Straight advice from your clothing guys at Graham’s:

1) The most important thing about clothing is fit. Make sure your clothes fit you well. If you have lost or gained a few pounds since your suit was fitted, try your suit on at least a week before you need to wear it. That will give you time to get down to the store to get refitted. It also gives the tailor time to make any necessary adjustments.

2) Your suit pants and suit jacket are a set. We strongly discourage you from splitting the two in order to create a casual or sport outfit. You cannot pair your navy or black blazer with a pair of navy or black pants to make a suit; color and texture are extremely difficult to match. Solid color navy or black suit coats may be worn with contrasting pants to help you travel light. Do not make this a regular practice because you do not want your suit jacket and suit pant to wear unevenly.

3) Carry your wallet and car keys in your suit coat. Over time car keys and thick billfolds will create wear spots on your pant pockets. These wear spots can eventually lead to holes.

4) Match your footwear to your clothing and the occasion. For example, your formal wing tips are too dressy for your casual, cotton pants. Your loafers and Doc Martin’s are too casual to be worn with a dark, dressy suit. Lace-up shoes are always the dressiest choice with your dark suit.

5) Well-shined shoes show that you care about dressing up and that you pay attention to detail. A $200.00 shoe without a shine can easily look like a $30.00 shoe. Keep a shoeshine kit handy in your closet. Each morning, wipe down the tops of your shoes with a piece of soft material (yesterday’s t-shirt or socks) before putting them on. This will remove most dust and dirt and help renew the shoe’s shine.

6) Alternate your shoes from day to day; you will double their life. Use cedar shoetrees to maintain the shape and sizing of your shoes and prolong the life of your shoes by absorbing moisture. (It is common for a human foot to create a half a cup of perspiration per day. Yikes!)

7) Your belt should match or closely resemble the color and texture of your shoes. Your socks should match your pants. Black shoes = black belt. Brown shoes = brown belt. Tan pants = tan (not white) socks. Gray pants = gray socks. Navy pants = navy socks. If you are wearing black pants or a black suit, wear black shoes only. If you are wearing a brown suit or brown pants wear brown shoes. I know you get the idea by now, but there are still a lot of men wearing black pants, white socks, and brown shoes out there.

8) Even though your shirt may be a cotton/polyester blend or be labeled “wrinkle-free”, you may still have to touch it up a little. A “wrinkle-free” label sewn in the shirt is not a force field that makes the wrinkles in your shirt invisible to everyone else.

9) You should only wear long sleeve dress shirts with your suit. Even when it is 90∞ outside, long-sleeve dress shirts are the absolute dressiest.

10) Collar stays are small plastic or brass strips that slide into a slot on the underside of point collars on dress shirts. Collar stays give collars shape and definition. Remove collars stays from your shirt before laundering to avoid losing or damaging the stays. Replacements for lost or damaged stays are available here at the store.

11) Save those scraps of extra suit pant material sent in the back pockets. You can take this piece of material to the store to match up shirts and ties without bringing the entire suit. For reason #2 to hang on to this extra material, see “Stuff” Happens #4.

12) The smallest part of your outfit, your tie, is often the most readily noticed.

• Your necktie should be tied long enough to reach your belt buckle. If you have a large neck or long torso, buy extra long ties. There are several necktie knots that will help you achieve different tie lengths. For instructions on the various knots, visit www.grahamsstylestore.com under the Dr. Style link.
  
  
• Neckties change faster than any other item in menswear. Even though you may not have worn your tie often, periodic updates are still in order. Few will notice if your navy pinstripe suit is several years old, but they will notice a dated necktie.
  
  
• A necktie tucked in between your shirt buttons looks far more fashionable than a necktie speckled with buffalo wing sauce, bleu cheese and Old Style. Next to lunch and happy hour, dry cleaning is one of the hardest things on your neckties. Do not tuck your tie away during formal lunches and dinners; you will just have to be more careful.
  
  
• Neckties decorated with cartoon characters, footballs, and rainbow trout coordinate with nothing. If you are wearing a dressy suit or sport coat, wear a classy tie.

13) Do not mix and match seasons. For example, it is not appropriate to wear lightly colored linen pants with a favorite sweater in the fall. In the upper Midwest there are some items that should only be worn between Memorial Day and Labor Day: linen or linen blends in jackets and pants; lightly colored, tropical weight wool; silk, silk/rayon or madras shirts; silk jackets; seersucker pants, shirts, and jackets; and white nubuck shoes. Conversely put away the heavier weight/texture (corduroy, tweeds, and flannels) and darker colored (dark olives, browns and rusts) pieces of your wardrobe away in warmer weather.

14) If you have questions or are in need of some fashion insight, please stop in, call one of us here at the store (563) 582-3760, or visit us online at www.grahamsstylestore.com. We will give you honest answers and insights to your questions and dilemmas. Do not let the services of a good men’s clothing store end after you have slung the garment bag over your shoulder and left the store. We have had many years of experience in helping men dress confidently and professionally.

15) As always, wear your clothing from Graham’s proudly and in good health. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. We really do look forward to seeing you again.

Straight advice from your clothing guys at Graham’s:

1) The most important thing about clothing is fit. Make sure your clothes fit you well. If you have lost or gained a few pounds since your suit was fitted, try your suit on at least a week before you need to wear it. That will give you time to get down to the store to get refitted. It also gives the tailor time to make any necessary adjustments.

2) Your suit pants and suit jacket are a set. We strongly discourage you from splitting the two in order to create a casual or sport outfit. You cannot pair your navy or black blazer with a pair of navy or black pants to make a suit; color and texture are extremely difficult to match. Solid color navy or black suit coats may be worn with contrasting pants to help you travel light. Do not make this a regular practice because you do not want your suit jacket and suit pant to wear unevenly.

3) Carry your wallet and car keys in your suit coat. Over time car keys and thick billfolds will create wear spots on your pant pockets. These wear spots can eventually lead to holes.

4) Match your footwear to your clothing and the occasion. For example, your formal wing tips are too dressy for your casual, cotton pants. Your loafers and Doc Martin’s are too casual to be worn with a dark, dressy suit. Lace-up shoes are always the dressiest choice with your dark suit.

5) Well-shined shoes show that you care about dressing up and that you pay attention to detail. A $200.00 shoe without a shine can easily look like a $30.00 shoe. Keep a shoeshine kit handy in your closet. Each morning, wipe down the tops of your shoes with a piece of soft material (yesterday’s t-shirt or socks) before putting them on. This will remove most dust and dirt and help renew the shoe’s shine.

6) Alternate your shoes from day to day; you will double their life. Use cedar shoetrees to maintain the shape and sizing of your shoes and prolong the life of your shoes by absorbing moisture. (It is common for a human foot to create a half a cup of perspiration per day. Yikes!)

7) Your belt should match or closely resemble the color and texture of your shoes. Your socks should match your pants. Black shoes = black belt. Brown shoes = brown belt. Tan pants = tan (not white) socks. Gray pants = gray socks. Navy pants = navy socks. If you are wearing black pants or a black suit, wear black shoes only. If you are wearing a brown suit or brown pants wear brown shoes. I know you get the idea by now, but there are still a lot of men wearing black pants, white socks, and brown shoes out there.

8) Even though your shirt may be a cotton/polyester blend or be labeled “wrinkle-free”, you may still have to touch it up a little. A “wrinkle-free” label sewn in the shirt is not a force field that makes the wrinkles in your shirt invisible to everyone else.

9) You should only wear long sleeve dress shirts with your suit. Even when it is 90∞ outside, long-sleeve dress shirts are the absolute dressiest.

10) Collar stays are small plastic or brass strips that slide into a slot on the underside of point collars on dress shirts. Collar stays give collars shape and definition. Remove collars stays from your shirt before laundering to avoid losing or damaging the stays. Replacements for lost or damaged stays are available here at the store.

11) Save those scraps of extra suit pant material sent in the back pockets. You can take this piece of material to the store to match up shirts and ties without bringing the entire suit. For reason #2 to hang on to this extra material, see “Stuff” Happens #4.

12) The smallest part of your outfit, your tie, is often the most readily noticed.

• Your necktie should be tied long enough to reach your belt buckle. If you have a large neck or long torso, buy extra long ties. There are several necktie knots that will help you achieve different tie lengths. For instructions on the various knots, visit www.grahamsstylestore.com under the Dr. Style link.
  
  
• Neckties change faster than any other item in menswear. Even though you may not have worn your tie often, periodic updates are still in order. Few will notice if your navy pinstripe suit is several years old, but they will notice a dated necktie.
  
  
• A necktie tucked in between your shirt buttons looks far more fashionable than a necktie speckled with buffalo wing sauce, bleu cheese and Old Style. Next to lunch and happy hour, dry cleaning is one of the hardest things on your neckties. Do not tuck your tie away during formal lunches and dinners; you will just have to be more careful.
  
  
• Neckties decorated with cartoon characters, footballs, and rainbow trout coordinate with nothing. If you are wearing a dressy suit or sport coat, wear a classy tie.

13) Do not mix and match seasons. For example, it is not appropriate to wear lightly colored linen pants with a favorite sweater in the fall. In the upper Midwest there are some items that should only be worn between Memorial Day and Labor Day: linen or linen blends in jackets and pants; lightly colored, tropical weight wool; silk, silk/rayon or madras shirts; silk jackets; seersucker pants, shirts, and jackets; and white nubuck shoes. Conversely put away the heavier weight/texture (corduroy, tweeds, and flannels) and darker colored (dark olives, browns and rusts) pieces of your wardrobe away in warmer weather.

14) If you have questions or are in need of some fashion insight, please stop in, call one of us here at the store (563) 582-3760, or visit us online at www.grahamsstylestore.com. We will give you honest answers and insights to your questions and dilemmas. Do not let the services of a good men’s clothing store end after you have slung the garment bag over your shoulder and left the store. We have had many years of experience in helping men dress confidently and professionally.

15) As always, wear your clothing from Graham’s proudly and in good health. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. We really do look forward to seeing you again.