The watch
A plain watch with a clean dial, on a leather strap or a steel bracelet, goes with everything you own. Case diameters of about 36 to 40 millimeters suit most wrists, and the test is simple: the lugs should not overhang the edges of your wrist, and the watch should slide under a buttoned shirt cuff. An inexpensive quartz watch keeps better time than a costly mechanical one, so buy the look and size you like and ignore the persuasion.
Leather and metal
Match your belt to your shoes in color and in finish, brown with brown, black with black, polished with polished and suede with suede. The shades need to be close, not identical. A dress belt is about an inch and a quarter wide with a small plain buckle, while a casual belt for denim runs to an inch and a half. Buy a belt one size up from your trouser waist, so that it fastens on the middle hole. Keep your metals consistent as well. A silver-toned buckle sits best with a steel watch, and gold with gold.
Ties, squares and socks
- The tip of a tie should reach the middle of your belt buckle, neither above it nor below it.
- The width of the tie should roughly match the width of your jacket lapel, which on most suits is about three to three and a quarter inches.
- A tie bar sits between the third and fourth shirt buttons and is never wider than the tie.
- A pocket square should pick up a color from the tie or shirt without being cut from the same cloth, and a plain white one in a flat fold is always correct.
- Dress socks should match your trousers, not your shoes, and rise over the calf so that no bare shin shows when you sit.
Knowing when to stop
Count the points of interest before you leave the house: watch, ring, tie bar, pocket square, lapel pin, bracelet, patterned socks. Three is plenty, and one of them should be allowed to lead while the others stay quiet. A patterned tie wants a plain square. A man wearing every accessory he owns looks dressed by a shop window. Sunglasses come off indoors and never ride on top of the head at a table.
Tip A bulging wallet ruins the line of a jacket or trousers and wears a hole in the pocket. Carry a slim one with four or five cards and a few folded bills, and empty the receipts weekly.
