Welcome back to the Gentleman's gazette!
In today's video, we discuss for your body type, what things to avoid, and general tips
you should consider if you want to look great.
Before we discuss the different body types, let's focus on some general tips that apply
to all body types.
The goal is to invest in clothes that flatter you, that highlight your strengths, and make
your weaknesses advantageous.
For example, if you have a t-shirt or a polo shirt, they'e very thin, it's just one layer
of fabric and it's much harder to hide the imperfection in your body.
On the other hand, if you wear a suit, you have a much more structured garment that can
glide over things, hide things, and make you look really really dapper.
You may not like it but human beings like proportional looks and proportions change
with the society you live in, as well as age but overall, a non-extreme look will always
be more timeless and classic and flattering for you.
So if you have really wide shoulders, you want to give the appearance of being a little
slimmer.
If you have very slim shoulders, you want to give the appearance of being a little wider.
Overall, the extremes are something you want to avoid.
Of course, if you look back in history and look at the 1920's, you saw men with slim
pants and slim jackets, the 30's had changed; everything got wider, you had more drape,
wider lapels, full cut trousers with a high-rise.
The 40's were impacted by the war so you saw single breasted jackets, no double-breasted
jackets because they had to save fabric.
The 50's, things got slimmer again; skinny ties, skinny lapels. 70's everything was bolder,
bigger and in the 80's, you had these unstructured garments with lots of shoulder padding.
So over time, the sense of proportions change.
But if you wear a suit with a lapel that's about 3-3 1/2 inches, that's neither too slim
nor too wide, you could have worn that throughout history and never be out of style.
You may not always be trendy but having a timeless wardrobe that stands the test of
time means you'll always look stylish without being over the top fashionable.
It's essential that you have your clothing tailored because only that way can you highlight
what works and make sure that the sleeve length is correct because most of us, including me
have one arm that is longer than the other.
Also, make sure to dress for the body you have today because if you aspire to something
in the future, you may end up with a suit that just doesn't look good and you may never
get there.
So the first thing you want to understand is what your body type is and we'll go over
that in a moment.
For example, both of my shoulders are sloped but this one is about 2 inches lower than
this one.
So with a suit, you can add a different amount of padding and make it level so it looks rather
advantageous and not off.
So my shoulders look far more level in a suit than they look in a polo shirt and it's okay
because a tailor can either add more shoulder padding and leave it out but cut it in a way
so you get fewer wrinkles.
First body type we discuss is the rectangular body type.
It's a proportional look and it means that the width of your shoulders is about as wide
as your hips, it's a very masculine style and something all of men aspire to.
If you're lucky enough to have that body style, there's hardly anything you can't wear because
most of the things will look good on you even if they come off the rack.
Overall, if you wear something, make sure it's consistent.
Let's say you get a suit that is wider on top that has wider lapels, you also want wider
pants.
If you go with a slimmer lapel, let's say about 3 inches, make sure your pants are also
cut trimmer.
Basically, you want to keep it proportional throughout and not have something that is
extremely wide on top and extremely slim at the bottom.
Rectangle can be different things, it can be a slim rectangle or a wider rectangle.
Overall, you want to strive for something in the middle so if you are very skinny, you
should get something that is about 3 1/2 inches in the lapels with some kind of fullness but
nothing that is too skinny.
Same thing if you are very wide, you don't want to emphasize that even further and maybe
go with something a little slimmer.
Something that works really nice with your body type is a vest or a waistcoat because
it covers your middle section but it just highlights your framework and it's always
very advantageous.
You can also wear bolder patterns such as houndstooth, wider stripes, or windowpanes,
because they are quite flattering for your type.
If you are shorter and wider but still rectangular, I suggest not to wear any skinny clothes because
otherwise, they make you look wider and proportion to your lapels therefore, you want something
that's at least 3 1/4, maybe 3 1/2 inches wide in the lapels so it looks advantageous
and flattering.
For reference, you measure the lapel width 90 degree to the angle until it reaches in
here, so that would be the lapel width.
People of regular height can have a buttoning point that is around the natural waist which
is the belly button.
If you're a little shorter, you should move that up a little bit so that gives you a longer
neckline and makes you look taller.
If you are a shorter rectangular body type, I suggest you stick with smaller patterns;
stripes that are closer together because overall, it makes you look taller and proportion to
the patterns.
However, if you're a tall guy, you wear bigger patterns because overall, it doesn't make
you stand out too much.
The next body type is triangular body type.
It's called that way because your hips are wider than your shoulders.
Oftentimes, it also means you have sloped shoulders and to counteract that, you can
add a little bit of shoulder padding so they're built up and look more like a rectangular
body type.
Because your hips are wider, you should try to go for a neatly cut jacket that doesn't
emphasize the width of your hip.
You also want to wear pants that sit in your natural waist and you want to avoid a belt
because it just adds that extra width to your hips which are already wide.
Most of the time, men with a triangular body type have a slimmer chest and to give them
a little bit more fullness, it's suggested to get a little bit of drape.
Drape is extra fabric over your shoulder blades, your chest, to just make you look more muscular.
To learn more about drape, please check out this post on our website, here.
You definitely want to avoid low buttoning point that's close to your hips because it
will just emphasize the width of your hips even more.
I suggest you go with wider lapels, especially peak lapels because they make the top part
of your body wider than it actually is.
Does not matter if it's a single breasted or double-breasted jacket, both will look
good as long as the lapels are wide.
I suggest 3.75 or even 4 inches for a proper look.
If you go with overcoats, I suggest you go with something like a trench coat and get
some epaulets because it builds up your shoulder visually and flatters your body type.
Avoid skinny pants that sit too low on your hips, rather go with fuller cut trouser and
a higher rise on your natural waist, it's not just more comfortable but it's also more
flattering for your specific body type.
If you have bigger thighs like me, I suggest you get pleats, personally I like double inward
facing pleats because it gives me more room especially when I sit and walk.
I suggest you go with suspenders or if you don't like them and the feeling on your shoulders,
you can go with side adjusters.
Don't get anything that makes your hips wider.
The next body type is the inverted triangle.
It's the opposite of what we had before.
It's when your shoulders are wider than your bottom section.
Usually it's a silhouette that's found in men who like to work out especially their
upper body and so sometimes, their legs are very thin and so the look can almost get comical
when you are just too muscular on top and you look like a football player.
While many men strive to be more muscular, this is a very difficult body type to tailor
for.
Again, you want to look proportional which means your top has to look slightly slimmer
and your bottom slightly wider.
No worries!
People will still be able to see that you're working out.
So therefore, unless you have sloped shoulders, I suggest you avoid shoulder pads.
You want to go with a slimmer cut trim jacket just make sure that you have enough space
in your sleeves so you can move because with bigger arms, that may be an area where you
have issues when you want to move around freely.
Definitely avoid wide peak lapels and go for something slimmer, maybe 3 and a quarter inches
and notched lapels.
Ideally, single breasted only because otherwise, it looks too wide and you're already wide
on top and you don't want to look even wider.
However, don't go overly skinny because otherwise it looks comical.
If your body type is the inverted triangle, you should probably try to get something custom
made because off the rack things will hardly ever fit you because you are just too big
on top and so you are likely to size up but that means everything gets wider and everything
is slimmer at the bottom so try to have something custom made with someone who has experience
with tailoring garments for guys who workout.
Something I see with men who are muscular in the chest is a brake in the lapel when
they stand and so it's something your tailor has to accommodate for, you just need more
width up here.
Because you want to emphasize the bottom part, I suggest not to go with skinny pants, go
with something that's cut a little fuller so overall look is more proportional.
In theory, the boot cut is a good idea but honestly, it looks rather dated and so I suggest
you go with a straight leg and not a boot cut.
The next body type is the trapezoid.
It's basically wide in the shoulders and then not super slim but slightly slimmer on the
hips.
It's also a very masculine look and it's somewhere in between rectangular and inverted triangle.
Basically, you can wear almost anything but I suggest that you avoid something extremely
wide on top and at the bottom, you can even go with something slimmer; slimmer fit pants
or some fuller cut pants because you're not overly slim down there.
Again, avoid the extremes, no super wide lapels with super skinny pants.
Otherwise, you can basically wear anything.
Next up is the oval body type.
It's usually men who have a stronger mid-section, have a few extra pounds on their hips but
you can still look great.
The goal for you is to focus attention away from your mid-section which you can do for
example, by wearing a vest.
It helps you slim down your mid-section and emphasize your overall dapperness.
Also, a jacket helps you because it's more structured, it builds up your hips, and your
chest and in combination with the vest particularly in dark colors, you can look very dapper and
you can look much slimmer than you actually are.
Again, you want to avoid belts and go with suspenders instead with pants that are a little
more high-waisted because it gives you that long leg line and it makes you look overall,
slimmer.
Definitely get pleated pants because you want the extra width and for your body type, it's
just more flattering.
You want to avoid double-breasted garments because they make you look wider and you want
to stay away from super skinny looks because they also make you look proportionally bigger
than you are.
If you want to look really stylish, I suggest you go with three-piece suits that are matching
in dark colors, maybe even with a stripe because that way you will look like a million bucks.
Definitely go for vertical stripes not horizontal ones, because they make you look slimmer.
Don't make the mistake to try to get a jacket that is too tight but once you have a vest,
the advantage is that you wear your jacket unbuttoned which is comfortable and it makes
you look even slimmer.
One thing I see a lot of times with men in oval body type shape is they have ties that
are really long and they drape along the belly and sometimes extend beyond the waistband.
That's a very unfavorable look because it highlights your crotch area and makes you
look big.
Therefore, tie your ties a little shorter and ideally, wear them underneath the vest
so you look really good.
So if you wonder, my body type is kind of a mix.
For example, I have very wide hips so that would make me more of a triangle.
Luckily tough, I don't have a small chest but I have very sloped shoulders so personally,
I prefer to wear pants with pleats, that are on my natural waist.
I prefer to wear suspenders and I like to wear all kinds of suits.I stay away from super
skinny lapels, i go with medium wide ones to wide ones like double breasted, I like
single breasted with notched and peaked lapels and I try to have collars that are nicely
sized and flatter my face meaning they are not super wide and not super pointed but overall,
I try to keep it balanced and that way, I've been able to wear suits and garments for many
years without ever going out of style.
now that you know how you should dress for your body type, I suggest you also check out
our other videos on dress shirts, suits, basic clothing items, and of course, dress shoes.
Simply head over to our channel and check it out.
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