Event Dressing 101: How to Wear Colourful Tailoring
A guide to getting away with wearing your brightest suits, jackets, and trousers throughout event season.
The warmest days of the year also happen to be the longest, which make for even longer evenings and, most importantly, the most memorable celebrations. It's no surprise, then, that the spring and summer months are when most host their biggest events of the year. From weddings to graduations to get-togethers of all kinds, dressing up and ‘getting down’ come de rigueur.
Enter: colourful tailoring — ideal attire for functions featuring extended sunlight, warm breezes, and immaculate vibes. Here’s everything you need to know about how to pull it off.
Don’t Forget It’s Formal Wear
The first rule of wearing colourful tailoring is to remember that first and foremost it’s still tailoring, which means there are certain rules you still need to play by (no matter late the party goes).
Proportions should fall the tasteful side of playful, jacket sleeves are never meant to be rolled up, and shirt tails must remain tucked into your trousers at all times, among other steadfast sartorial non-negotiables.
Looking for more tailoring need-to-knows? Use these to learn more about styling your suit:
Ask Harry: How to Wear a Sport Jacket
Overall, remember to retain reverence for your tailored items and treat them with the same care you would your best suit. Fast fashion is of no interest to us, which means even the most colourful fabrics must still be of the highest quality.
Complement Your Complexion
It’s considerably easy to overdose on colour therapy, and that’s never a nice sight at a soirée. While we encourage you to push the boundaries of what you might usually wear, finding the right statement shade for you comes down to understanding your complexion.
There are some general rules here you can follow, but the best way to see if a colour works or not is to try it on in front of a mirror. If you’re not sure, ask an honest friend or better yet, a seasoned clothing advisor, for their opinion.
Generally speaking, this is a good rule of thumb:
Fair skin, light hair: wear cooler tones like powder blue and pastel pink.
Fair skin, dark hair: wear earth tones like pistachio green and rich burgundy.
Medium skin, light hair: wear bright tones like piercing blue and emerald green.
Medium skin, dark hair: wear warm tones like brilliant red and hazy orange.
Dark skin, dark hair: wear bright tones like deep indigo and electric yellow.
Keep it Simple
When wearing boldly-coloured tailoring, it goes without saying that your suit itself should be the attention-grabber. Accessories should complement, not compete, with your greater look. Outfits that make too much visual noise are overwhelming and hard to comprehend, which means selecting the supporting cast for your event-worthy outfit requires some sartorial self-restraint.
White makes the ultimate canvas for all colours, which is why we recommend it for your shirt or knitwear underpinning. Pure white, off-white, egg-shell white — whatever your preference — just make sure it looks nice next to your suit.
As for shoes and accessories, again, don’t overdo it. A simple pair of leather loafers will go with anything, though for something more casual consider a pair of elevated slip-on sneakers. Your tie (if you elect to wear one) and/or pocket square should also be a simple, solid colour that enhances your suit.
Add a few new shapes to your pocket square repertoire — here’s our advice on How To Fold a Pocket Square.
A Note on Warm-Weather Tailoring
There are more practical times to wear a suit than the height of summer, but that doesn’t mean yours needs to feel impractical in the least.
Tailored pieces made from warm-weather fabrics like linen, seersucker, silk, cotton, and lightweight wools like Fresco and Solaro will keep you the most comfortable in high heats. The same goes for your shirts; linen and seersucker are your best choices.
Linen is one of summer’s most essential fabrics. To learn more about why, read Ask Harry: Linen
Depending on just how formal your event is, you can also think about forgoing accessories like socks and ties, which will only further restrict airflow around your body.
Lastly, if — and only if — you’ve got some genuinely impressive moves up your sleeve is it permitted to remove your jacket and commence cutting shapes on the dance floor.
