Do you know that suits for women say a lot about the wearer?
As a professional, you will not only need to maintain your business image but also project a strong personality.
Moreover, a well-fitted suit will make you appear both professional and competent.
These tend to last longer in your wardrobe and it is always a good idea to invest in them.
And you can take your time to select the right ones for your wardrobe.
Though you cannot wear the same suit all year round, you can choose to stock them up so that you have one suit each for special occasions.
These include a business meeting with a client, an evening out with colleagues, networking with a client, and so on.
Like other other, you may also find it overwhelming to find the perfect suits for women from color to fabric.
How? Keep on reading.
Determining the Purpose of Suits for Women
Buying suits for women is an investment, thus, you should take time before making a purchase.
The goal of getting a suit depends on the type and how you intend to accessorize it.
Moreover, a suit can help to showcase respect and feel more confident for important meetings and negotiations.
Let’s learn more about it in detail:
Purpose: A Simple Question you need to answer is “What are you buying this suit for?“.
Some possible answers are:
If you are going for an interview as a business or a professional, you will need to opt for a more traditional style of a suit with clean lines and low frills.
It is important that you stick with traditional colors like navy, charcoal, grey, or black.
If you are going for an interview as a creative person, you can put your personal style on display while also maintaining a professional look.
While if you are going for a non-business interview, you may opt for a suit with a lot more options.
For day-to-day wear, make sure to invest in high-quality suits for women.
Strive to look professional while also showing your individual style.
For the presentation and speaking engagement, there are no set rules, however, you will need something you can move it.
When traveling, consider a washable suit or a fabric that does not wrinkle easily like wool or cashmere.
Messaging: After understanding the purpose, and considering the basic style of your suit, the next thing to consider is the message you want to convey.
Some examples are power, innovation, trustworthiness, intelligence, knowledge, authority, elegance, success, etc.
Learn more about Ladies Formal Wear: A Complete Guide here
Considering your Attributes
The next thing to consider is your physical attributes, style, coloring, and proportions.
Once you find what is best for you, you can use this to choose the best styles.
Body Shape: Spending time to consider your body shape will help you make the right purchase for a dress.
Read the description and note your body shape and style:
If you have a triangle body shape you will have narrow shoulders and waist, then hips and thighs.
You can try the following styles:
- suit with a fuller bottom
- a-line, flared, or pleated skirts
- peplum tops or jackets
- jackets with narrow shoulders
If you have an inverted triangular body shape, then you have shoulders that are wider than your waist and hips.
You can try styles like:
- wide-leg pants to create a balance
- cropped jackets
- shift dresses
If you have an hourglass body shape, you will have shoulders that are as wide as your hips, and your waist will be noticeably narrower.
Styles you can try are:
- suits with a belt or other details
- peplum or wrap jackets
- high waist pants
If you have an oval body shape, your shoulder is as wide as your hips.
However, the waist tends to appear wider than your shoulders and hips.
Styles you can try are:
- suits with the dress
- open long jackets
- wrap top or peplum top
If you have a rectangle body shape, you have shoulders as wide as your hips, while your waist is also the same.
Styles you can try are:
- prints or textures
- narrow belts
- flared skirts
Proportions: It is important to note that certain proportions are pleasing to the eyes.
In general, you will find 1:1 to be a boring proportion.
According to experts, you can try 1:2 and 2:3 proportions.
Let’s discuss them as follows:
1:2 Ratio: This is also known as the rule of thirds.
You will need to consider your body and clothes in 3 parts and try to split your clothes and/or body into thirds.
2:3 Ratio: Consider your body in 5 parts, and try to get a 2:3 ratio in clothes and/or body.
Your Proportions: It is important to note that not all proportions are easy to achieve.
Moreover, not all these suit everyone.
In such cases, you will need to try and match what looks best for you and your body type.
Color and Contrast of Suits for Women
Though color is a complicated topic, let’s consider it in simple terms:
Suit Color: When buying suits for women for more than one occasion, you can try a suit in navy blue or charcoal grey.
Moreover, you can also consider a black suit.
It is important to note that black looks harsh on some people, while sharp on others.
For a less formal look, you can try neutrals like eggplant, camel, forest green, or light grey.
Also, you can consider other popular fabrics and prints like tweed, plaid, pinstripes, or herringbone.
Color of your Top: After finding the color of your suit, you need to find the color of the top and other accessories.
Experts advise that the best thing you can do is to try things on.
Make sure to notice how you look, how you feel, etc.
Moreover, look for color inspiration when shopping online and you can use online portals like Pinterest to save some color inspo you want to try.
Then select the items that match your natural coloring and your contrast level.
It is important to note that this is a trial-and-error game and you will have to understand how you feel about each color combination.
Contrast: To find your contrast level, take the following steps:
- stand in front of a mirror
- look at your color and contrast in your skin color, hair color, eye browns, eye color, natural lip color, etc.
- consider the similarities in colors about your facial elements above.
The Contrast in Clothing: After understanding your level of contrast, your will need to find clothing that matches the level of contrast in your face.
If you have higher contrast, you can match it with your outfit with contrasting tops, shoes, or accessories.
However, if you have lower contrast, you may want to choose something subtle between these elements.
You can use this information as a guideline, not as a rule.
Notice how you look in both higher and lower contrast and how you can use it with your hair and face.
Shop and Try on Suits for Women
After you understand the above, you will then need to go to the store and try different styles, colors, sizes, and brands.
Let’s discuss it as follows:
Quality: It is important to get the clothes you can afford, especially if you plan to wear suits for women often.
Make sure to be on a look out for:
- real fabric: wool is a great suiting material as it is breathable, wrinkle resistant, and you can wear it for a long time
- jacket lining: a fully lined jacket shows higher quality
- details: details like buttons, button holes, and pockets to make sure everything lines up well and looks well made.
Fit: To find the perfect store, experts recommend that you should go to the store and try suits on.
However, if you cannot do that, you can try them on at home and see what works best for you.
Tailor your Suit: in most cases, people have altered clothes in some way.
Tailoring your suit will make a difference in how professional you look and how confident you feel in your suit.
Accessories to Choose
When accessorizing your suits for women, you can choose to get creative.
There are a number of options like tops, jewelry, scraps, belts, bags, shoes, hairstyles, and more.
Keep on reading.
Tops: This will help your look come together.
For a formal look, you will need to choose darker colors with less contrast to suit fabrics like silk and lace.
For a more fun look, you can choose contrasting colors and patterns.
Moreover, you can consider ruffles, a knit material, a wrap top, or a bow blouse.
When choosing prints, think about how they relate to the features of your face and how any contrast relates to your own taste.
Shoes: For a professional look, your heel should be 3 1/2” or lower.
In most cases, the best option is a closed-toed pump. While to add some personality, you can choose a fun color or prints that complement your suit.
However, you should always have flat shoes for walking to and from the office or for long-distance walks.
Jewelry: Your professional look with include less jewelry.
For a formal look, opt for classics like pearls and diamonds.
While for a more creative or personalized look, you can try different jewelry including varying colors.
Bags, Sunglasses, etc: Make sure that you find high-quality and neutral work bags and sunglasses that you can wear with suits.
Learn more about Hair Accessories: Styling Tips and Guide here.
Storing your Suits
When storing your suits, make sure they are clean before storing them. Wash or dry-clean them before this.
Then pick a cool, dark, and dry place to store them. You can use a natural wood hanger to protect the shape of the jacket.
It is important that you use breathable non-plastic bags for your suits. And you can use cedar or lavender with your suits to discourage moths and other bugs.
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