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What Not To Wear

Have a gander at this photo which Michael linked to in this post he did yesterday.

Now Messrs. Rotman and Waks are obviously successful men. They probably make a lot of money, much more than I. However let me point out something for anyone who is looking for tips on dressing for interviews or any other business type of meeting.

First of all the man on the left is wearing a tie that does not match well with that suit. The suit has a grey-brown look to it while the tie is blue. Now it would be hard to recommend exactly what tie would work with this suit because it is a unique tone but I would go with a pale yellow or off white shirt to start out and then perhaps a maroon tie with a some gold in it. Trust me it would look better.

Second the gentleman on the right has a pocket square and tie that clash. My suit guy at Harry Rosen once told me that the tie and pocket square don't have to match in pattern but they should match in colour. Therefore - maroon tie = maroon pocket square, gold tie = gold pocket square. But not gold tie with red pocket square. See how the pocket square dominates the whole suit?

It is amazing how many men make basic mistakes when putting a suit/shirt/tie combination together. But it isn't hard. First you should get to know someone at your local men's clothier. Second you should stop taking your wife or girlfriend to buy suits or ties for you. Not that they can't pick out some good things but you should learn to do this on your own.

Next start browzing mens magazines like GQ or Esquire. A lot of the fashions wont be applicable to business however there are some good tips on dressing for success in general and sometimes the odd photo of a suit/tie/shirt combination that will just jump out at you as being perfect.

Quite a few years ago I pulled a picture out of an issue of GQ with some model wearing a navy double breasted suit and a very sharp blue and white tie. I looked all over for a tie like that. It was in the late 80's I think and striped ties weren't that common at the time. But I did find one and still have it today.

Quite a few years later I happened upon that picture while going through some old papers. I recognized the tie but also immediately recognized the man who was wearing the ensemble. He had gone on to great fame and fortune playing Fox Mulder on a show called The X Files.

That's right. It was David Duchovny!