The time has come! Hopefully you’ve already acquired a nice charcoal suit and a navy suit, as those are your staple pieces. Now it’s time to step your suit game up and get something a bit more bold. I want to talk to you today about my experience in doing this with Indochino. They’re a made to measure suiting brand that has amazing fitting services and a HUGE variety of fabrics and patterns from which to choose. You can customize everything from the style of jacket, the buttons on the sleeve, to the embroidered label inside the breast of the jacket. Mine says “PYS, THE LOOKSMITH”. How cool is that?!

Having a bold suit is a right of passage as a man. It’s saying that you are embracing the fact that suits are an essential part of your wardrobe, but that you also are man enough to rock something out of the ordinary. Here is everything you need to know about getting your first bold suit.

What to Get

I understand that my suit is outrageous. If you’re in the market for something a bit different than what you already have, you don’t have to go TOTALLY crazy and get pink. If your style dictates something like a simple windowpane plaid or heavier pinstripe, that’s great. A bold suit doesn’t need to scream with color, it can be a different pattern or simply a slightly lighter shade of blue than you already own. It’s up to you!

Consider the Occasion

If you are going to go extremely bold, then consider the occasions when you can wear the suit. You probably don’t want to wear something loud and bright to a wedding, so think about the times when you are going to wear it and decide on a color and design that’s suitable for such an occasion. I attend a lot of events and things when I can showcase my personality through style, so pink was suitable. If you’re just wanting something to wear out on the weekend, grab a light gray plaid or a fun shade of olive green.

How to Style

When styling a really bold suit, it’s typically best to let the suit itself do the talking. I just so happen to also own pink shoes, so I couldn’t resist throwing those into the mix, but in terms of your accessories, you probably want to tone things down a bit. Go with a simple shirt like plain white or something with a very subtle pattern. Too much boldness in one package starts to look sloppy. For the tie, pick a complimentary color. For me, it was a purple and pink theme, so the tie is a nice eggplant with deep pink dots and the pocket square is a deeper pink than the suit itself. It all matches nicely, but also keeps it interesting with different patterns.

Consider Versatility

Obviously if you’re going to invest in a suit, you want to be able to wear it in multiple different ways. A color like pink ought to be able to be styled in a more casual way since it’s often going to be worn during the daytime. I thought it was a fun idea to completely contrast the warmness of the pink with a cold color like black. It’s a very stark difference but almost makes the pink stand out even more. If you get a suit that’s a bit less bright, consider a solid color palette as your base under the suit, but black won’t work with everything.

Match Your Accessories

The classic black wingtips and the simple black pocket square were an easy addition that complimented the black shirt nicely. It’s almost as though you’re dressing extremely classically but also making a bold move at the same time, which is a fun juxtaposition.

Realistically, by sticking to all of the classic moves you probably always make and simply subbing in the bold suit, you’ll be looking great and making a fun statement!

Be sure to check out Indochino! They’re customization service is amazing and the fit of their product is pretty unbeatable without going full-on bespoke.

I’d love to see you guys style a bold suit! Tag me @parkeryorksmith on IG or email me photos at parker@thelooksmith.com!

About the author

I'm Parker York Smith, a curious dude still very much figuring everything out. I hail from the Midwest but have been dwelling in Los Angeles for the last few years being a pretty stereotypical west coast transplant. I'm a fashion geek, I love to walk (a LOT) and I do my best to find the bright side. I'm extremely excited about this blog and hope that (with some hard work and luck) it turns into what I believe it can. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please get in touch with me via my social networks (which can be found in the sidebar) or email me at parker@thelooksmith.com.

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