The History
Suits go back longer than one may think. Before I started writing this article, I was pretty sure that they were started in England during the early 19th century. I was despertly wrong. The suit, basically as we know it today, was an innovation of Charles the II in the mid 16th century, 1550 to be exact. In the days of yore, only aristocrats and monarchy wore suits. Unlike those times, these days anyone can wear a suit and anyone can look good if they have it properly fitted. The suit, no matter the style, needs to fit your body, closely. This means all pieces should be cut and tailored appropriate to your form. Surprisingly, this doesn’t require a lot of money ($500 can, in fact, get you a good suit… take a look at kuhlmancompany.com) but it does take an eye, and the guts to not always go with what the clerk suggests, after all… they are working on commission.

Another important factor is the fabric, quality suits are ONLY made of wool or cotton or their variations, for good reasons: less wrinkling and breathable materials. Additional fabrics should not even be taken into consideration. I found a good quote regarding how a suit should look: (the source to this in not to be found) Suits have to be “properly masculine, politically necessary, socially useful, ethically neutral, economically beneficial and consistent with aristocratic definitions of manliness".

Some Important Rules
Now… for the rules on wearing a suit. A suit jacket goes with suit pants, not jeans or chinos. If you want the casual/cool look, buy a casual jacket like a sport coat or blazer. You should feel comfortable and confident, if not, try other suits. Lastly, unless you are a high profile business man, you don’t need 10 suits; you only need two -four depending on your job. To keep these suits in good condition, dry clean once a year, NEVER attempt cleaning or ironing a suit yourself.

Buttoning rules:
Two-button jacket: Button the top button, only, ever. Very easy!
Three-button jacket: Button either the middle button alone or the top two. Note: the bottom button does not EVER need to be buttoned.

The Suits
1. The Standard Blue: Great for business, lunches, summer dinners, or casual parties. Can be worn with black or brown shoes, even white if you’re daring. Reflects well by a pool. Standard blue means navy, with no room for paler shades, even if you went to UNC.

2. The Classic Gray: Appropriate for everything and even makes a red-head look dandy. Grays also are the best with patterns, especially anything in the chevron family. Start with plain, move to window-pane. Even such, the gray is never controversial. It’s the Switzerland of suits.

3. The Basic Black: A favorite and the perennial classic, it’s a fit at the Oscars or your sister’s wedding, the perfect compliment to a good white shirt, beloved by gangsters, designers, and undertakers (those jobs with the highest doses of fashion-conscious aptitudes; respectively, aggression, vanity, and wisdom). If you only own one suit, this is it. You can even be buried in it.

4. Any of the above, with pinstripes.
(these four suit types come directly from an article written by David Schmidt).

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