Suiting up

LADIES usually assume that all a man has to do to get ready for a wedding is shower, shave and put on a suit, shirt and tie but with men paying more attention to their attire these days, they should pay equal attention to how they are turned out going to a wedding.

Patrick Bourke of Patrick Bourke’s Menswear, O’Connell Street and O’Connell Square, Ennis, says darker shades of suits are definitely in.
“Some men still like classic black but there is a real swing towards mid to charcoal grey or navy. A subtle pinstripe looks very well and the material is important too. A tonic cloth, which has a sheen, giving the suit an expensive look is best,” he explains.
He adds that a lot more men opt for a three-piece suit now – trousers, shirt and waistcoat.
“This look is key this season and really does look great for a wedding. The waistcoat must be closed and should fit well.”
Younger men should choose a narrow collar shirt with a skinny tie and make sure the suit is well-fitted. “Any bagginess makes a suit look wrong. Especially for well-toned guys, suits and shirts should fit very well and they can choose materials that are quite fitted to show off their frame,” Patrick remarks.
Younger men should also pick shirts in block bold colours, such as deep purple, strong lilac or royal blue.
“The rule when choosing a tie is either tone-on-tone, so a tie of the same colour or ‘first cousin’ colour, or a subtle pattern, which would barely be noticed, if the shirt is a dark colour. Younger men also like a lightly coloured, faintly striped shirt, with a white collar, which looks very smart,” he adds.
Men from 40 upwards should go for a more classic version of this look.
“Again for a wedding, the suit should be dark, unless it’s a foreign sun wedding. The best colours are charcoal grey, dark grey or navy. If choosing a pinstripe, the stripe should be light and should be purple, grey or navy and should always be a faint stripe. A mid-sheen material, rather than high sheen material is best. Shirts should be stripes, again a light stripe. Checks also are making a comeback, especially for someone who is confident with their own style,” he comments.
Patrick explains that a lot of men find it hard to match a shirt and tie with a suit.
“The general rule is to allow two stripes. So if the suit is striped, you can have either a striped tie or a striped shirt, but not both. If the suit is plain, you can carry a striped shirt and striped tie. One should be a strong strip, while the other should be subtle. The idea is to be daring but not in your face or outrageous, especially for a wedding,” he adds.
He also stresses that ties for a wedding are different than a standard tie for work.
“Work ties are sedate, while you can afford to push the boat out and have a bit of fun in chosing a tie for a wedding. Again, for a wedding choose a tie with a silk lustre. They look richer and knot better. Depending on the shirt collar, alter your tie knot. With a Kent collar, keep the tie knot quite neat. With a wider, cut away collar, a bigger tie knot is better,” he says.
With people pulling in their purse strings these days, Patrick has found that a majority of men buy a good suit that they can wear to a number of occasions and chose a different shirt and tie for different events.
He also advises that accessories are important for men.
“A double buttoned cuff, with nice cufflinks the same colour as the watch, looks very well and is good attention to detail,” he adds.
He emphasised too the importance of getting the shoes and socks right. With a dark suit, play it safe and go for thin black socks with smart and clean black shoes.
“Match socks to the shoe and not the suit. A lot of men get it wrong, so play it safe and don’t try and make a statement with socks,” Patrick concludes.