Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette. In today's video,
we're going to discuss which patterns
will best fit your body type.
[The Gentleman's Gazette theme song plays]
Now, when addressing your body type, the goal may not necessarily be
to make you look taller, shorter, thinner,
or wider. It could be simply to make you look proportional.
Now, perhaps your legs are long, and your torso is short or vice versa, but the goal is to use
patterns on the fabric of your clothing to even these out and, in turn, make you appear
visually more proportional, which will, by proxy, give you the desired appearance of being taller,
shorter, thinner, you name it. Now, let's discuss types of patterns, and to begin, let's look at a
few basics. We'll be looking at patterns such as
checks. Now, these should be familiar to everybody.
A check pattern is one that is typically made up of vertical and horizontal lines that cross over
each other. Now, that's what's going to make these small box shapes. Common check patterns include
Prince of Wales, tartan, gingham, and windowpane.
You can find out more about different types of checks
here. And we will also be covering stripes in today's video. And while stripes may appear
very simple, they can change the overall look of an outfit. So, it's important to get right.
Common stripe patterns include the awning stripe at a quarter of an inch and pencil stripes at an
eighth of an inch. Now, pinstripes are very thin at about 1/30th of an inch and give the
impression of pinpricks. And also, chalk stripes, which can come in thinner or wider patterns.
If you want to learn more about different types of stripes in menswear, check out our video here.
However, before we go any further, let's debunk a few myths. The idea that horizontal stripes make
someone look wider is almost common knowledge, except that an optical illusion discovered in
the 1920s by Hermann von Helmholtz argued the opposite. When placing two identical sized squares
side by side, it was decided that the square with the horizontal stripes actually looked
6% thinner than the vertical stripes. So, that should put the old myth to bed, right?
Well, actually it didn't. "Why," you ask? Because on a 3D body,
especially on someone who is already large,
the horizontal stripes make a person look wider
and they are guiding our eyes outward. The illusion
comes from the perfect 2D square shape rather than from the lines themselves.
So, you should definitely
consider this when choosing patterns for your body type. Now, let's discuss micropatterns.
Now, micropatterns are very small patterns,
sometimes made of repeated imagery. These can come in checks, stripes,
or tartans. They can even come in Macclesfield patterns, which are often used in linings and tie
fabrics. Now, let's discuss large patterns. A large pattern is, well,
the opposite of micropatterns.
So, let's move on. Now, let's talk a bit
about body types. Let's apply this newfound knowledge to our
body types and find out how we can always look our best. Now, it's a good idea to consider all of
these patterns and all of these body types because not everyone's body
will fit into any one category.
And seeing as we wear clothing all over our body, it's important to consider all aspects and
all parts of our body. For example,
you may want to appear taller, but it could be that you have a long
torso and short legs. This would be a good
idea for you to wear striped pants but not striped shirts
as this would also make your torso appear longer and thus ruin the balance. Because of
this, we recommend watching the whole video to get a good grasp on how to use these patterns
for your body type. Now, let's first discuss the wider gentleman. And when it comes to stripes,
if you're a gentleman on the wider side of things, you probably don't want to make yourself look
wider by wearing horizontal stripes. Now, we would definitely recommend wearing vertical stripes over
horizontal stripes, which will help you emphasize your height rather than your width and thus, make
you look more proportional. Also, try wearing thick stripes. Now,
a thin pinstripe, however, will make
you appear bigger in comparison to the pattern. And so, it's better for you to go for thicker
stripes, for example, a chalk stripe, if you want to appear smaller than you actually are. Do not
go for any tiny checks.
Checkered shirts will also not work for you. Opt instead for wide check patterns,
if you want to wear more of a complicated check on a suit,
for example, a Prince of Wales, try to find
it in a bigger pattern rather than on the trendier side where it's much smaller.
Also, a wider pattern,
such as a tartan for a jacket or even a windowpane,
will complement your figure more. Now, when
it comes to other patterns such as for your shirt or tie, also go for bigger patterns here as well,
if only just to match and balance out the rest of your outfit. If you're going for paisley or a
Macclesfield pattern, also go for a bigger print. Now,
you should avoid micropatterns at all costs. These
patterns will make you appear
larger in comparison to the fabric. And you should also avoid bright and
vibrant colors. Vibrant and bright colors make you stick
out against your background and this, in turn,
can make you appear bigger than you actually are.
Instead, opt for more muted colors in your wardrobe.
If you'd like to learn more about how to dress for this body type, we recommend our style guide for
the big and tall man, which you can find here. Now,
that we've covered information about patterns and
how they work with a wider gentleman, let's also discuss thin gentlemen. Now, if you're a thinner
man, the one thing you don't want to be doing is emphasizing how thin you actually are by wearing
wide lapel jackets or tight-fitting pants.
The same goes for the kind of patterns you choose to wear.
If you wish to wear stripes as a thinner gentleman,
you could always opt to wear a horizontal stripe
to better emphasize your width. However, you could also look good in vertical stripes as well.
Now, don't wear bold stripes. If you're a thinner man,
the one thing you don't want to do is emphasize
how thin you are by wearing a bold stripe. Now, doing so will give the illusion that you aren't
as wide as you actually are and, visually, it will look like there are less stripes on your
suit. Fitting more stripes onto your body will give
the illusion that you have more space on your body
to fit those stripes on. This, in turn,
will make you look much wider. You essentially want to scale up
your body size by making other things in your body appear slimmer.
Try wearing thin stripes. For a suit,
the stripes will most likely be well-spaced. Now, this is much better than closer-spaced stripes.
For a shirt, you can afford to go for stripes with closer
spacing. With checks, you can follow the same
principles as with stripes.
Now, don't wear any wide checks. Wide checks run the risk of, again, making
you appear thinner in comparison to the weave of the fabric. Instead, focus on wearing medium-sized
checks on your suits. And,
perhaps, even a micro-check on your shirts. This will give the illusion
that your body is actually bigger in comparison
to your clothes fabric. Other patterns, such as paisley,
can be difficult for anybody to get right. But,
if you're on the thinner side, we definitely recommend
some smaller micropatterns instead of any large prints
or any large Macclesfield patterns. If you're
feeling brave, you can try wearing bold colors. This
will make you stand out against the background
and make you appear much bigger than you actually are. If you'd like to learn more about dressing
as a slimmer man, you can check out our slim man style guide here. Now,
let's talk about short people.
Now, as a man, there's often a stigma about
being short or looking short. But, never fear, stripes are
here. Now, you should be wearing vertical stripes, regardless of your width at this point. If the
main goal here is to increase your height,
vertical stripes is the main thing you want to be focusing
on. They draw the eye upwards, emphasizing length over width, making you appear taller. Stripes that
are close together, especially stripes that have more than one color, will help you appear taller.
If you're interested in wearing a check, it may be helpful to wear a check that is more rectangular,
something that is taller than it is wide to better help you emphasize length and height. Try wearing
micro-checks. When trying to wear large checks, you're actually working against the illusion and
will make yourself appear smaller in comparison to the fabric. You should also try wearing
micropatterns. Most patterns are open to you as long as
you're wearing micropatterns, as long as you're
not wearing anything that's too long, wide, or large. You should also try wearing a houndstooth.
Houndstooth patterns can really help make a short
person look taller because of the nature of its shape
and the colors. Now, micro-houndstooth will really complement your body type because of its textured
appearance and its small size. Now, if you're very tall, you'll likely want to emphasize your width
to make yourself look more proportional. As we said previously, a vertical stripe pattern can
make you appear taller. So, if you don't want to appear like a beanstalk, this might be something
you want to stay away from. However,
this doesn't mean that horizontal stripes are off-limits to you.
You should be wearing thicker stripes. Wearing a wider vertical stripe pattern in your suit
can help bring your body back into proportion and
help you appear not to be so lanky. Now, you should
try simple stripes that have just maybe one or
two colors in them for your shirts. Instead of vertical
stripes, especially where shirts or polos are concerned,
you should try wearing horizontal stripes.
Now, this will put more emphasis on your width
and help you to appear broader. Now, to complement this,
you can wear horizontal stripes in a variety of colors and widths. As a taller man, you'll want to
wear much larger check patterns, preferably some with rectangles that are wider than they are tall.
This will help emphasize your width. And you should stay away from wearing
micro-checks. The small squares will make your body look larger in proportion
and, thus, emphasize how
tall you are. Remember, the idea here is to make yourself look more proportional. So, rather than
wearing something with small checks that make you look more like a skyscraper or an office building,
wear something with larger checks that make you appear more like a house, for example. You should
also try wearing large patterns. Now, bold colors can help you stand out against the background.
If you want to emphasize width over height, it might be a good idea to wear light and bright
color tops to better emphasize your chest area. This way, your chest area will contrast with your
jacket and pants. Best to achieve the appearance that you want, whether that's to look taller,
shorter, thinner, or wider,
using patterns to best complement your body type. Of course, patterns can't
physically change your body's size, but using them to look more proportional will help even you out
visually. For bigger and taller men,
large patterns and horizontal stripes are best. For shorter men,
vertical stripes can help achieve the look of a longer body. And for thinner men, small patterns
and close stripes can help you appear girthier and broader. Now, it's obvious that we all don't
fit neatly into one category. Now, you could be tall and thin or tall and wide. short and wide or
short and thin, etc. So, make sure to take advice from all of today's body categories
and do what's best to address your unique body type. However, patterns can only do so much to
help you. Other things to consider to help you to achieve that perfect look: consider the cut
of your suit and the proportions of your garments.
Now, if you'd like to learn more about this, you can
check out our video here. If you're interested in casual style, check out our video about jeans
and body type here. For many years,
I've been using varying sizes of checks and stripes in my sport
coats and shirts to appear, what I thought in my head, would make me look more muscular. As I have
grown, I have been purchasing more solid colors,
the occasional stripes, but also bigger check patterns.
I rarely will seek out checked pants as I don't usually want to appear much wider than I am. But,
I do own a few pair of both small check pattern pants and some wider windowpane pants. Personally,
I never really enjoyed wearing pinstripes in my suits. It was always something that I found that
looked really nice on a mannequin,
but as we all know, everything looks different when you put it on
your own body. I always felt that it made me look
a little bit bigger than I am. So, I usually like to
wear something that's a little bit wider
when it comes to stripes in my suits. Now, today, I'm wearing
a tan and cream sport coat in a checked pattern. Pairing that with a brown crewneck sweater and a
white dress shirt. And, of course,
finishing off the top half of my outfit with a really unique pocket
square from Fort Belvedere in a burgundy color with little rabbits on them as well. And then, I
have a dark pair of denim and my Red Wing boots. And, of course, my shadow-stripe brown
and light blue Fort Belvedere socks. Check out the Fort Belvedere shop here for socks like these.
[The Gentlemen's Gazette theme song plays]