Just like cars, planes, and home furnishings with quality manufacturing techniques in mind, your suits, tuxedos, accessories, and all the other components of your formal wear have the potential to last decades so long as they are properly maintained and cared for. Alternating your formal ensembles throughout the week, laundering your dress shirts on a regular basis, and hanging up your suits after each use will greatly increase the lifespan of your wardrobe without too much effort or attention. Even by keeping more than one pair of each component of your formal wear on hand, you'll be able to reduce the normal wear and tear on your clothes to a very minimal and manageable level.
When your clothes ultimately and inevitably wear down to the point that you start noticing, it's obvious then to replace those wardrobe components with new ones. Belts crack. Shirts unravel. Suits lose buttons. Trousers fray. Ties fade. We could go on, but you probably get the picture. Of course when it comes to formal wear, you never want to wait until the very last minute to replace something; the time to upgrade your formal components is well before their structures start to break down.
Most of the time, you'll likely want to give your accessories an upgrade before there's anything wrong with them at all and certainly before they're no longer functionally useful. Sometimes, upgrading your formal wear components comes down to personal style preferences, merely wanting something fresh and new, or swapping out an outdated style for one that's up and coming. While there's something to be said about the old adage of not fixing anything until it's broken, formal wear is all about appearances, and getting a head start on the ever-changing finer points of style is always a good habit when it comes to your personal wardrobe.
While it's pretty easy to notice when you'll need a new suit jacket or another pair of pants, it's common for many gentlemen to neglect to do the same when it comes to the smaller components of a formal ensemble. Watches, cufflinks, shirt studs, pocket squares, ties, and belts tend to get swapped out less often, perhaps for the sole reason that most of these accessories are made from harder materials as opposed to the fabrics found in shirts and jackets. In this piece, we'll give you all the helpful tips when it comes to upgrading your formal accessories so your wardrobe stays up to speed with your personal style.
--New Clothes, New Gear--
Whether it's due to another scheduled round of spring cleaning or you just want to give your wardrobe a bump to the next level after many years of having the same suits on rotation, new shirts and new suits will more than likely need new accessories to match. The good news is that since accessories take up much less room in your closet than shirts, jackets, and pants, upgrading your accessories doesn't always require getting rid of your old ones. The more variety you have at your disposal, the better off your style will be in the long run.
With proper care, belts can last a very long time. But even with their extended longevity, a durable and faithfully reliable belt won't always be the best match for every suit in your wardrobe. Perhaps the buckle is too big to provide adequate symmetry against the narrower lapels of your jacket, or you no longer have a pair of shoes that closely matches your belt's shade of brown. Adding a belt to your wardrobe every few years will ensure that you have something for every occasion and take away the worry that you won't have any replacements when your favorite belt ultimately goes over its expected shelf life.
In terms of importance as far as accessories go, your neckties are a close second to your belts and shoes. As ties provide the visual focal point of most formal ensembles, keeping your ties presentable and clean will effortlessly sharpen your personal style. Taking up even less room in your wardrobe than belts do, keeping a broad selection of ties on hand is generally not an issue when it comes to storage, and the increased variety will help keep your personal style fluid, no matter how fashion trends ebb and flow. There are times, however, when ties no longer gel with your own fashion sensibilities. When this happens, your best bet is to give them away to make room for new ones, as there are plenty of other gentlemen out there who might find your old ties more suited to their own stylistic preferences. Style is, after all, a highly subjective metric. While there's no absolute rule when it comes to phasing out your old ties, if you put one on and something doesn't seem right with your outfit, you'll know that it's time for a change of pace.
Depending on where you reside, scarves may be a quaint afterthought or a vital necessity. While visual presentation is always a concern in the realm of formal wear, the importance of a scarf probably leans more toward functionality than it does style. With repeated use, scarves will inevitably unravel, and if you're not inclined to weave it back together, finding a replacement is by far the easier option. Just keep in mind that if the weather is particularly frigid, no one will look twice if you're wearing a scarf that's a little dated on your way to work. Staying insulated from the elements is the priority more so than style. Still, it doesn't hurt to have a few extras in your wardrobe to keep your personal style fresh and up to date, even when the weather outside would forgive you for being a little mismatched.
--When Styles Start To Fall Out of Fashion--
Although no one has a crystal ball when it comes to forward trends in fashion, it's easy to recognize that the more formal a dress code is, the less likely it is to vary significantly with time. The black-tie dress code, for example, hasn't undergone a major overhaul in over a century. This is not to say that nothing has changed about black-tie attire and common tuxedo styles, only that it has varied much less than other modes of dress. In spite of the tuxedo being very popular and common, it is perhaps the formal ensemble worn the least, as it is mainly reserved for special occasions. This aspect of the black-tie dress code is a bit of good news, since the tuxedo and its associated accessories won't require too much upgrading over time. Rather than any part of a tuxedo becoming obsolete, certain components become more or less popular, taking the place of something else that was once in vogue. Waistcoats and cummerbunds are good examples of this oscillating trend; one generally starts to outpace the other in popularity for a time, only to reverse course later on.
Unless you find yourself wearing tuxedos on a very regular basis, you probably don't have to worry too much about upgrading your black-tie accessories. Just pay attention to the fluctuations in fashion trends and ideally keep at least one cummerbund, waistcoat, and pair of suspenders handy in your wardrobe.
As accessories, cufflinks are pretty straightforward. While they normally won't get too worn down or ever need to be replaced due to cosmetic issues alone, they may fall out of style, as was the case with more minimalist designs that overtook elaborate patterns. If the locking mechanisms on your cufflinks become faulty, then it's certainly a good idea to fix or replace them, but more often than not, cufflinks of good quality will last as long as you plan on wearing formal attire.
Watches follow the same guidelines. Depending on the quality of a given watch, it may never have to be upgraded or replaced. The only thing you really have to keep in mind when it comes to watches is whether a particular style is fashionable or falling out of favor. The size of the watchband along with the size of the watch face are good metrics to follow, but in most cases, you'll know whether one of your watches pairs well with the suit you're wearing or needs to be swapped out for something else. If something looks out of place to you, chances are it will look out of place to others, as well.
For less formal dress codes like business casual, the main accessory of importance is going to be of course the necktie. We touched on when it's appropriate to change them out of your wardrobe in a very general sense, but going into more detail, what's considered trendy and popular in terms of the size of your necktie knot will fluctuate over the years. While most neckties and their respective knots can be adjusted to a degree, certain ties are designed with a particular style in mind, some being wider or narrower than others. Wider neckties have seen a slight uptick in popularity when it comes to formal affairs, but the skinny tie is still a popular choice for everyday office attire. If you prefer wider necktie knots, it's best to go with a wider tie and vice versa if you prefer a subtler knot. Rather than replacing and upgrading your ties, consider simply adding a few more of them to your wardrobe of varying widths, as this will give you more style options depending on the occasion.
No matter what accessory or piece of formal wear you're looking to upgrade, the most important aspects to consider are functionality, comfort, and how you feel about them. Even if something is trendy or currently in style, there will be times when opting for a more classic or unconventional aesthetic will benefit your personal sense of style and how that presents itself within a given formal ensemble. Here at Enzo Custom, our expert clothiers will be more than happy to give you some guidance on personal style considerations, whether you're in the market for your first custom suit or need to pick up some extra shirts to give your wardrobe that extra boost it's been missing.