Choosing Accessories for Your Custom Suits
Every great custom-made wardrobe needs a collection of custom accessories that complement it. When it comes to fashion, accessories are like the icing on the cake. My Custom Tailor makes custom-made clothing for men and women clients all over the world. We encourage you to seek out sources that provide an extensive line of custom accessories that will complement the custom clothes we make for you. As we describe these accessories, we will give you some interesting perspective on how they have evolved over time.
Custom accessories distinguish you and your wardrobe from people you work and associate with. Choose socks, belts, neckties and cuff links that enhance your custom wardrobe and express who you are in a unique way. Colorful socks, a handmade belt, a floral tie, or sparking cuff links will distinguish your clothing choice on any given occasion. Another way to flaunt your style and personality with confidence.
Neckties
Men choose neck ties according to their preference for style and tradition, but some men choose neck wear as a statement of how they want to be perceived. A necktie can offer clues into your personality and your mood. Some men are very conservative in their choice of ties, often restricting their purchases to predictable styles and color combinations. Certain professions like banking and legal work require an understated approach to tie selection, although there are always outliers that want to garner additional attention or focus.
The modern necktie originated in Europe tracing back to the 1600’s when Croatian Mercenaries serving in France wore their traditional small, knotted neckerchiefs as part of their military attire. They became known as cravats. The boy-king Louis XIV began wearing a lace cravat about 1646, establishing the cravat as a defining fashion statement for French nobility. The cravat launched a fashion craze in Europe as both men and women began wearing fabric components around their necks. From its introduction by the French king, men wore lace cravats, or jabots, that took a large amount of time and effort to arrange. These cravats were often tied in place by elaborate cravat strings arranged neatly and tied in a bow.
Neckties, or close facsimiles, evolved as popular neckwear articles for both men and women. They became more functional as they became easier to tie or wrap and were less elaborate in how they meshed with other clothing articles. They evolved in a variety of widths and lengths. Eventually, they became standard fare for men as the finishing article to formal and informal suits worn nearly every day.
Clothiers created a wide range of colors and patterns to effectively complement a broad array of men’s solid and patterned shirts. While women also began wearing shirt/tie combinations but women’s fashions, for the most part, began evolving in a completely different direction.
Today men and woman have an endless choice of neckties and scarves to choose from. Bow ties have become more popular as a unique and defining fashion statement. When choosing custom neckties, there are several important factors to consider. How and where will the tie be worn? Formal occasions require traditional and classic custom options. While black and white have always been the safe choice for formal wear, increasingly, men are wearing patterned and boldly colored neckwear as part of their formal attire.
For daily use with your collection of suits, a wide range of custom neckties is required. Some will be plain and some will be patterned or striped. Standard color combinations in shades of black, red, and blue work for all occasions. You may also choose other colors that fit your preferences for variety and style. Your choices will depend greatly on the type and style of shirts you prefer. Plain shirts require patterns and stripes, patterned shirts generally look best with plain colored ties.
Cuff Links and Tie Clips
Once you have selected custom tie options that enhance your suit collection, you need to think about whether or not you want to add cuff links and tie clips as part of your distinct look. Cuff links and tie clips are designed to add style and elegance to your custom suit wardrobe. While silver, gold and platinum are the most common materials used, cuff links are increasingly available as specially processed fabric and patterned metal fabrications. Links of knotted, brightly colored silk enjoyed renewed popularity in the 1990s and remain stylish today.
Cufflinks, like neckties, originated as accessories in the 1600s but did not become common until the end of the 18th century. Their development is closely related to that of men's shirt wear. Men have been wearing shirt-like items since the invention of woven fabric. It was common throughout history for shirts to protect the outer garments from contact with the body. Conversely, it also protected the skin against the rougher and heavier fabrics of jackets and coats by covering the neck and wrists. Metal, fabric and leather links were used to ties sleeves together around the wrist as a precursor to the modern cuff link.
Modern cufflink designs vary widely with the most traditional, the "double-panel", consisting of a short post or chain connecting two disc-shaped parts. The visible part of a cufflink can be monogrammed or decorated with a definitive stone or jewel. Cufflinks are worn in many ways ranging from enhancing formal wear to accessorizing dress shirts to adding flair to casual shirts and blouses. Some men chose to coordinate the metal of their cufflinks to match their watches, belts or tie clips.
A tie clip, or clasp, is a clothing accessory used to clip a tie to the underlying shirt front, ensuring that the tie hangs straight, resulting in a neat, uniform appearance. Tie clips trace their heritage to how ties of varying lengths and widths evolved over the past two centuries. They are commonly made of metal and often have decorative patterns or embellishments. Some clips have a small badge indicating membership or affiliation; they can be customized to meet unique and personal objectives. While they are a standard accessory for some men, they have become less popular over the past 50 years as today’s handcrafted tie fabrics are designed to hang naturally without being clipped to the shirt.
Belts
The next essential suit or pant accessory is a selection of belts. For men, black and brown are the popular choices. For women, the options are limitless. Women have a variety of styles, fabrics, and colors in their wardrobes that require multiple belt options. While black, brown and animal prints are popular, fabric and metal types combine functionality and style to the array of formal and informal attire women typically wear.
Belts have been documented as male clothing essentials since the Bronze Age. Both genders have used them to varying degrees, depending on current fashion trends. They originated as common accessories for military personnel to draw in the waist and exhibit a trim physique, emphasizing wide shoulders and a robust chest. It was common for military officers to wear tight pressing, wide belts on the outside of their uniforms. Often the belt served only to emphasize the waist made small by a corset worn under the uniform.
In modern times, men started wearing belts in the 1920s, as trouser waists fell closer to the hips. Before the 1920s, belts served mostly a decorative purpose as trousers didn’t begin including belt loops until belts became a practical way to keep trousers in place around the waist.
Socks
Socks are very much taken for granted but are essential to proving a graceful transition from your trousers to your shoes. They are worn conservatively to complement the color of your trousers or are worn as a way of creative expression. Standard black and blue solids and related subtle patterns work with most suits but you can go a little outside the box in terms of bright colors and bold patterns when wearing casual trouser/shirt combinations. Stocking fabrics can have a significant effect on how comfortable your shoes feel during a long day or travel and wear.
Take some time to view multiple men's and women's clothing collections on the Ravis website. Our Custom Tailors travel to cities all over the world to serve new and existing clients. View the site to determine when one of our travelling roadshow events will come to a city near you. Roadshows occur throughout the year and some cities are visited more than once during any calendar year. Our Travelling Tailors bring samples for you to review in the form of finished goods, fabrics, and color guides. When you attend a roadshow site, bring a sample of a clothing article that fits you best or that you are very fond of. The Master Tailor can emulate the article you bring or compliment it in the custom clothing he designs and delivers for you.
Consider the potential benefits of a Custom Tailor relationship:
A single source for buying 90% of your clothing needs.
A specialty source that can advise you on the best and most cost-effective materials for expanding your clothing wardrobe.
A source that has all your measurements and preferences on file.
A source where you choose from every possible option in terms of quality, style, fabric, color, and wearability.
A site where you can view a comprehensive collection of clothing items to choose from.
Being able to understand differences in clothing options and the price differential that distinguishes each one.
A personal level of expertise and customer service in helping you choose, order, configure, and deliver your choices
Our fabrics encompass pure cottons and linens, authentic cashmere, super wools, and luxury silks for men's and women's suits
Highly skilled Master Tailors and Cutters, with years of experience, provide extraordinary consistency and quality in the clothes they deliver
We detail our custom-made clothes with the best available linings, hand-basted canvas, and buttons
Monograms are relatively standard options in a wide range of styles and patterns
Special design features like extra-large pockets, special collars, pleat patterns, stitching options, lining features, custom buttons, and comfort vents that turn ordinary suits, shirts, and pants into uniquely detailed custom garments. Review the standards we adhere to.
These customizations provide personalization that only a Master Tailor can offer
My Custom Tailor represents the ideal alternative to buying off-the-rack clothes by attending a roadshow event or ordering online. Visit one of our online collection catalogues (Men’s or Women’s Collections). Select the type of clothing you wish to order (a suit, shirt, blouse, etc.), or use the “Shop by Style Search” feature to identify a specific clothing item you want to focus on . Choose the style you want. Follow the directions on completing an order for custom made clothing.
Select the measurements profile to be used for this item. If this is your first order, you can add a measurements profile on this page and send in the measurements any time after you have submitted the order.
Send in your measurements by logging into your account and accessing the measurements portfolio tab. Order our MEASUREMENTS KIT and with the help of a friend or spouse document these simple measurements to be used for making your custom suit, shirt or other clothing article
This measurement kit is offered to introduce you to a new world of great fitting bespoke custom clothing, custom tailor made to measure to your individual taste and preferences at a very affordable price.
While My Custom Tailor is a third-generation custom clothing manufacturer, they continue to evolve practical, efficient, and cost-effective innovations that allow thousands of people all over the world to order clothes of exceptional value that fit them to perfection. Take the time to review the web site and order something that will give you the insight and perspective you need in changing your approach to buying clothes.
After you receive your custom-made suit or article of clothing, you will then want to pursue the options for ordering the accessories we outlined above.