Not the most stimulating thread ever to be posted on tFS,and I do apologise.
My fiance works in finance and is stuck in a suit and tie 4,often 5 days a week. (Barring a few casual Fridays).
He has good taste in casual clothes (well he's kind of preppy but it suits him) and always looks great on weekends.
We need to do some shopping for work clothes for him though,and I am clueless as to how to help him,so this has generated the following questions.
1) What are the rules concerning ties? How do you decide which tie goes with which jacket and shirt? Are there rules about colour matching/toning,and if so,what should go with what?
The best way to look professional and well put together is to wear two solids and one pattern (navy suit, white shirt, red/black rep tie). You can wear two patterns and one solid if you want but it's harder to have a good coordination. When trying this the basic idea is to have some color matching but different patterns (size, shape, etc). Having three solids or three patterns is almost always a less interesting unless you know what you're doing. As for color, you should follow the basic rules about what colors suits you, warm/cool/neutral etc. As mentionned before your shirt should always be lighter than your suit and tie unless you're a hitman for the Medina cartel in which case it's the other way around. Joking aside, a dark shirt and lighter tie combo could look cool, but it's definitely not something to wear to the office and looks extremely unprofessional.
2)Is a belt compulsory at all times? He always wears one,but has noticed that very many people at the office don't. He is very skinny with slim hips though,so I tell him to choose the option where his trousers stay up
.
You should always have a belt or some suspenders on, never both at the same time unless your name is Buffo the clown. The belt/suspender should be made of leather and match the general tone of your shoes (no need to have exact color matching....). The belt buckle should be subtle and logo-less (no big CK buckle). As you've probably noticed dress suit belts are quite thin, leave the big belts for jeans....
Suspenders are great if you can pull it off but your trousers have to be made for those.
3)Is there anyway at all (other than meticulous grroming,fine tailoring,subtle fragrance,good shoes,watch and coat etc) of giving a corporate suit an individual imprint? I know that in some work environments you as in individual are not really the point,and the main thing is to look professional...I think that he could have *some* leeway here though.
You can add some quirky details to your outfit, usually by referencing something that used to be worn in business settings but is now less prevalent than before.
A few exemples:
-Pocket square (never match it with your tie it looks tacky!)
-Suspenders
-Waitscoats (you could have one in the exact same pattern as the suit or something more neutral that would fit a number of your suits, maybe charcoal)
-Cuffed trousers (if the pants opening is smaller at the end never cuff them you'll look silly, if they stay very wide cuffing them might be a good idea, I think cuffs look better on taller men but the short neapolitans pull it off quite nicely, and with double breasted suits to boot!!)
-Slightly thinner ties (not 2.5" wide, more like 3-3.25". Works well if you're quite slender and your suits jackets have thin lapels, never do this with wider lapels...)
-Nicer shoes (pretty much every business guy I see wears awful rubber soled shoes, go for leather soled ones with a sleek english styling and wear a lot of brown shoes, just check out some italian mags, they almost never wear black shoes out there. Never wear some square toes or some other ortopedic abomination, buy shoes that follow the natural shape of your foot, they'll look slicker)
-Wild socks (instead of matching your socks to your dress pants you could go for an argyle pattern or something equally colorful, keep in mind this screams "I'm an english dandy!!!")
-Never do all the things I've listed all at once, if you have 6 quirky things about your outfit you're not being business like.
4) Is there a particular characteristic that the shirt should have,under a suit?
The shirt should be close to the body (no tents), the cloth used should be a slicker weave (broadcloth) not something casual and rougher like an Oxford weave. !00% cotton shirts are the way to go. The buttons should be mother of pearl not plastic. The suit sleeves should end short enough that you get to see some cuffs (not too much), the collar type should be adapted to your face and the type of knot you use for your tie. For exemple an english spread collar would work for a man with an oval face who ties a thick knot like a full windsor.
I just despair when I see the charcoal/navy/black/grey/all of the above with pinstriped suits...I am comatose after about 10 minutes of suit shopping,I cannot tell the difference between any of the shirs and I hate the ties
.
The beauty is in the details and how they coordonate; how wide are the lapels, is the suits two buttons, three buttons or 2 1/2 (lapels rolling over the third button and hiding it). How is the venting (no venting, one or double vented). How do the shoulder fit, is it a neapolitan shoulder with a sleeve with a biger circumference than the armhole, creating some small dimples along the shoulder line. How high is the armhole, perfectly framing your arm as it joins your shoulder. Where is the suit's waist placed etc etc...
It's not that I want to dress him ,I wouldn't dare
,but I'd like to have an educated opinion when asked for one!
Are there any stylish corporate men out there,or their tasteful women
?
it's a membership rule! lord knows sartorial ideas and the finance bros do not mix. 
