GQ's Fall Style Playbook
Welcome to GQ's fifty-step fall style playbook, where we make dressing better easy, whether you're working at the office, storming into the night, or kicking back over the weekend.
Be the Leading Man at the Office
Let's start with your business suit. Have you heard that the double-breasted is back? It should be the go-to-player in your rotation. And nobody dominates a DB like Denzel Washington
STEP 01
Give Your Business Wardrobe a Raise
The double-breasted suit has come roaring back. We see it not so much as a trend but as a staple. Put the 2012 power suit into your office rotation.
STEP 02
Don't Be a Subordinate
Sartorially, at least. Bold colors and patterns can separate you in the office—which is a good thing as long as you don't overdo it.
STEP 03
Learn the Fundamentals
There are a lot of buttons on a DB. Let's make it simple. (1) Fasten the hidden anchor button inside, (2) then the outside button, and (3) leave the bottom ones undone.
STEP 04
Remember Your Lines
Also back in style and office-ready: pinstripes. (See the previous page for another example.) Besides showing a bit of sophistication, they make you look longer and leaner—two things most of us could use a little help with.
STEP 05
Go Ahead and Overdress
Just because you have one of those laid-back business-casual offices, doesn't mean you can't occasionally rock a power suit— just ditch the tie.
10 Shirts + 10 Ties = Your Entire Business Wardrobe
Yep, when every shirt goes with every tie, that's 100 surefire office combinations that will take you from now until spring
STEP 06
Get Out of the Blue
Say it aloud with us: "I am not an office bot." Set yourself apart from your co-workers with their Kinko's blue shirts. Embrace pattern (like gingham). Learn to love color (like purple).
STEP 07
Don't Be Sir Match-a-Lot
Stop freaking out about matching your shirt to your tie. Let them contrast in color and fabric. Invest in a bunch of shirts and ties that all complement each other, as we've done here. You can thank us later.
STEP 08
Bundle Up Your Tie
It's fall, and your tie should know it. Silk isn't the only tie option anymore. Designers are doing tweeds and heavy wools. Even your neck should get all seasonal.
STEP 09
Be Consistent
Your collar should be small, your tie slim. Proportion is just as important as fit. Every combination on these pages is right in sync—and in sync with any suit in your arsenal.
Dress for the Night You Want
Do you know how to smolder in a suit and kill in a tux? Here we show you, with a little help from the man who does it best: Bond villain Javier Bardem
STEP 10
Make Your Own Rules
The invitation said black tie, but it didn't say anything about the jacket. A sleek black leather jacket will make you look less snooty and more badass. Think of black tie as a genre, not as a uniform.
STEP 11
Going Gray
Bardem's black-tie look here is classic, with one tweak: That's a gray dress shirt, not a tux shirt.
STEP 12
Don't Wait for a Wedding
You invested in formalwear—why keep it in the closet? Dress down your tux, and wear it to make any night an occasion.
STEP 13
Do Velvet the Right Way
Because God knows there's a wrong way. Two things: Red velvet equals cliché. And the fit must be impeccable: slim, with moderate lapels.
STEP 14
Don It Like a Suit
As long as it's not, say, a black tux with big peak lapels, you can loosen up your formalwear like you do your suit. This midnight blue shawl-collar version is a chameleon.
STEP 15
Meet Our Favorite New Dress Shirt
It's indigo blue. Think of it as a denim shirt that left the ranch and got refined.
STEP 16
Give Your Suit Jacket a Night Off
Try this recipe: Take one three-piece suit, add spread-collar shirt, subtract jacket, finish with wool topcoat.
Concealed Weapons
A man's gotta come fully loaded. (You know, stylistically speaking.) It's not just what you're wearing—it's what you're carrying
STEP 17
Gold Isn't Just for Watches
So far, mankind has found no element sexier than gold. And yes, gold-plated counts.
STEP 18
Lay It On Thick
Don't be precious about precious metals. You can wear a bracelet and a watch.
STEP 19
Make Them See Red
If you keep what you wear (glasses, watch) quiet, try cranking the color volume on what's hidden in your pockets.
STEP 20
Dignify Your Watch
Consider one with a dressier face, rather than a sporty dial, for your night out.
STEP 21
Cool Off
You don't have to get iced out to shine a little; silver and blue will do the job. Just don't take the color scheme so far it feels like a matching set.
STEP 22
Stream Your Lines
A money clip means no bulky billfold wallet junking up the sleek silhouette of your suit or tux.
STEP 23
Go Deco
When you're in a tux, add a little black-tie flash to your pocket. A deco pattern like this check recalls the Roaring Twenties—or original Vans, if you like that better.
STEP 24
Pack a Comb
Back in the day, every pomaded man carried one. And useful again if you're sporting long hair.
I really like the belted look.
