Michael Okunloro | Elevate Your Style

If I had a checklist of items every man should have in his closet, Checkered suits would be a heavy blue tick.

 

Why?

Because apart from their ability to add elegance, style and class to anything layered beneath them, a well fitted check suit can change the formality of any look. However, some people believe that checkered suits can be extremely difficult to style. I understand- the lines can certainly get crossed (pun intended) but this is why we’re here :). Now, I am going to share my secrets to styling the checkered suit with you.

 

There are certain things I look out for when I’m pairing my checkered suit with other pieces. I call them my 5 principles and I swear by them. Let’s get into it.

 

1.    What look am I trying to pull off? Am I playing with colors? Do I want to go bold or gray? Loud or soft? Without this answer, I certainly cannot go ahead to style my checkered suit.

 

2.    Where am I going?  Am I attending a social or formal event? Is it themed? Will it hold during the day or at night? These factors help me figure out accessories- ties, pocket squares, even socks! All of which would make the look incomplete otherwise.

3.     Does my jacket have bold or small lines? If the lines are bold, then I start paying attention to the shirt I’ve got underneath, and what kind of pants I want to throw on. I definitely want to stay away from shirts with bold colors, so that I can tone things down.

 

4.     What colors compliment the lines on the check? For example the sage green jacket I have on in the image above, would go great with a pair black trousers and black shirt because the lines on the jacket are black.

5.     What is the primary color of the suit? In the image above the primary color is pink, so the question to ask is what colors would go well with it- complementary or contrasting. ,For me, blue, white, black, green, and simple pink all come to mind but you can continue to explore other options.

 

Now that you know my principles, in my next post I will focus on the different events you can wear a checkered suit to and how to style it for that purpose.