Clothes make the man, the accessories amplify his style statement

Ties, belts, wallets and cufflinks add to your personality in a way designer wear can’t; pick something that matches, or is in contrast with, the shirt and pair of trousers you’re wearing

So you’ve got a closet full of designer clothes and premium labels. Great going, but you might want to figure out how to accessorise appropriately and make a standout style statement.

Men who want to appear classy pay attention to details–and those details are the accessories. Says dapper designer, Raghavendra Rathore: “Accessories are an essential part of every man’s wardrobe. The shoes and the colour of the socks one wears say a lot about one’s personality. Matching the accessories with the outfit has a unique outcome and contrasting them has an impact as well.”

What’s trending

Some key brands of men’s accessories include the likes of Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Toss, Alvaro, WildHorn, United Colors of Benetton, Tossido, Blacksmith. Then you have e-commerce portals such as Peluche.in, Amazon.in and Flipkart.

Tata CLiQ Luxury features premium and luxury brands across a variety of categories such as ties, cufflinks, hats, caps, pocket squares, belts, socks and bracelets. The most popular ones are hats and caps followed by cufflinks. Face masks from leading brands are also among the most purchased accessories on the platform.

Says Gitanjali Saxena, Business Head–Global Luxury, Tata CLiQ: “From the previous fiscal year, the men’s accessories category on Tata CLiQ Luxury has grown by 60 per cent, and we’re confident this trend will continue. Accessories such as hats, caps, jewellery, and face masks will continue to be in demand. In addition, backpacks, laptop bags, and briefcases have grown by 100 per cent. Accessories are an important part of today’s wardrobe. Given that fashion is a means of expressing one’s individuality, accessorising one’s outfit simply adds to the overall look.”

Some fixtures are more vital than others. An outfit is generally incomplete without a belt. Top manufacturers recommend ordering the belt one size up from your normal pants size to ensure an accurate fit. If you are size 32, you can go for the same size belt or one size bigger.

Says Da Milano’s fashion consultant, Manish Sharma: “What’s in demand for belts nowadays is tan and berry colour. People prefer reversible belts these days and brown and black are safe bets, while the demand for blue and grey is lower. Textures in demand include matt and franzy or crocodile but our signato pattern sells at a premium. A crocodile print for belts sells for Rs 2,095-2,495 while Signato design is for Rs 4,500, as it is handcrafted. Party belts have rose gold buckles while silver ones are for formal wear. Wallets always tend to match with the belt. It’s good to have a folder, laptop bag, wallet, and trolley that also match it. Some people like to keep their card cases in the same colour as well–these can vary from simple ones to three-fold ones. Pay attention to the manufacturing and detailing–check the quality of zips, stitching, colour, pasting, colour polishing, buttons, hooks etc.”

The necktie is a classic male accessory. Many employers or events require the addition of a tie to complete the typical suit appearance. Ties come in such a large range of colours, materials, and patterns that it is easy to match them to just about every occasion. Each brand has a tie, be it Allen Solly, Van Heusen or Louis Philippe. The Satya Paul signature collection of silk ties costs Rs 2,995 onwards while woven ties made of microfibre cost Rs 1,495.

Much like clothes, fashion trends keep changing in men’s accessories too. Says Deepak Bansal, Director, Cantabil Retail India Ltd: “In the case of ties, the broad ones have been replaced by the slim. In belts, the casual kind in offbeat colours of maroon and coffee with playful buckles are trending. As for socks, full length ones are passe and what we have are either ankle length or loafer socks. White shirts make the perfect base for most accessories and so we have them in innumerable varieties–our bestseller is a “Stay White”. In suits, the most popular are three-piece, followed by blazers and then come the two-piece ones. Olive green, khaki and wine colour are trending.”

Small is significant

A tie clip is a small accessory that packs a serious punch. It holds your tie in place, and ensures no swaying. A collar stay may not be a visual accessory, but is important in keeping the collars of your shirt, firm and crisp, eliminating curling. It is quite affordable and worth buying for professionals who wear collared shirts to the office.

A small cufflink can make an otherwise boring outfit interesting. A versatile fastener that is both ornamental and practical, a cufflink can be sleek, fashionable or quirky, but the solid ones are most popular. The base metal of cufflinks may vary from silver, matte silver, rose gold and brass. Designs can range from classic to quirky.

Fashion rules

Your tie should be a shade darker than the shirt you’re pairing it with, and the hue should complement your suit and skin tone.

Belt and shoes should match and socks should match the trousers. If you are wearing black trousers, your socks may not be black but still need to get into the colours of navy blue, dark grey, charcoal grey.

There are many misconceptions about men’s grooming. Says Pria Warrick, President cum Executive Director, Pria Warrick Finishing School: “A lot of men feel they can’t use perfumes simply because they don’t know what kind to buy. If you are tall and broad, you pick up something with a woody fragrance. If you are of average height, say 5 feet 7 inches, then you pick up something musky. Please don’t start spraying this all over your clothes; you can at best apply it on the pocket square. Besides, the rule is you wear white pocket squares during the day and deeper colours that match with your tie at night or in the evening.”

Don’t wear a tie pin if you are wearing a jacket. A tie clip is worn without the suits. The sleeves of your shirt should be half an inch showing at the cuffs. One should close the buttons of his jacket/blazer while standing and keep them open while seated.

Anything flashy in cufflinks can be worn in the evenings but the day needs to be sober. An office watch must be thin, slick, with roman lettering on the dial and a leather strap. While it might be hard to let go of the technology of smartwatches, you can’t deny the sophistication that a classic wristwatch adds to an ensemble. If you are meeting a client over the weekend, you can wear khaki trousers and a t-shirt with collars, never without collars.

Bespoke accessories

Opting for signature customised accessories is becoming fashionable for the urban elite, who are moving away from generic fast-fashion accessories.

Says designer Rathore: “The new trend is customisation of accessories–it could be name initials or totems…Even specially woven ties, pockets, scarves and initialised signatures are now a huge trend. Bespoke brands like ours take pleasure in designing cufflinks, bracelets and other high-end accessories as per the customers’ requirements, making it a personalised experience.”

Finally, accessories open up the door for men to experiment with fashion options to boost up their overall style. Whatever the occasion, these fashion fix-ups will ensure that you look classy and put together.

Table: Indicative price list of men’s accessories

Source: Market Research