The Gray Suit, Right for Every Occasion

A great suit is like an armor: when you’re wearing it, you’re unstoppable! There is something in the fact that you’re wearing an expensive piece of clothing that skyrockets your belief in yourself.

if you’re not the type who needs to wear a suit daily, you probably don’t wear it in the evening or during the weekends, either. Since you don’t want to spend a lot of money on suits of different kinds and colors, you probably want one that you can wear every once in a while.

Is this you? No problem, then, the gray suit to the rescue!

Many corporations use gray suits (along with navy) to dress their employees. It’s a pretty conservative color but you can still stand out if you know how.

Although many don’t like it because it makes you look older, gray contrasts great with all skin complexities. In other words, YOU CAN’T GO WRONG BY WEARING GRAY.

Since we’re talking contrasts, you MUST keep in mind your skin tone before you make your pick. It’s simple: you’re in one of the following three categories: dark skin, medium skin or fair skin. For instance, Bill Clinton has fair skin, David Beckham has medium skin and Ricky Martin has dark skin.

The idea is this: if you have darker skin you should choose a lighter gray, if you have whiter skin you should go for a darker one. If you have medium skin you can go for either one, just try different shades to see which one is best for you.

Is it fashionable? Who wears gray anymore?

A lot of people weary gray but most men prefer to go for blue when it comes to suits. Here’s a few pictures of celebs wearing gray: Taylor Lautner, Brad Pitt and Chris Brown:

photo: socialitelife.celebuzz.com, celebspin.com, ivenus.com

What kind of shirt should I wear with my gray suit?

The gray suit is very flexible: it works with both white shirts and black shirts and, if you want a colored one, you’re free to experiment with some of the shirts that match (for instance, pink or purple).

Before you start looking for the shirt, decide WHERE you will wear it along with your suit. At work or business meetings? At formal dinners or a wedding? At the theater? If it’s a more casual occasion then you can go for a colored shirt, drop the tie and even unbutton a button or two.

photo: z.about.com, asuitthatfits.com

Since you probably already have a few white shirts in your wardrobe, they will match great with your new gray suit…

What about the shoes and the belt?

Again, gray shows us its flexibility. You’re probably way ahead of me thinking that a pair of black shoes and a black belt would go great. Agreed, but black isn’t the only option.
Let’s face it: too many men wear black because they don’t know what else to wear (same goes for women who, when in doubt, they choose the ubiquitous black dress).

Don’t get me wrong, you can look great in a gray suit and shiny black shoes. But why be afraid of brown?

photo: thesartorialist.blogspot.com, celebridoodle.com

Brown will show others you have good taste and that you know how to stand out in formal situations. A word of caution, however: go for dark brown when you pick your shoes. Light brown won’t look good with your gray suit.

What about the tie?

photo: z.about.com

If you’re wearing black belt and shoes, then a tie like the ones in the image above will go great. In fact, go ahead and try out several colors to see which one you like best. (*Tip: Try an orange tie. THis goes very well with gray. Make sure that the two colors have the same shade.)

Why do the ties above work well? The secret is the following:

The patterned gray suit

If you want something more interesting, pick a suit with a herringbone pattern:

At the end, I want to make sure the info in this article really stuck to you. It would mean a lot to me if, unlike the other 99% of men, you would actually apply what you read and skyrocket your style.

Here’s a small quiz for you. Only two questions – easy to do:

1. What are the three main types of skin and which one is closest to YOUR skin type?
2. based on the answer to the previous question, what shade of gray would best suit you?

If you’re a serious style student of mine, you should take at least a couple of minutes to reflect on each question. After that, go through the malls and try on some clothes. You’ll be amazed at the results. 🙂