Off the Cuff - Carson Kressley [33]
Pocket squares should be made of silk—or cotton for summer—but silk is always best. Cotton may look a little too dicey. And for heaven’s sake, do not blow your nose in them. It’s not a hankie or a snot rag, people. Please, do yourself a favor and grab a Puffs instead.
As easy way to pick a pocket square is to remember it should pull out one color of an item you’re wearing—a stripe or pattern. If you’re wearing a blue blazer and a pale blue-and-white striped shirt, for instance, maybe your pocket square would be pale blue.
When it comes to folding the pocket square, I like them to be natural looking. I don’t like when it’s all neatly folded. It’s not origami. Those three pointy triangles you sometimes see poking out of a local news anchor’s jacket? Way too fussy, in my opinion. Notice that he’s also wearing a pinky ring and a gold rope chain bracelet Capice?
You just want to lay your pocket square flat on a table. Pinch right in the middle between your thumb and forefinger and let it hang naturally—it will sort of look like a little ghost. Make a circle with the thumb and forefinger of your other hand, and draw the “ghost” through. Flip it over, fold it in half and stick it in the pocket. You should have a little bit of the rounded front part and a little bit of the tail sticking out. It’s an art form, so practice makes perfect.
THE FINISHED SUIT LOOK: PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER
Oooh, that sounds naughty, doesn’t it? That’s bringing back Boy Scout jamboree memories, people. In tents. I mean intense.
Anyway, I know you’re confused. You’ve got a great classic suit. You have great shirts. You have some good ties and pocket squares. Now what? Three little words, peanut! Color, pattern, and scale. You can harmonize everything through just those three things. It’s just like making a martini. All it takes is finesse, practice, and good credit.
Your Friend, The Tailor
Your neighborhood tailor should become one of your best friends. The tailor is an important professional, just like your doctor, but the licensing requirements are not quite as stringent. Anyone can hang up a shingle and call him or herself a tailor. You have to find the good ones by word of mouth. So if you move to a new area, you need to ask friends, get recommendations, or you need to go and test tailors out by having a shirt altered or pants cuffed. Don’t take your new expensive suit to a brand-new tailor. If you’re buying a suit, and the store doesn’t do its own tailoring, ask the salesperson who they recommend. Generally this is a great way to find a reliable tailor.
Let’s start, for example, with a charcoal gray suit. Add one accent color in the dress shirt like pink, light blue, or lavender. (White is so boring!) The shirt could also have pattern, like a small gridlike windowpane, a faint herringbone, a tone-on-tone design, or it could be a stripe.
The tie adds pattern and dimension. When mixing patterns, it’s all about complementary scale. The scale of the tie pattern should be bolder than the scale of the shirt pattern and should pick up color references from both the suit (charcoal gray) and the shirt (lavender, pink, or blue). It’s as easy as e = mc2. You do the math! Now just add a white pocket square for a dash of formality, or choose one that coordinates with—but doesn’t match—the necktie. It’s a little too “I work at Avis” when it all matches.
Suits and Ties
Pastel suits.They’ve gone the way of Miami Vice and Don Johnson’s career
Shiny suits. You never want to look like a walking baked potato.
Leisure suits. It’s an oxymoron, people.
Double breasted blue blazers with anchors on the buttons. You are not the captain of the Good Ship Lollipop. Your blue blazer should be single breasted.
Bow ties with suits. Just a little too Orville Redenbacher.
Cravats and ascots. Unless you’re trying out for the part of Thurston Howell III or are a member