/8lounge/ - The "8" Lounge

Are there any other Mr(s). Anons that can use Illustrator? It would be cool for the end result to have a cohesive look, and making the whole thing by myself would take 100 years.

>>4350

I won't lie, I didn't think "gird your loins" had a literal meaning in practical application.

I don't have any infographics on me, but I wear suits for a living.

Coloration, Patterning, and Matching for Formal Wear

A traditional suit is a

>jacket

>a shirt

>slacks

>necktie and pocket square

>shoes

>accessories

No, a vest is not necessary, and can be detrimental. We'll get to that. Now, arranged in order of importance:

The Formal Jacket

For formal wear, jacket patterning comes in one of two varieties. Solid color or Pinstripe.

There are a lot of styles nowadays that, for whatever reason, are made with exaggerated stitching, or distressed/nontraditional textures. Avoid these. They may be "in style," but you'll end up looking tacky at best, and downright ugly otherwise. Stay traditional, stay classy for time immemorial.

>Regarding color

For the beginner choose a jacket with the primary color being Black, Navy Blue, or Charcoal Gray. These are generally universal, match to a lot, and are easy to come across.

>regarding pattern

Solid colors are easier to match to, and tend to turn the wearer into a larger figure. A titan, an obelisk.

Pinstriping has the benefits of causing the wearer to appear slimmer and taller, at the expense of being a bit harder to match to.

>regarding cut

There are (3) styles of cut a jacket will have: Italian, English, and American.

>An Italian cut has the broadest of shoulders out of the 3 and a single vent (the slit(s) in the back of the suit). This style is also the closest tailored to you. Its purpose was to turn the Italian, a traditionally stocky build, into a bigger, more imposing "upside-down triangle" shape with broad shoulders and a trim waist.

>An English cut removes some padding from the shoulders and is usually seen with 1 vent. These cuts aren't quite as trim as the Italian cut, and will do just fine as a primary wear jacket for 99% of people.

>An American cut is even more relaxed than the English cut, having the smallest shoulder pads and usually 2 vents. It's also the most loosely-fitted.

In the end, they all function the same and it comes down to personal taste. If you like to feel bigger, or if you like to come off as more relaxed. Play with different cuts to see how they fit on you.

The Formal Shirt

Button-down shirts are available in a million different colors, patterns, and textures. For the beginner:

>regarding collar

There are generally two types of collars you can find in stores today: Ones with buttons and ones without. For your formal attire, avoid the buttoned collar. It has a tendency to look a little tacky.

>Regarding color

You can never, ever go wrong with a crisp white shirt. I cannot stress this enough, a white shirt is your cure-all. You can experiment with colors though - don't be afraid to "pop" - just bear in mind it's usually a good idea to keep your shirt a lighter color than your jacket.

>regarding pattern

Whatever the pattern on your jacket is, use the other for your shirt - don't wear stripes with stripes, or solids with solids. One of one, one of the other. Contrasts are interesting to the eye and make you look more dynamic. It's also simply more difficult to match two of the same pattern because they tend to blend together into a single amorphous blob.

The Formal Slack

Just make sure it matches your jacket. Stripes with stripes, solid with solid. If the jacket's gray, make the slacks gray. This is why suits are generally sold as pairs. For semi-formal affairs, you can get away with wearing solid slacks under a striped jacket, though.

The Necktie and Pocket Square

The necktie comes in 2 flavors: the bowtie and the long tie. Because of ease of use, I'll be focusing on the long tie. Don't worry about bowties, you aren't a British scifi television protagonist. Ties and squares come in two different types as well: bold (busy, bright, and visually interesting) and plain (generally a single color, or has very minimal patterning).

The point of the tie is to stand out against you. Act as an arrow to the most important, interesting man in the room.

>regarding tie pattern

Make sure the tie totally contrasts with any other pattern on your suit. For example, if the suit has 1-inch-apart pinstripes, make sure the tie's stripes aren't that, or near that, far apart. Usually, tie stripes are diagonal, but that isn't different enough from a pinstripe suit to count as contrast. Of course, it's always easier to match solids to other solids, but then the color contrast is even more important. We'll cover that next.

>regarding tie color

The tie color should be a bold statement. Something that doesn't disappear into the background. Reds and blues are all very popular, but I urge people to avoid those two colors for that reason. Since this is the first splash of color on you, it's important as well that the color looks good on you. For example, if you're particularly pale, a yellow tie will make you look jaundiced. If you're generally rosey or red in complexion, a red or some purple ties can make you appear comically tomato-red. Consult your mirror and play with how different colors effect how you look. If you're matching solids to solids, you want the biggest, brightest color possible. No pastels or subtle colors.

>regarding tie knot

There's a million and one ways to tie a tie. I recommend you throw away that first million and keep the Double Windsor. Again, it might not be "cool" or "in style," but it will look impeccable forever. You aren't slaves to fashion. You're above it.

>regarding square color and pattern

Generally, you won't see enough of the square for the pattern to shine through, so we'll focus on primary color.

You can do this one of two ways:

>The primary color of your square matches the primary color of your tie

Pretty self-explanatory. This will make you look cohesive, which is a good thing to be. Definitely choose this if your tie is solid of only subtly-patterned.

>the primary color of your square matches a secondary color of minor detail of your tie.

For example, one of my favorite ties' primary color is teal. It has diagonal stripes going 2 directions, and it has a number of small gold diamond throughout. On it's own, the gold diamonds don't do much, but when I match that tie to a gold pocket square, those diamonds really leap off the tie.

Don't choose a square the clashes or contrasts with your tie's color. What's important to remember here is that, like shoes, they are 2 separate pieces of a single piece of an outfit. They should compliment each other, not fight it out.

>regarding square fold

There's a hundred different ways to put the square in your pocket that ultimately comes down to how much of it you want to show off. Generally, anything works. I've seen people just shove it in their pocket and look great just as often as I've sen people take 5+ minutes making precise little folds and turn it into a fucking swan. I'm not very fancy, the fold I usually go for is called "peaked." I find it's a nice balance between easy and sharp. Hidden and existing. Ask youtube.

A Man's Formal Shoes

Not much to share here. Make sure they have a leather upper so they can take a shine. Pay attention to the color of the leather, that'll come into play later. Also ensure you always have polish and wax at home to keep them looking sharp. You can get this in any shoe repair shop. If you're really desperate, you're allowed to use a soft, wet cloth to buff the toe cap, but generally they should always be at 90%.

A Man's Accessories

As a man, we aren't allowed to accessorize much, which makes what little we can do that much more important. Tie clips, watches, belts, Necklaces.

As a rule of thumb, if you're wearing black leather (shoes, belt, watch band), make sure your accessories are black and silver. If you're wearing brown leather (shoes, belt, watch band) make sure to do brown and gold.

>Brown leather, gold accent.

>Black leather, silver accent.

Aside from these two rules, you're on your own to find your own style. No two men like the same watch best. That's just a rule.

I'm a watch guy, so I coordinate my watch to my leather, then the rest of my accessories to my watch. If you have a ring you like to wear, a class ring or a particularly interesting wedding band for instance, coordinate off that.

About That Vest

Simply put, it's easy for a vest to look like crap. It's got to be particularly trim, so it'll need to be constantly tailored. They also aren't multipurpose like the rest of the suit. I can wear just about any of my ties with just about any of my jackets, but that vest NEEDS to be party with whichever jacket it came matched with. It's an unnecessary step.

>>4369

>A Man's Accessories

>Tie clips, watches, belts, Necklaces.

Just don't make the age-old mistake of having too many accessories. If you're wearing a tie clip, don't wear a pocket square, and vice versa. Watches are fine, but IMO if you wear a

>necklace

you're going to look like a tool 100% of the time.

>>4344

A whole book? Probably not. However, in the spirit of 8chan, I think we can probably compile a great deal of information from around the net into a handy guide or some simple info graphics.

One thing that immediately comes to mind is a guide to shaving, because let's face it, the current generation of men has had a lacking fatherly influence in their lives. High divorce rates and all that.

poppycocklike how to prepare your face, what sort of razor to use, how to avoid razor burn, methods for dealing with hairs that grow in different directions, styling tips, and so on.

>>4371

I'm a beardMr(s). Anon, so I could give information on tending to ones beard.

I thin between the lot of us, we could do it. It'd be short, but we could do it!

>>4370

I work with some folks who wear their wedding band on a chain when they go without a tie. It looks great. The trouble I find most people run into is the over-accessorizing you talked about, yeah.

>>4377

For the good of us all, make it so.

>>4371

A guide to shaving would actually be really useful to me

>>4382

This. Used to be underageb& when browsing halfchan, but now that I'm in the public the only good shave I can manage is a clean shave with a crappy reusable shaver.

"Be a man" is most commonly used as a way to manipulate a man into doing something.

How to be a man, detailed guide:

Step 1 - Have an XY Chromosome

Step 2 - Have a penis

Step 3 - Survive until adulthood

What you want is a guide on skills and style which you associate with "traditional masculinity".

There's no such thing because people have been throwing around "no true Scotsman"s and "REAL men do/don't x" since the beginning of time.

If there WERE a consensus, it'd be stupid anyways.

>>4404

No need for all the salt, Mr(s). Anon. You can try to live your life in graphic Tshirts and cargo shorts if you really like.

Where's beardbro? He promised us facial hair care, damn it.

>>4347

What exactly is the rationale behind not buttoning the bottom button?

>>4407

Don't talk poppycock about graphic t-shirts.

This is a great thread, though.

>>4720

Not buttoning the bottom button will leave an air of professionalism, without adding in potential wrinkles or emphasizing your gut; and it also leaves room for your suit to breathe and move fluidly, making you look more elegant.