Coordinating Shirts and Ties
April 28, 2010
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Posted in Accessories, Men's Suits, Shirts, Ties
When your business attire allows leeway, colored or patterned shirts can offer visual variety without sacrificing sophistication. Choosing a tie that coordinates with the shirt is essential. When pairing ties and shirts, remember these points:
Nearly any tasteful tie can be worn with a white shirt. Solid-colored ties, when the color is chosen with care, can enhance any ensemble. Striped ties create a welcome change of pace when combined with a checked or solid-colored shirt. Remember to create balance by matching a tightly striped shirt with a more relaxed pattern. Polka dots can add interest as long as the dots remain small. As you broaden your shirt and tie combinations, the key is pairing strong elements with subdued ones to create pleasing additions to the traditional white shirt and striped tie.
Pack for Success
April 28, 2010
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Posted in Men's Suits, Women's Suits
Packing carefully for business travel ensures that you-and your clothing-will arrive unrumpled. Whether you’re traveling for one night or many, these procedures will help keep your clothes in their best shape.
Take just as much care in packing dress shirts as you did in having them fitted. The most important considerations here are minimizing wrinkles and building collar support. Lay the shirt out on a flat surface and fold sleeves under at the shoulder. Next, reduce wrinkling by using a “long fold”-rather than folding it exactly in half, fold the shirt below the waist. Once the shirt is folded and smoothed down, create adequate collar support by filling the collar with rolled socks. Use plastic bags or tissue paper from the dry cleaners to separate shirts. This reduces friction between items and helps prevent wrinkling.
Keep the suit coat fresh by first turning one sleeve of the suit coat inside out. Slide the other sleeve inside, matching shoulders and gently shaking the fabric into place. The suit can now be folded in half lengthwise. If necessary, the suit may then be folded widthwise, just above the lowest button.
Trousers may simply be folded in half, after aligning the sides. Hold the trousers by the hem and fold along the creases. Continue to match the creases above the knee, and fold in half, maintaining the crease while placing in luggage.
How much of my shirt cuff should show past my coat?
Answer
The sliver of sleeve that peeks out from a suit coat acts as visual punctuation. It gives the arm a definite ending point and creates balance within the ensemble.
Approximately one-quarter to one-half inch of sleeve generally shows past the coat sleeve. Allowing the sleeve to extend farther may make the coat look too short, while showing less sleeve creates the opposite effect. The shirt sleeve generally ends at the wrist bone, with a cuff snug enough to keep the sleeve from sliding on to the hand, yet loose enough to allow freedom of movement.
