How to Choose & Wear a Pin-Striped Suit

Few pieces in men's fashion have as strong an association with the professional man as the pinstriped suit. With their traditional structure and regular print, pinstripe suits can seem conventional to the point of being stuffy. But there’s something to be said for this particular tradition in men's suiting as well. When worn with pieces that balance its rigid nature, the pinstripe suit becomes a style piece that no man should go without.

Choosing Cuts
Pinstripe suits present one of the few opportunities where men’s fashion and Wall Street can be mentioned in the same breath. A pinstripe suit in gray or black is iconic of the professional go-getter, and can be visually imposing if done as is.

Give the traditional pinstripe suit a dose of 2009 style by having it cut slim at the waist. The slight cinching there creates a bit more curve and visual flow, thus keeping you from becoming a walking rectangle in Brooks Brothers. Size is very often what contributes to that overly businesslike image of the pinstripe suit, so a slightly abbreviated length on the jacket and smaller lapels create a more minimal, less boardroom-esque silhouette.

While you’re out choosing a suit, you may also want to look for a jacket with little to no padding at the shoulders. The sobriety of black and gray on a suit are already imposing enough as it stands; soften the stance of the suit by keeping the shoulders on the jacket natural and aligned to your own.

Choosing Colors
Black and gray are the colors for suits in conventional men's fashion, and it's likely that your pinstriped suit uses one of the two as a base. Yet the somberness of that base color need never mean that you'll be in funeral parlor mode from head to toe. In fact, the best way to style the modern pinstripe suit is to contrast it with pops of bold color elsewhere.

A white shirt and a black necktie are "de rigeur" corporate attire, but chances are good that you'll look even better and less rigid when your suit's dark color is matched with something light like a sky blue or pale pink. Up the style stakes even more by reaching for a contrast collar shirt that infuses the traditional pinstripe suit with just the right notes of modern verve.

Since you're already wearing a print on your suit, the stage is set for you to wear a print shirt that's bolder than the usual. Keep in mind that you want to combine patterns on different clothing pieces that are different in size. A fine pin striped suit for example can be well matched with a dress shirt that has a larger checkered pattern.

Choosing Accessories
Neckties are even more crucial with a pinstripe suit because there's a lot of balancing that needs to be done. From a technical perspective on mens fashion, the necktie is your final opportunity to balance out anything in your outfit that needs a counterpoint.

If you are taking the path of a boldly patterned shirt, for example, don't bother having the tie compete with the rest of the outfit. Go with something understated like a slim, solid tie or a knit necktie in a classic color like navy. For a solid shirt, the tie could take on the burden of boldness with a brightly colored stripe. You may also want to coordinate the color of the necktie with either the shirt or the suit to really tie the whole outfit together.

Pay attention to the watch you wear to work. Leather straps are fine for most occasions, but a pinstripe suit usually calls for a timepiece with a metal bracelet. The glitter of the watch would give added emphasis to the (typically) gray stripes of your suit. Keep in mind that the color metal you choose should be consistent on wrist watch, cufflinks, and your belt buckle - any more "bling" is considered "tacky" in business fashion.

The pinstripe suit is old and traditional, but that doesn't have to mean it's dated. Done with enough modern touches, it's the perfect uniform for the corporate man who's on his way up the ladder.

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Your Cheap-Neckties Team