Poor Shirt and Tie Combos

Everyone assumes celebrities always look good whenever they wear a suit and tie.  Why wouldn’t they?  They have stylists ensuring they look good all the time.  In reality, that’s not always the case.  At times, celebrities will make the same style mistakes that other men make, even when dressing up for a big event.  We wanted to highlight a few of these instance and show that some suit, shirt and tie styles just don’t work (even on celebrities).
Now at The Sharp Suit, we don’t believe any style decision is wrong, as long as it fit a man’s personal style.  But there are certain menswear guidelines that can ensure outfits look sharp.  These include being aware of the sizes of stripes and not layering too many crazy patterns in an outfit.  Sometimes men (even celebrities) ignore or forgot these style guidelines, which is perfectly within their right to do.  Just be aware: shirking the guidelines may result in disjointed looks, a few of which we will explore in this post.
Forgetting About Fit
You’ve heard it before – fit is the most important thing to consider when picking out a suit (or any clothes, for that matter).  But some men still don’t realize that ill-fitting clothes can wreck an otherwise stylish outfit.  Shirts need to be the proper length, and jackets should be fitted appropriately through the shoulders and chest.  Pants are also a common problem area for men.  It may be tempting to sag your pants or buy them a little longer in the leg, but all that does is make you seem shorter, look sloppy, and creates an outfit that appears out of proportion.  Ensure your clothes fit properly.  If they do, people will be admiring your style instead of being distracted by your sloppy look.

Ben Glieb on the red carpet. The jacket looks good, but his jeans are too long and the rise is too low. The jeans make him appear shorter than he actually is.
(Courtesy of Ace Show Biz)

Misguided Matching
It may be tempting to match a shirt and tie that are similarly colored, but the results can be bland.  Monotone looks can be a strong style, but are often done best using slightly different shades of a similar color (think navy with a baby blue).  Celebrities have fallen into this trap, sometimes with terrifying results.  The worst instances occur when an identically-patterned shirt and tie are combined.  It’s hard to tell which part is the shirt and which is the tie, and people will be too distracted to notice any other element of the outfit.  Which brings us to our next point…

Don’t wear this outfit Daniel Radcliffe once wore – can you separate the shirt from the tie in this picture?
(Courtesy of Manolo for the Men)

Keep It Under Control
Simply put: don’t combine too many crazy patterns in an outfit.  Don’t layer a striped suit on a striped shirt with a paisley tie.  There result will be way too much activity in your outfit, and it will distract everyone with whom you interact.  No one will remember who you were; they’ll simply remember the insane color or pattern mixture you wore.  A couple of patterns are fine, but don’t repeat any pattern more than twice.  And avoid layering the same pattern on multiple pieces of clothing.  Stripes on a suit paired with a similarly striped shirt will create visual confusion and detract from your style.

There are way too many patterns in this outfit – it’s distracting simply looking at this photo.
(Courtesy of Men’s Styling)

Again, these guidelines are not meant to be followed 100%.  If you can ignore one of them and it works with your personal style, more power to you!  But remember, the guidelines help serve as building blocks for stylish outfits.  Even celebrities that ignore the guidelines can end up wearing some pretty distracting outfits.