Thin or wide suspenders? How to choose the right width
For such a relatively slim piece of fabric, suspenders sure encourage some strong opinions, in particular issues to do with the “right” width. While subtle changes can dramatically impact your entire look, the easiest rule-of -thumb to remember that suspender style happens on a scale: the skinnier the suspender, the more casual the look, while at the wider end of the spectrum, they become classic and even formal.
SUSPENDERS THAT POINT NORTH BY NORTHWEST
Although it was set in the 1960s, the dripping-in-style series Mad Men was actually influenced by an earlier, more elegant era portrayed in the classic 1959 film North by Northwest. It featured an impeccable, now-iconic gray suit in a shade of just-so gray created by Savile Row bespoke tailor Kilgour. Oh, and the movie also starred Cary Grant and was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. “Hitchcock made everybody in the picture dress in a classic style,” explains The Telegraph in an interesting piece on why the look of the movie continues to exert such influence. “He didn’t want the picture to date because of the clothes.”
THINK PINK!
Ever since the “rosy-fingered dawn” crept into Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, around 800 BCE, the color pink has appeared in literature and art. It is commonly associated with all things romantic, beautiful, sweet and to do with love. Pair it with black, however, and it enters the delicious territory of seduction.
YELLOW IS PERFECT FOR A FELLOW
GRAY’ING AWAY ANY WARDROBE BLAHS
Few colors of clothing and accessories say “money” like gray - it’s sophisticated, muted and always appropriate. “According to color psychology,” explains California-based stylist Nicole Busch of Share Some Style, gray is “elegant and formal. Gray is a chameleon,” she continues. “It conforms, especially when paired with other colors.” She suggests pairings that feature an aristocratic tone like camel. “Nothing says rich and polished like that combination.”
SUSPENDERS WITH A BLUE STREAK
The great thing about suspenders in blue is that it’s a hue that already keys in with all that blue you already wear every day in the form of denim: jeans, trousers, jackets and shirts. So it’s an easy accessory to incorporate into your existing wardrobe with little muss or fuss - although, done right, blue suspenders can certainly cause a fashion fuss...for all the right reasons.
Here are some stylish ways to integrate blue suspenders into your look.
PLAYING WITH PURPLE
First things first: like the always-awesome Jonah Hill, you too can wear purple suspenders. No, really. Since they’re an uncommon sight, you’ll stand out (in a good way), telling others how you dare to be badass and bold, sartorially-speaking.
