Mandarin Suit

The mandarin suit is less well known than its relatives, the Italian, British and American styles of mens suits, but it is the perfect attire for some occasions. Inspired by the lines of menswear in the east, this suit style might not be what you would choose for a highly formal occasion, but it has its place among the business suits in many a savvy dresser's wardrobe.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of the mandarin suit, think of the Nehru jacket, or the jackets worn by the rather more controversial Chairman Mao. Imported into western tradition, mandarin style mens suits have found their way into business suit ranges, and even into the realms of formal wear, including tuxedo design.

The hallmark of the mandarin style is the collar on the jacket. This is a small, upright collar band. It does not fold over, in the sense in which we are more used to understanding the word "collar" in western traditions. If you have never seen this style you might be surprised to see how they have been taken up by contemporary designers, in the western world as well as their eastern homeland.

The modern mandarin collar suit has the elegance you might expect if you are familiar with the lines of oriental art. The jacket is sleek, snug and simple-without fussiness or unnecessary detail. Depending on the materials and colors used, the suit can be just as stylish as a designer suit by a big name Italian designer, and has earned its place in the pantheon of business suits. In light colours and linen and similar fabrics, this style of suit can also be summery and elegantly casual.




The look of these mens suits is clean and minimalist, with the jacket often substantially longer than jacket of a conventional suit. Without the V-shaped "gorge" of the conventional suit, the mandarin jacket will usually also have a number of buttons. The eye is drawn to the vertical, making this a flattering jacket style for men of shorter stature, although long jackets should be approached with caution by men with shorter legs. The length of the jacket tends to emphasise the torso, at the expense of leg length.

Mandarin suit styles aren't just for people whose roots lie in eastern lands. If you have an individualistic sense of style, or a dislike for conventional suits, then the great thing about this oriental style is that it is still unusual enough to make a bold statement. A big bonus for some men is this: with a mandarin collar, you simply can't add a tie, even if you want to, although you'll have to have appropriate shirts to wear these distinctive business suits with. If you want to make a slightly different fashion statement, this could be one of the suit styles that will help you do that.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Dressing Tips For Short Height Person

In order to achieve a taller appearance, you must establish a unified look from top to bottom that uses vertical lines, smooth transitions and thematic consistency. The goal is for people to perceive you either in passing glance or by general perception as a whole and not broken up in parts. Below are the top ten tips tactics (in no particular order) on how to look taller.

Short Hair:
Be sure to keep your hair short and neatly trimmed. Shorter hair allows us to see your neck and well trimmed short hair can create visual lines from the back of your neck up behind your ears, tapering into the body of your hair. Long hair hides your neck and forces our sightlines to naturally follow the growth of the hair down

Fit:
there are two aspects to "Fit" that are critical to appearing taller. First, your clothes must fit you well. Oversized or to tight, either way poorly fitted clothes accentuate every aspect of your body that you would prefer others to ignore. If you're not a tall man and want to build in good practices to appearing taller, be sure to find a good tailor and get your clothes fitting you as best you can. The second "Fit" element is your physical fitness. Shorter men who wish to appear taller must pay close attention to their fitness level. Being vertically challenged is no fault of your own but being unfit is all you!

Vertical patterns:
Stick with pin stripes or vertical patterns and absolutely avoid horizontal, big or loud patterns - simple as that!

Trousers:
Pleated Trousers are best to achieve a vertical sight line. A single pleat is recommended, much more in the way of fabric can defeat the purpose. Cuffs are not helpful in achieving height as they create unnecessary horizontal lines so go without cuffs.




Shoes:
Mens dress shoes typically have heels and most men do wear heeled dress shoes so be sure not to put yourself at a further disadvantage by wearing flat shoes. Incorporate heeled shoes into your work and causal wear wardrobe.

Monochromatic color scheme from top to bottom:
This tactic is one of the most important in order to achieve that unified look. Monochrome implies one color using different "tints and shades" of that same color. Staying with one hue (color) helps establish that unified and consistent theme. Here is a great example using black in a monochrome color scheme...black dress shoes, black socks, black trousers, black belt and a fitted long sleeved dark grey v-neck merino wool sweater.

Shirts:
dress shirt collars should be classic straight or narrow shirt collars with elongated collar tips. Sweaters should be v-neck not rounded. Skinny or slender neck ties with smaller knots, no bow ties. Again, our goal is vertical lines, bow ties and spread collars are horizontal and should be avoided.

Belt:
We always suggest your belt should match your shoes. We continue to stand behind this recommendation however, if can, get yourself dark brown or black dress shoes and let them become staples in your wardrobe. If you're hoping to achieve tall points having a noticeable horizontal element like a belt is bad news. Use a belt that is darker than your trousers, avoid thick belts, avoid clunky buckles and don't violate the match your shoes rule.

Jackets:
Single breasted is your best option. Never double breasted! Follow the tactics like pinstripes or vertical patterns, monochrome color schemes and above all be sure your jacket is tailored to fit you. A nicely tailored 3 button single breasted jacket will server your needs perfectly.

Posture etc:
You should not have to be told, if you're below average in height you don't have the latitude for poor posture. Don't slouch, stand up-right, project your confidence, walk with purpose, be assertive, speak clearly, definitively and in controlled lower tones...That's how to look taller!

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com