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The shoulders of your suit jacket should not be visibly larger than your actual shoulders.

Buying a Man's Suit

Almost every man needs a really good suit, but it's difficult to know exactly what type of suit to invest in. Certain fashion trends come and go, and it can be frustrating to spend a lot of money on a suit that will be stylish and hip one season and outdated the next. To avoid making an accidental fashion faux pas and to guarantee that your next suit will look great for years to come, take some advice from a professional style consultant.

After finishing college in New York, Chicago native Martin Kedzior moved to Los Angeles to work in the fashion and entertainment industry. After working with ABC Daytime publicity, Martin moved on to fashion publicity, and then freelance styling projects with stylists and creative directors such as Victoria Bryner, who choreographed and styled well-known advertising campaigns for the top designers in the business. Currently, Kedzior works as a freelance image consultant, styling individuals and corporations with wardrobes and appearance projects by identifying their desires and needs and bringing out untapped beauty and natural potential. Here he offers advice on buying classic men's suits:

  • The shoulders.
    Kedzior believes that fit is the most important factor in buying a suit. One important rule of thumb is that the shoulders of a suit jacket should not be larger than your actual shoulders. If you buy a suit with oversized shoulders, it may give you a very boxy and dated look.

  • Vents.
    Kedzior prefers jackets with venting, where there are slits on both sides or a single vent in the back. Jackets without vents can tend to make you look bigger than you are, and don't allow you to show off the body shape you've worked so hard to achieve.

  • Three buttons.
    Avoid four button suits, and stick to the classic two or three button styles for a classic, timeless look.

  • Tropical weight.
    Kedzior would also recommend investing some money in a quality tropical weight suit that you can get more than six months use out of. If you're going on vacation and you don't want to look like you just came from the office, choose a suit made of cotton or another lightweight natural fiber, like silk.

For more information about men's style and fashion, check out the following organizations or websites:

Martin Kedzior
www.martinkedzior.com

Men's Fashion at Lycos
fashion.lycos.com/default.asp?id=101

Ask Men.com: Fashion and Lifestyle
www.askmen.com/fashion/index.html

The Style Group: Men's Style
www.thestylegroup.com/menstyle.html

International Male
www.intmale.com

Top Ten Links: Men's Fashion Designers
www.top10links.com/print-page/index.php/Fashion:Designers:Clothes:Mens/ttl_rank/DESC/0/

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