Dress Like a Man (19 page)

The term has more to do with marketing than any practical difference. 2-ply yarns have a balanced and stable shape, which will add to the sweater's durability, but beyond that it is mostly a matter of weight. 1-ply sweaters are good lightweight layers for outdoor activity in mild weather. 2-ply sweaters are what most of us would think of as "normal," and you'll sometimes see 3-ply or 4-ply yarns used in large, bulky sweaters.

Sweater Styles

It's worth owning a couple different sweaters in a couple different styles, just for the versatility it adds to your wardrobe. It may not seem all that significant, but a solid-colored V-neck sweater sends a very different message from a striped polo sweater.

Any or all of these are worth having in your collection:

• Crew neck
  sweaters are the modern default: a plain knit body with a round neck opening. The ring around the collar is slightly thicker than the rest of the sweater, and usually ribbed. It's a good, neutral building block for layered outfits.
  
• V-neck
  sweaters have, as the name implies, a triangular opening at the neck. They're a good style for pairing with collared dress shirts, especially if you're wearing a necktie. The opening frames the tie knot nicely.
  
• Turtleneck
  sweaters have a high, soft collar that turns down once, doubling over to make a thick ring around the neck. They're a casual style, and look best in a trim fit and dark, solid colors.
  
• Polo
  sweaters have the same pointed turndown collar and short front opening as a polo shirt. They make a good dress-casual option, but don't pair well with dress shirts. Wear them with a collarless shirt to keep from piling too many layers and folds of cloth up at your neck.
  
• Cable-knit
  sweaters (also called fisherman's sweaters) have decorative patterns woven into the body of the sweater. They tend to be bulky and warm, and make good outer layers.
  
• Cardigans
  have an opening all the way up the front. Most close with a zipper, but buttoning versions exist too. Large, round buttons are considered a bit feminine, and most men prefer wooden toggles or a zipper. These make an excellent casual alternative to a sports jacket or blazer.
  

Patterning can vary widely. Solid color sweaters are the most versatile, and work well in layered outfits. Bulkier sweaters worn as outer layers often have patterns in the weave, ranging from solid-color knotwork to elaborate diamond and dot patterns.

Sweaters in Your Wardrobe

If you're unsure what to do with sweaters, start them off in two basic roles: as middle layers between a dress shirt and a sports jacket, and as outer layers on cool days when a winter coat is still overkill.

For the former role, you'll want thin, lightweight sweaters in solid colors. Cashmere and light cotton knits work well here.

For the latter, thicker knits and heavier yarns work best. Since it's the outer layer, the sweater can feature more color or pattern.

Use them to break things up any time you feel like you're getting repetitive. Sweaters mean never having to be the guy who only wears blazers, or only shirtsleeves and neckties, or any other habitual pattern.

Of course, you don't want to be the guy who wears sweaters every day either. But it's a nice alternative to jackets and dress shirts, and if you've got all three in play, you're unlikely to be the most boring dresser in your social circles.

C
HAPTER 27:
M
EN'S
T
ROUSERS

Moving down the body from our previous chapters, we come to the mysterious world of men's trousers.

This discussion comes after our coverage of jackets and shirts, and for a reason: trousers are
generally
one of the most neutral parts of an outfit. They don't need as much thought as shirts and jackets because there quite frankly aren't as many options consider.

Does that mean you can throw any old thing on your lower body and look good? Of course not. As with everything else, there are going to be some subtleties for you to consider here.

Happily, we've considered them for you.

Proper Trouser Fit

If you've been basing your trouser purchases off the terms shops and manufacturers use to size them, you've probably had some frustrating experience.

Is a slim fit different from a skinny fit? Are low rise slacks supposed to sit lower than high rise jeans? Who decides these things, anyway?

The simple answer is that no one does. Most written terms are made up entirely by the manufacturer or store. You're better off relying on numeric measurements -- and on a good understanding of how well-fitted trousers are actually supposed to sit on your body.

• Dress trousers and slacks should fasten around your true waist, well above the hips. You want the front of the trousers to drape over any belly curve you might have, and fall straight down from there.
  
• Jeans can be worn a little lower, but the waistband should still sit above your hips, rather than wrapping around them. Resting right on top of the hip bones is fine; lower than that and you're in serious danger of plumber's crack.
  
• The center of the crotch seam (where the legs come together with the upper part of the trousers) should fit snugly against your body. You want enough room to move comfortably, and not much more. Sagging cloth in the crotch looks terrible on anybody.
  
• Trouser legs should taper slightly from the thigh to the knee, so that you don't have excess cloth around the knee. Below that, they can continue to taper slightly or stay the same width, but legs should never flare back out noticeably.
  
• The legs should be just long enough that the hem rests lightly on the top of your shoes. That means buying pants with some idea of how you're going to wear them, and with what -- jeans worn low on the hips that go with thick work boots are going to need a different length than slacks worn high on the waist that go with thin loafers.
  

Really, a good trouser fit is the easiest to judge, if sometimes the hardest to find: you should have freedom of movement, with no billows, sags, or wrinkles.

Easier said than done. Most off-the-rack trousers are cut much too large in the seat and thighs these days -- manufacturers want as many customers as possible to be able to "fit" into the pants, even if it's a terrible fit.

Be patient, and try things on in person. Discard bad options ruthlessly until you find a brand and a cut (or a style, or a fit, or whatever they've termed it) that sits well on you. Then buy those pants -- and get them tailor-adjusted for a perfect fit.

Trouser Cuffs

The choice between trousers with a visible, doubled cuff and trousers with a smooth hem is a fairly easy one.

Cuffs are, without exception, the less formal option. They're designed for practicality, not for looks: the doubled cuff resists wear and tear longer than a single edge, and a tattered cuff can easily be folded over just a touch further and stitched back into place to create a brand-new, unfrayed cuff.

Jeans, khakis, chinos, and other casual trousers typically have visible cuffs. You can get them removed and have the pants hemmed without a cuff, if you want to and the trousers have enough extra length, but jeans in particular will look a little odd without the cuff.

Dress slacks usually do
not
have cuffs, nor do suit trousers. They're not technically inappropriate on a casual suit worn for social purposes, but they'll still look out of place.

Be aware that most slacks, especially ones from more upscale brands, are sold unhemmed with the assumption that you will take them to a tailor for a custom adjustment (some stores will do the adjustment in-house). You're never supposed to take them home and wear them as-is. The legs will be much too long, unless you're very tall for your size range, and the unhemmed edge will fray easily.

Take anything that doesn't come with a cuff already in place to a tailor's, and have them adjusted to your measurement while wearing the kind of shoes you're going to regularly wear with the trousers.

Trouser Pleats

Fashion writers love to argue about pleats, because it's an argument that can never be settled. Trouser pleats are going to come in and out of fashion over the years, no matter what we do or say about the look.

Here's the simple approach: don't get pleated trousers unless you want the specific benefit of pleats.

That benefit is, basically, the ability to add flexibility and stretch to the front of your trousers. If you're a very heavyset or muscular man who has a lot of width between the trouser waist and the thighs, pleats can help keep the front of the trousers a little smaller than they would need to be to allow you freedom of movement without pleats.

Beyond that, they don't serve much purpose, and they're a needless bit of visual clutter. So don't bother, unless your lap area runs toward the broad and you find unpleated trousers too constricting.

Suspenders vs. Belts

You can wear either suspenders or a belt with most pairs of trousers.

What you should never wear is both, or nothing at all. Have exactly
one
type of support for your pants, whatever they may be.

Belts are the default for most men, and they work fine -- match the color of the belt to the color of your shoes, and the color of the buckle to the color of any other metals in your outfit, and you're good to go. (Broad families are fine here: if the shoes are brown and the belt is brown you're fine; they don't have to be the exact same
shade
of brown).

Suspenders are less common, but they're worth trying out, especially for high-riding dress slacks. They give the trousers a smoother drape than a belt -- there's no cinching at the waist, which can cause wrinkles, and the trouser front is held off the body just a tiny bit, so that it falls almost like a curtain in front of your body.

The best suspenders will have leather tabs with buttons on them, which attach to corresponding tabs on the inside of the trouser waist. Suspenders with metal clips will work with any sort of pants, but they are less dressy, and also harder on the trouser fabric.

Formal trousers always require suspenders, and only the tab-style kind should be used with them. Belts and clip-style suspenders will never pass muster with formal or semiformal attire.

Trouser Styles

The terminology of men's trouser styles can get confused. Not everyone is clear on the difference between khakis and chinos, for example, and reading a blog post about the history of the words -- while interesting -- doesn't really help with trouser shopping.

Without diving too deep into any backstories or trivia here, we can take a look at the major families of trousers, and let men go from there: