What Shoes to Wear at a Beach Wedding in Mexico – Wedding Attire.

One of our readers recently emailed us asking: “My son plans on wearing a white cotton poplin suit 2 button suit for his beach wedding in Mexico.  While the wedding itself is on the sand and he will be barefoot, the reception will be held at a villa on a hill and will include a seated dinner and dancing.  What shoes would you suggest?  Must they be lace up dress shoes or are any type of loafer/slip on ok?”

First of all, let us start off by saying… fun, fun, fun! Wish we were there! To answer this question simply, as the occasion is formal, lace up shoes are preferable (they always are in formal settings – especially since the reception is indoors).  We recently wrote a blog post about what shoes to wear for different occasions that touched on this:

“For more formal occasions, go for lace-up shoes rather than slip ons. Closed laced shoes are also preferred over open laced shoes.If you’re wondering what the difference is, closed laces are what you call shoes that have a V shape where they get tied together. Open lace shoes have more of a parallel shape where they are tied together.

Remember that when you are wearing dressy shoes, the laces should be tied horizontally as opposed to the criss-cross pattern most commonly associated with athletic shoes.”

Hope this helps!

Tie Wearing Contest – Fun at Work with Your Ties

One of our Readers recently emailed us to tell us about a Tie wearing competition that they had at work. Each day, these two individuals would wear a different tie and would post pictures on the internet (http://tieordie.com). The goal was to have individuals rank their ties so that they could determine a winner. Here is a snapshot of the ties that they wore in the process:

We thought this was pretty creative! Good job guys

Interpreting the Invitation Card, What to Wear? – Suits, Ties, Cufflinks, etc…

Occasionally, we get an invitation card in the mail requesting our presence at a formal networking event, a dinner, or even a wedding… When we do, it’s always a struggle to determine exactly what to wear. Wouldn’t it be nice if they just told you explicitly what to wear? Not necessarily… If you think about it, this ability to interpret the invitation card is what separates the truly fashionable from everyone else. After all, we are the SuitUpp guys… we should be able to tell from how to dress. We were having this discussion with the crew this past week and we decided that it would be nice to give our readers a guideline to use so that you too could call yourself a SuitUpp guy… or should we say SuitUpp Gentleman?

Black Tie: Most people know that when you read these words on the invitation card, it means that you’re going to pull the tux out of the closet or head to the rental store. While it is true that some people still don’t wear a tux when they see these magical words, hopefully, our readers aren’t in that category. After all, we all love the opportunity to show off the tux don’t we?

Black Tie Optional: This basically means that you should really wear a tux but a dark suit will also do. French-cuffed shirts are recommended.

Semi Formal: This means grab your dark suit. If you are looking for an example of a suit that would fall into this category, check out this Sean John Charcoal 3 Piece Suit. A three piece suit generally adds another level of formality to what you are wearing.

Smart Casual /Elegant Casual: Restaurants will typically use this terminology. The point is to give guests some freedom as to what to wear. We recommend wearing a jacket and no tie. A nice dress shirt or even a polo shirt will go with your outfit – no jeans though.

Business Attire: Suit, Dress Shirt, and Tie – no ambiguity here.

Summer Events: White dinner jackets or a Pale Linen Suit is a good idea.

Other Tips:
1) When in doubt wear dark.
2) If possible, call your host and ask what they mean in the invitation if you are not clear – don’t be shy.
3) Never appear disheveled. Shave, Shower, and Comb – Put on a Smile and tout a firm handshake.

Half Windsor Knot – How to Tie a Tie – Part IV

Since we talked to you about the Windsor Tie Knot last time, we’ll talk to you about a modification of that as well: the Half Windsor Tie Knot! This is how it’s done…

Once you learn this stuff, if you need some new ties to practice on, make sure to check out our Fall 2009 Collection of Ties

1) Cross over the thick end of your tie over the thin end.

2) Bring the wide end back underneath the thin end of the tie.

3) Now flip over the wide end through the main loop of the tie such that it ends up behind the thin end.

4) Now move the wide end to the right side.

5) Flip the wide end through the main loop of the tie again (but don’t bring it down yet).

6) Now carefully pull through the wide end through the knot of the tie, and tighten it from there… and you’re done!

Thanks again to the guys from Harry Rosen’s for providing the images for this post!

Windsor Tie Knot – How to Tie a Tie Part III

One of the most popular tie knots is the Windsor Tie Knot and so we’re dedicating this blog post to talk about how it’s done Oh… and afterwards, you should really check out our tie of the month

1) As with most tie knots, just grab the wide end and cross it over the thin end.

2) Take the wide end and flip it through the wide end once and then bring it down.

3) Grab the wide end and bring it right behind the thin end to the right and hold it up.

4) Now take the wide end and flip it through the loop and then cross it to the right side again (this time in front of the thin end).

5) Pass the wide end through the main loop of the necktie again.

6) Pull the wide end through the fold of the tie, adjust, and slide knot up until perfect.

Thanks again to the guys from Harry Rosen’s for providing the images for this post!

How to Tie a “Milanese” Tie Knot – How to Tie a Tie – Part II

We love ties here at SuitUpp as you can tell from our tie of the month.
So, we figured that we’d show you in a 6 part series how to tie some of the more famous tie knots. In this post we’ll be showing you how to tie a Milanese tie knot.

1) Cross the wide end over the thin end and hold it in place.

2) Wrap the tie over the center point.

3) Once more time now. Wrap the tie over this center point again.

4) Now take this wide end of the tie and bring it up through the main loop of the tie.

5) Now pass through the wide end through the knot that we created in the previous steps.

6) Pull the wide end to the side a bit so you can tighten it.

7) Now, you can adjust the knot a bit until it looks good and then just bring up the knot to the collar point of your shirt and we’re done!

Credits: Thanks to the Harry Rosen guys for the tie pictures.

How to tie a “Four in Hand” Tie Knot – How to Tie a Tie – Part I

We love ties here at SuitUpp as you can tell from our tie of the month.
So, we figured that we’d show you in a 6 part series how to tie some of the more famous tie knots. We’ll kick things off by showing you how to tie a four in hand knot.

1) Start with the wide end of your tie on the right. Position the wide end so that it is about 1 foot longer than the thin end. Now cross the wide end over the thin end.
2) Now bring the wide end back underneath.
3) One more time now. Twist the wide end over the thin end again.

4) Pass the wide end through the main loop of your tie (from underneath).
5) Now, very carefully, pass the wide end through the knot created by the last two loops that we just created (bring this end down vertically).
6) Some tightening and slide knot up a bit – and we’re done

Credits: Images are a courtesy of the guys over at Harry Rosen’s. Thanks dudes

How to Neatly Pack Your Suitcase – Suits, Pants, Socks, Shirts, Ties, Belts – For Men

Here at SuitUpp we occasionally travel and we know that it’s not easy to pack your suitcase properly. There are so many ways to pack your suitcase but it’s important to fit more and of course avoid creases in the process. For this reason, in this blog post, we’re going to teach you some tips and tricks to be aware of when packing your suitcase for travel.

Packing Your Shoes and Belts:

When it comes to shoes and belts, try and put them in a plastic bag so that they don’t damage the rest of your clothes. Once done, make sure to put these items alongside the spine of the suitcase so that when the suitcase is carried, these items are placed at the bottom of your bag.

Packing Your Pants:

Don’t fold up your pants. Simply lay them down in the suitcase with the bottom of the pants hanging out of the suitcase. This will help avoid creasing. Don’t worry, we don’t expect you to leave the bottom part of your pants hanging out of the suitcase – we’ll tell you what to do with the bottom part in a bit – for now, leave them there

Packing Shirts and Sweaters:

Continue to neatly and evenly place your folded shirts/sweaters on top of your pants. Once done, fold back your pants over into your suitcase.

Folding Your Suit Jacket:

First lay your suit face up. Now put a piece of plastic on top of the suit and then fold the arms of the jacket over the piece of plastic. Once you’ve done this, fold the top 1/3 of the jacket over. Now, do the same thing with the bottom 1/3 of the jacket. Put the folded jacket into a dry cleaning bag and then put it into your suitcase.

Final Tips in Packing Your Suitcase:

Make sure that you suitcase is firmly packed (obviously not so much so that it is about to burst) as this will leave less room for the clothes to wiggle around in and cause creasing (use socks and ties to fill up empty spaces in your suitcase). Also, ensure that there is nothing left in the pockets of any of the garments you’ve packed.

It’s best to put breakable items in your carry-on; but, if you must put them in your suitcase, put them in the middle of some clothes to provide extra cushioning. As for wool items, put them in a bag so none of the wool material rubs off on the rest of your clothes.

When you do get to your final destination, unpack quickly and hang your clothes. Good Luck!

To Shave or Not to Shave… that is the Question! Advice for Men – Part II

While it is true that most men shave (All of the SuitUpp.com team happens to shave – just thought we’d mention that as a sidenote), it is also possible to look good unshaven. Our dear old celebrities have proven this to us over and over again. Here’s Brad Pitt:

Here is Mel Gibson:

and finally, here is Jake Gyllenhaal:

All of these men have beards. Because it is also true that they are often clean shaven, the question arises as to when men should shave and when they should let their facial hair grow! First and foremost, formal occasions generally call for men to be clean shaven. This advice particularly applies to men who do not typically wear a beard. In other words, if you are having a formal breakfast the next day, starting to grow a beard by not shaving right before the breakfast is a bad idea. However, if you already have a beard, then don’t shave it before the breakfast. The second thing to keep in mind is the age group of the people who will be participating in the breakfast/event. The older you are, the more you’ll tend to believe in shaving (that’s somewhat of a generalization… but it’s mostly true as far as we’re concerned).

If you are going to grow a beard, make sure that you can actually grow a beard and not just scruff. Scruff just doesn’t look good (sorry guys). Furthermore, while growing a beard (i.e. in the early stages), you should make sure to exfoliate as that will get rid of dead skin cells and will help your beard grow better and look better until it covers enough of you skin. Some men, of course, can grow a beard very fast – in which case exfoliating is not as necessary.

Of course, it is recommended that you don’t shaven during playoffs and staying unshaved on a Saturday while wearing jeans and a t-shirt is also cool. If you’re going out clubbing with jeans and have a cool new look to try on, we do recommend that as well. Be bold, try something new! Stand Out!

Btw, feel free to send us your unshaven look and we’ll be happy to post it!

Hugo Boss – Tie Collection

Come and check out Suitupp.com’s new and improved Tie Collection!