Pocket Square Guidelines

Don’t leave your suit naked. Trent Bridges refers to suits without pocket squares as “naked suits.” He argues that a suit just doesn’t look complete without one. I agree. The addition of a pocket square adds some finishing panache to a good suit. So, the first guideline of pocket square usage is to always wear one when you wear a suit or sport coat. It just looks better.

Color coordinating. A pocket square can be patterned or solid. The general guideline is that your pocket square color should compliment some color on your tie. So, if your tie has a bit of red, rock a solid red pocket square or a patterned pocket square with some red in it. However, avoid matching the colors exactly. It looks like you’re trying too hard (so never ever buy a tie/pocket square set at your local department store). A white pocket square can be worn with any color tie, making this color handkerchief an essential part of every man’s collection.
How to fold a pocket square

You have several options on how to fold your pocket square. Some are super simple and others are complex. It all comes down to personal taste. In this post, we’ll discuss three simple folds that every man should master.

How to fold the straight fold


This is the easiest way to fold a pocket handkerchief.
Fold your pocket handkerchief in half twice so it forms a square diamond.
Then fold in half again, top point to bottom point, so it forms a triangle.
Next fold in the two long opposite points of the triangle (Keeping the upper edge (hypotenuse) aligned)
Then tuck the pointed end into your jacket pocket so only the straight edge shows.

How to fold the one-point pocket handkerchief


This is a variation of the pocket square above.
Fold your pocket handkerchief in half twice so it forms a square diamond.
Then fold in half again, top point to bottom point, so it forms a triangle.
Next fold in the two long opposite points of the triangle (Keeping the upper edge (hypotenuse) aligned)
Then tuck the straight edge into your jacket pocket so only the point of the triangle shows.

How to fold the two-point pocket handkerchief


Fold your pocket handkerchief down so that it forms a four and one-half inch square as above. However, when making the final fold, ensure the point overlaps the top points to form what looks like two mountain peaks sitting side by side. Then fold the bottom point halfway up the handkerchief, and fold the two points in on either side. Tuck this straight end into your pocket.

How to fold the puff pocket handkerchief
 

Fold your pocket handkerchief in half twice and lie it on the surface. Next, pinch in the middle of the square and lift up. Tuck the excess fabric into your jacket pocket and leave the pointed edge showing.

How to fold the reverse puff pocket handkerchief


Other Methods:

The Straight Fold


The Straight Fold is the most simple of the pocket square folds. What you’ll end up with is a small rectangle peeking out of your suit pocket. Here’s one way how to fold it:

Lay your pocket square flat.
Bring the left side to right side
Bring the bottom towards the top, but don’t fold it all the way.
Fold the fabric in thirds horizontally so that it will fit your suit pocket.
Fold the bottom up to the top, but don’t fold it all the way(same as before).
Place in pocket with thin end (top) up.

The One Point Fold


With the one point fold, you’ll have a small peak of fabric coming out your pocket. This one is probably my favorite of the three. Here’s how to fold it:

Lay your pocket square on a flat surface, with one corner facing up and one corner facing down so it looks like you have a baseball diamond in front of you.
Bring the bottom point to the top point so that you create a triangle.
Bring the left corner of the triangle to the right corner, and the right corner to the left corner. You should end up with a long rectangle with a point at the top. It looks sort of like a fence slat.
Fold the bottom towards the top, but not all the way.
Place it in your suit. Adjust until you get the desired amount of point coming out of the pocket.

Two Point Fold


Lay your pocket square flat with one corner facing up and one corner facing down.
Fold the bottom corner up and just to the left of the top corner.
Fold the left side in towards the right.
Fold the right side in towards the left.
Tuck as needed and place your pocket square in your jacket pocket.

The Three Point Fold

Lay the pocket square flat so it resembles a diamond.

Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top corner.
Fold the left corner up to the right of the top point, making a second peak.
Fold the right corner up to the left of the top point, making a third peak.
Tuck into pocket with the folds facing out.

The Winged Puff


Lay the pocket square flat so it resembles a diamond.
Fold the top corner down to meet the bottom corner.
Fold the left and right corners down to meet the bottom corner, making a smaller diamond.
Fold the two side points in to the center, and fold the bottom point up.
Tuck into pocket with the point up and the folds facing out.

The Puff


The Puff Fold is probably the simplest of the folds. The desired result is to have a small puff of fabric coming out your suit pocket. Here’s how to fold it:
Lay the pocket square flat.
Pinch the middle of the fabric, allowing the folds to come in naturally.
With one hand firmly holding the pocket square, use your other hand to gently gather it together.
Now gracefully gather up the bottom of the pocket square.
Place it in your suit. Fiddle with it until you get the desired puffiness.

Flat Pocket Square

	Lay your pocket square flat with the two top corners horizontal. There are a number of variations of the flat fold with names like the "TV Fold", the "Architect" or the "Presidential".
	Fold the the left side over the right side.
	Fold the bottom up just short of the top.
	Tuck as needed and place your pocket square in your jacket pocket.

Three Stairs Pocket Square

 

	Lay your pocket square flat with one corner facing up and one corner facing down.
	Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top corner.
	Fold the front fold partially down so that it goes past the bottom of the pocket square.
	Now take the same fold and fold it back up towards the top of the pocket square.
	Now fold back towards the bottom of the pocket square. Be sure and keep your folds neat.
	Fold a small fold towards the top of the pocket square. You may want to gently press with an iron.
	Pause, and take a look at your pocket square folds so far. It should look basically like the illustration.
	Now this is a little tricky: fold the right half of the pocket square behind the left side. You will still see the folds if done correctly.
	Now rotate the righthand corner of the pocket square 90 degrees. Then fold the left side to the right.
	Fold the right side to the left and we are done.
	Tuck as needed and place your pocket square in your jacket pocket.

Puff Pocket Square

 

	Lay your pocket square flat with the two top corners horizontal. Pinch the middle of the pocket square and pick it up.
	As you pick up the pocket square tuck the sides in as in the diagram. Don't worry it may take a couple of trys to get it just right, but soon you will have it perfect.
	With one hand firmly holding the pocket square, use your other hand to gently gather it closed.
	Now gracefully gather up the bottom of the pocket square.

Winged Puff Pocket Square

	Lay your pocket square flat with one corner facing up and one corner facing down.
	Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top corner.
	Fold the top left and right corners down and in.
	Fold the left, right and bottom corners in.
	Tuck as needed and place your pocket square in your jacket pocket.

Rolled Puff Pocket Square

	Lay your pocket square flat with the two top corners horizontal. Pinch the middle of the pocket square and pick it up.
	As you pick up the pocket square tuck the sides in as in the diagram. Don't worry it may take a couple of trys to get it just right, but soon you will have it perfect.
	With one hand firmly holding the pocket square, use your other hand to gently gather it closed.
	Now gracefully roll the top of the pocket square in the direction of the arrow.
	Carefully lift the bottom points up.
	Firmly grasp the bottom of the pocket square.
	Tuck as needed and place your pocket square in your jacket pocket.

 

http://www.samhober.com/howtofoldpocketsquares/pocketsquarefolds.htm
http://www.ctshirts.com/Five-ways-to-fold-a-pocket-handkerchief?cnt=pocket-handkerchief
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2008/06/15/how-to-fold-a-pocket-square/
http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/226228/how-fold-pocket-square

Getting Dressed

The Basics of Shoes and Belts

How to Dress Professionally: The Basics of Shoes and Belts

The finer details of your professional look can't go overlooked. Shoes and belts make a big difference in how you are perceived by those around you.


black cap toe shoes with a matching belt. (Zac Johnson)


Burgundy wingtip shoes with matching belt. (Zac Johnson)


Black loafers with matching belt. (Zac Johnson)

The devil is in the details, as they say, and this is certainly true when talking about dressing professionally. You’ve got the suit and the perfect shirt and tie combination for your engagement, but you still won’t look the way you want to if you ignore the little things in your look. Your choice of shoes, socks and belt are absolutely essential. As with everything else in dressing professionally, there are rules to follow here in order to keep from looking tacky.

Your shoes will make as much of an impression as your suit.

If you walk into a job interview with an impeccably tailored thousand dollar suit but you’re sporting sneakers with it, guess what is going to leave the impression on your potential employer? And it won’t be a positive impression. If you want to be taken seriously, your shoes have to reflect that. There are a few different kinds of shoes out there. I would recommend owning at least two pairs. The first pair should be a pair of black cap toes. The cap toe ends with a rounded edge at your toe and laces up. It’s a very durable, versatile look that can go with almost anything. These are your go-to shoes.

The second pair should add some flavor to your look, and you have some choices here depending on what you like. Burgundy is an often overlooked shoe color that works well with both neutral (charcoal, navy) and primary (brown, taupe, olive) colored suits. A pair of burgundy wingtips (named so because of the stitching on the top of the toe) adds a different look to your wardrobe. If that isn’t your thing, go for a pair of brown loafers, or slip-ons. These lack laces and can be dressed up or down. These are truly an American style shoe that can work for most occasions.

Your colors still have to match.

Black and brown don’t work in any scenario. Don’t wear brown shoes with a black suit or vice versa. Typically, keep black with black and charcoal, and brown with all the primary colored suits. Navy will work with both colors. Burgundy shoes will work with just about all colors. Just make sure you like it before going with it. If you aren’t sure, ask your roommate.

The main rule of your shoes is the leathers need to match in color.

Your leather shoes needs to be the same color as your leather belt. Black with black, brown with brown, and so on. And make sure they are the right shade of color. A light brown shoe with a dark brown belt doesn’t count, and it doesn’t work. This is a huge rule that gets broken constantly, and it pops out to people who are looking at you.

Polish and care for your dress shoes.

Go on the internet and find a video of how to polish dress shoes. That little four dollar instant shine sponge does not substitute for actual polish. In fact, use that thing enough and it’s bad for the leather. Go buy some shoe polish and a brush and take the time to brush your shoes as often as you think it's needed. Every 10 wears or so should work fine. If your shoes are scuffed, it’s noticeable, and goes back to not being taken seriously.

Also, invest in a pair of shoe trees. You only need one, no matter how many shoes you have. At the end of the day, put them in the shoes you wore that day. They’ll air out the shoe, making it smell at least more acceptable. But more importantly, it’ll keep the toe from rising up and pointing in the air. This happens naturally, since the pivot of your toes and the rest of your foot form a crease on the top of your shoe. By keeping that rise from occurring, the shoe trees make sure that you continue to put pressure on the toe of the shoe as you walk and not further down towards the middle. This part of the shoe wasn’t meant to take that strain, and will wear away much faster.

Socks can’t be overlooked.

The rules of socks are simple. They aren’t meant to match your shoes, they are meant to match your slacks. Imagine your sock as being an extension of your slack. If you are wearing charcoal slacks, you need to wear charcoal socks. This is important because your slacks will naturally rise up and expose your socks when you sit down. Imagine how bad it would look to have white athletic socks on with a black suit. Imagine how much your eyes would be drawn to it. Now apply that to other colors. That’s why it’s important.

Details can’t be overlooked. Your shoes and belt make a big difference in how you look, and people are constantly making mistakes with them. But for the other parts of your look, here are the basics on wearing suits, a guide to dress shirts, and a small blurb on ties, perhaps the most creatively driven garment in fashion, men’s or women’s.

http://suite101.com/article/how-to-dress-professionally-the-basics-of-shoes-and-belts-a403295

The One Suit You Need to Own

The item every man needs to own
You know how women have the little black dress, an essential piece that should be in every closet? Well, what is the men’s essential? I say a classic blue blazer. What do you think?

A classic blue blazer will get you a long way when you’re under 21 or live in the suburbs. The real essential is a medium-weight gray suit, which can go from a wedding to a trial to a conference to a funeral to a hot date, possibly with a tie change.

Read More http://www.gq.com/style/style-guy/suiting/200411/little-black-dress-equivalent#ixzz2RSKUq995

Gray Suit and Brown Shoes

Your Gray Suit’s New Brown Shoes » By Andrew Snavely



Break away from the everyday and pair your slick gray suit (you took our advice, didn’t you?) with a classic pair of brown shoes for a traditional look that stands out in today’s black shoe kind of world.

I’m just going to come out and say it: you should own a gray suit. I will even go as far as if you’re only going to own one suit, it should be gray.
Especially if you’re a guy who is lucky enough to have multiple suits, then you should definitely have a gray suit.

A gray suit is your most versatile suit in your dress clothes armory. There are no occasions I can think of where it would be inappropriate for a normal guy to wear a gray suit instead of say, a black suit, except a funeral. Job interviews, weddings, client meetings, fancy dates, if you don’t have to wear a tuxedo, then you’ll be set with a gray suit.
But why a gray suit? What makes it so much better?



A black suit is the equivalent to the blue dress shirt, it’s the first dress shirt every 17 year old kid gets. The reason they get a blue dress shirt first is because it’s good of course, it looks good on everyone and it’s not plain like a white dress shirt can be. That’s the same reason many guys start out with the black suit. It looks good on everyone.

It’s safe. It’s modest. You can’t go wrong with a black suit. And that’s true!

But is that what you want out of your personal style? To wear something that every guy wears because it’s safe?

This isn’t to suggest a gray suit is flashy by any means, it’s arguably just as conservative — BUT — every guy you know isn’t wearing one already. If you’re reading Primer, that means you are the fringe of our age group. You’re a smart guy who cares about becoming the best you can in all aspects of life. You care about self-improvement, getting fit and staying in shape, maintaining a long-term relationship, spending money wisely while not missing out, excelling in your passions, and moving up in your career. Think about five normal guys that are in your life right now. If you can say the same thing about all five, that’s incredible.

It’s tough to say but most guys our age just don’t put the same thought into some parts of life as you and I. I’m not suggesting they’re any less of a man or anything like that. We just think more forwardly than most.

Imagine going to a wedding. You’re standing around the bar at the reception with a few of your old friends. What are they wearing?

Black suit, black suit, charcoal suit, black suit, navy pinstripe if you’re lucky. But you, my good man, you stand out in your gray suit. Not in a flashy way. In a “wow, he looks good” way.

Most guys consider gray to be “light black.” Because of this they opt for black shoes. It’s a good look, but a little standard issue.

A gray suit is way more versatile than that. You can wear black shoes, and it looks good. You can also wear a ton of different shades of brown shoes that you can use appropriately depending on where you’re going and look even better.

Don’t think brown dress shoes aren’t versatile either — they look just as great with a navy suit if you happen to have one.


If you’ve got a nice suit, pair it with some nice shoes.

Something I’ve always thought was funny is how guys will spend a few hundred dollars on a suit, get it tailored, and then wear $35 dress shoes that they picked up on sale. You’ll hear style guys say the devil is in the details, but this is a big one.

Even just looking at these pictures, you can tell these shoes are nice. Not flashy — in fact pretty classic and conservative — but the details of quality all represent themselves.

There are few material things a man should invest good money into. A solid watch, firearm, tools, and traditional, non-fad shoes can all last a lifetime and represent more than some of the other ‘of-the-moments’ that we consume and discard.

Allen Edmonds shoes are definitely one of those things. I’m a big fan of quality goods made right here in America. Most things aren’t anymore, but what I’ve found is the goods that still are usually have a higher level of care and craftsmanship.

Made in America since 1922 and based in Port Washington, almost all of the shoes by Allen Edmonds are made in Maine and Wisconsin, with a few pairs made in Italy. Allen Edmonds originally provided shoes to soldiers during World War II, and upon returning home these heroic gentlemen continued to be lifelong customers.

Even as little as a year ago, I would have seen a $300 price tag on a pair of shoes and scoff at how unnecessary they are. After all, I could get six pairs of $50 shoes for the same amount of one pair of Strands.

That’s certainly true. But these aren’t more expensive because you’re paying for a brand name like other areas of clothing and fashion, or because they’re made out of some unnecessarily rare animal skin — these shoes are the works of craftsman, with materials meant to last.

It’s understandable if you don’t have a lot of disposable income at the moment, none of us do the first few years out of college. What you need to see is, as an investment, these can literally last you a lifetime.

Most men grow out of the $14-replace-it-when-the-face-falls-off watch, and eventually invest in something greater. I still have my first $100 watch, and I bought it 10 years ago. I’ve replaced the battery a few times, had it cleaned and it still works great.

This is no different; every guy should have a good pair of dress shoes, ones not intended to last two years, but for many to come. There are stories circulating style forums that a pair of Allen Edmonds can last 30 years, plus.

That’s not to say they’re going to look just as new when you’re 60 as they did fresh out of the box, but taking advantage of their Recrafting service can make them practically new again. For the price of your typical wear-em and toss-em shoes, your Strands can be rebuilt with new soles, leather, cork and refinished, set to last you another several years. New $300 shoes for only $90. Boom.

Plus, as you know, the ladies–they love their shoes, but don’t assume that they only care about high heels. I gave my Strands a test drive at a wedding a few weeks ago and definitely got a number of compliments from a few of them.

If you don’t have a gray suit yet, I encourage you to consider it for your next one. If you do, pair them with some good ol’ American-made brown dress shoes.

Give Allen Edmonds’ Strands a look-see. You can check out the gray suit I have at Indochino.



http://www.primermagazine.com/2010/spend/your-gray-suits-new-brown-shoes