in doing so, I feel it completely kills the look of a good suit, that must (or at least as often as possible) be worn with a tie. When you decide to go without a tie, its best to wear a stand-alone jacket with a pair of contrasting lowers.

2. Party after work?

If you are pressed for time and need to head out to a social or party straight from work, then you may want to loosen the jacket (if you are sporting the formal look) and undo a few more buttons of your shirt (if you are in the semi-formal look).

3. Missing socks?

Two tone, slim tip laced shoes from JoeShu

Not wearing socks with a suit, is one style blunder some men make. While I personally feel fashion shouldn’t be about rules and boundaries, this one is just unacceptable and a style error, especially if you are wearing a smart pair of formal laced shoes

Five ways to change your daily look

If you wear suits daily to work, here how you can make your suit look different each time you wear it:

Formal shirt by Blackberrys

1.During a given week, never wear the same shirt with the same suit – use distinctly different shirts (colours and styles) to change your look, each time you are repeating your suit.

2.People will always remember an unusual print or eye-catching tie – so when wearing ties, keep them as simple, subtle and neutral as possible.

3.Never assign a particular shirt or tie to a specific suit — mix and match the ties and shirts as frequently as possible.

4.The accessories you buy to wear with your suits should match the predominant colour palette in your wardrobe. This way you can maximise your looks with minimum investment.

5.Mix and match accessories like tie pins, cufflinks, belts, shoes and carry bags with the same suit as often as you can.

Author bio: The author is an image, style and grooming consultant and trainer.

From HT Brunch, February 16, 2020

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