Welcome back to the Gentleman's
Gazette. In today's video, we'll discuss 14 problems that are well
known to the sartorially-inclined, some potential solutions to them, and just how
big of a deal or not these problems actually are. ♪ The Gentleman's Gazette theme song ♪ As the old saying goes, "clothes make the man." But, is
this always true? While dressing up undoubtedly has numerous benefits, a gentleman who is well-versed
in proper sartorial practices will also be familiar with a number of unique pitfalls and
problems. We've compiled a list of 14 gentlemen's problems from top to bottom of an outfit; things
that devotees of classic style are going to notice, but that the layman probably won't. So, let's get
started with our first problem today, which is collar gap. Collar gapping describes the way that
the back collar of your suit jacket or sport coat can stand up and away from the collar of your
shirt, usually more on one side of your body than the other. The particularly frustrating aspect of
this problem is that it isn't easily diagnosed. In other words, you can suffer collar gap on jackets
that are quite roomy in fit and jackets that are quite trimly fitted. Some believe that the cause
is having a collar of a jacket that is simply too wide for your own neck. And while this can happen,
the fact that many men experience collar gap more to one side than the other suggests that
a more likely root cause is probably having one shoulder sit naturally lower than the other. As an
example, Raphael has shoulders of different heights and has to grapple with collar gap from time to
time on several of his jackets. Or take a look at this tuxedo jacket as worn by Jay Gatsby played
by Leonardo DiCaprio. Or would that be "Di-GAP-rio" in this circumstance? [Cricket noises]
[Heckling sound] Some men may find that it happens on
every ready-to-wear jacket that they try on, which can be particularly frustrating.
If this is the case, then made-to-measure or full bespoke may be the only option to alleviate collar
gap. Or it may also be possible to cheat collar gap by having your tailor lower the top button on
your jacket so that the one side is pulled down a bit more, thus pulling the collar closer to
your neck when you stand. Or you could simply find a jacket brand which gives you no collar gap
and then stick with that brand. For example, one of our contributors, Dr. Christopher Lee, has found that
more full-cut jackets from places like Ring Jacket or The Armoury give him no collar gap, whereas
more fitted jackets from places like Suit Supply do give him gap. And as you'll be aware if you've
watched our recent Suit Supply review video, I also had numerous problems with collar gap when trying
on Suitsupply jackets. Our number two problem today is shoulder divots on jackets. This one is
probably going to be even less noticeable to the general public and, similarly to collar gap, it's
difficult to diagnose. It occurs when you've got your arms at your sides in their natural resting
position and you see dimples or divots just above your biceps in the jacket's sleeves. These
indentations can appear on both sleeves or just one, and they seem to be more common or at least
noticeable on flannels than on lighter weights of fabric. One source of the issue, of course, would be
wearing a jacket whose shoulders are simply a bit too wide for your own build as is the case with
the 1980s power shoulder jacket I'm wearing here today. Although, there can be other root causes
as well. One is a sleeve pitch or rotation that doesn't harmonize with the way that your shoulders
sit naturally and another is an armhole that might be too small. Tailors can attempt to fix
these issues, with varying degrees of success, but if you see shoulder dimples immediately on
a ready-to-wear garment before purchasing it, you may want to think twice and not rely too much
on your tailor. Our number three problem today is flyaway collars, which is when the points of your
shirt collar don't sit where they ought to, which is against the body of your shirt and underneath
the collar and lapels of your jacket or other outerwear. This will occur if your shirt's collar
is small and stiff or long and soft. So, either extreme of length and stiffness can cause the
issue. Collar stays will do much to solve this problem, but making sure that your collar shape and
size complement your own build is the key here. And, of course, depending on your own personal
taste, a flyaway collar may not be so much problematic as a unique style statement. In either
case, to learn more about the various different types of shirt collars, you can consult our video
on that topic here. Our number four problem today is having a shirt with a second button that's in
the wrong place. By second button, we're referring to the one under the collar button, the one you
would normally keep buttoned even if you're not wearing a tie and have your top collar button
undone. And even with this top collar button undone, if your second button is too high, you're still
going to have the potential of looking too buttoned up and boring. On the other hand, if it's
too low, you do have the potential of looking like Tony Manero in "Saturday Night Fever", maybe even
with some chest hair showing. One solution of course would be unbuttoning this second button
as well, though you'll have to experiment with just how your shirt collar is going to sit if you
choose to do this. Another option is simply finding a shirt brand that places its second button at
the right height for your particular build. And a third option is going custom, in which case you
can place that second button wherever you'd like. The fifth problem today is having a pocket square
that's constantly sinking or rising in your pocket. Many men uninitiated to classic style don't even
wear pocket squares of course, so the idea that one could be sitting incorrectly in your pocket may
seem foreign at first. But, indeed, pocket squares do have the potential to sink down into a pocket
and be unseen or conversely to billow out and look like a balloon. This depends principally on both
the size and the material of your pocket square. If it's too small for the average jacket pocket,
under 12 inches square, or if it's made from a particularly heavy material, it has the potential
to sink down. And with satiny silk pocket squares, which are a combination of airy and slippery, these
can balloon up and look like a silly soufflé. Some specific folding techniques may sometimes help, but
you'll have to experiment with the sizes of your squares, as well as the sizes of the jacket pockets
that you're going to fit them into. You could also try something like a pocket square holder, but
these are gadgets that are often just going to be a waste of your money as we discuss in this video
here. Of course, the pocket squares that we offer in the Fort Belvedere shop are designed at different
sizes based on the stiffness and weight of their material so that they always fit attractively in
your pockets. You can check them out in the Fort Belvedere shop here. Our sixth problem today is
having difficulties with sleeve length. How much of your shirt cuff should be visible below the
sleeve of your jacket is a topic that is commonly and heatedly discussed on online menswear forums
with typical advice being between one quarter and one half of an inch. This is fine and dandy in
theory of course, but you're probably going to have jackets and shirts with various different sleeve
lengths in your closet. So, they're all going to play differently with one another. And if you get
your jacket sleeves altered to show a certain length of shirt cuff, this may work perfectly
well for some of your shirts but not for others. If you'd really like to be as particular as
possible about it then, this would mean keeping track of which of your jackets go best with some
of your shirts to show the proper amount of cuff or buying shirts with different sleeve lengths
accordingly. Again, sleeve length of a jacket can vary some degree based upon brand, and mentioning
Suitsupply once more, their jackets are known for having notoriously short sleeves as I found out
when we took a visit there. Many men will also have discrepancies in the length of their arms
or in the height of their shoulders as we alluded to before. So, whatever the case may be,
the ideal solution here would probably be to go custom if you truly want to show that same amount
of shirt cuff all the time. And continuing with questions of length, our number seven problem today
is getting the right length out of your necktie. The question of how long your necktie should be,
with the general consensus being that it ought to just touch your waistband, is something that
occupies men who are new to classic style. Frankly, though, even when you consider yourself something
of a menswear professional, this can continue to be a bit of a problem. For one thing, depending on your
height, you may find most ties to be either too long or too short. If you tie your tie properly
so that the front blade is hanging just at the edge of your waistband, you may find that the back
blade is too long if you're a shorter gentleman or too short if you're tall. And, of course, if you wear
trousers with a higher rise, your tie should be shorter to harmonize properly and thus, you'll find
that conventional ties are probably going to be too long on average. One solution would be
to alter the tie knot used, which may take up more or less of the ties fabric. Another technique
would be to tuck one or both blades of your tie into the waistband of your trousers, which
is a look that some men aren't too fond of. Although, of course, it will be invisible if you
keep your jacket closed. Two additional factors can complicate things further here. The first of
these is that the length of a conventional tie can vary from 57 to 60 inches or so and those three
inches can make a world of difference in how a tie fits you. The second factor is that bespoke ties
aren't so easily found and they can be costly. And even when and where they are available, they often
come in more business-like colors and textures and you're not going to find many woven or knit
ties. Fortunately, though, we at Fort Belvedere offer many of our ties in varying lengths so that
you can find the optimal one for you. And if all else fails, you might as well just leave your tie
blades uneven and call it a case of sprezzatura. Our number eight problem today is pleats that stay
open. Firstly here, it's safe to say that a great many men are probably going to scorn pleated pants
outright these days. But, the fact of the matter is if you try a pair that fits your build well, you'll
probably be sold on them and want to incorporate them into your wardrobe. The problem encountered
by wearers of pleated trousers, though, comes in when the pleats sit unattractively staying open
and looking billowy. This seems to happen most often if the pleats are small or if they're sewn
too tightly or if the trousers you're wearing are too tight for your waistline. The result is that
the rise or the front of the trousers isn't going to look as attractive as it otherwise might.
And, in extreme cases, it can even look as though it's ballooned outward. The solution here is simply to
try on different pairs of trousers before you buy to make sure that the pleats interact well
with your own build. And inward facing pleats are going to stay closed and look attractive
more than outward facing pleats will. If you are suffering from ballooning pleats though, you
might as well just tell those around you that it's "Hammer time!" Number nine on our list today is
not being able to use your pockets. We've touched on the concept of "everyday carry" or EDC elsewhere
on the channel before. But, the fact of the matter is no matter how much or how little you carry,
anything in your pockets is probably going to upset the clean unbroken lines of the fabric. And,
setting aside trousers, it's also potentially a bad idea to use the outer pockets on a suit jacket
or sport coat, especially if they're patch pockets, because over time, if you overstuff them, they may
stretch or sag, which can't be fixed. The solution here then is to keep your everyday carry fairly
light and to use the interior pockets of garments wherever possible. It is a bit ironic given that
classic menswear often features a surplus of pockets overall, but the gentleman concerned with
style will often sacrifice a bit of utility for how he looks. Our 10th problem today is keeping
light-colored trousers clean. Those who venture into the arena of wearing off-white or pure white
trousers do have to struggle with keeping them clean. This is more of a problem for pants than for
jackets or shirts because they're closer to the ground, and you also do sit on them. Stylish gents
wearing light-colored trousers may find themselves sweating over sitting down on park benches
or on the subway and might get nervous while eating pasta with sauce or curries. Frankly, wearing
light-colored trousers does require a good deal of care and attention to keep them clean which,
depending on your outlook, can be a tremendous pain or can simply be an opportunity to slow down
and appreciate the finer details of life. And, fortunately, effective stain removal methods
do exist for the times when accidents happen. And you can find them as well as a variety of
other solutions in our garment care playlist here. Our number 11 problem today also relates
to trousers and it has to do with keeping them at the right length. Whether you like to wear your
trousers with a break or no break and cuffs or no cuffs is a matter of personal preference. Overall,
the prevailing wisdom is that the hem of your trousers should either just touch the tops of your
shoes or show a minimal break. During the course of the day, however, your trousers can slide down a bit
over time depending on your build even if you're wearing a belt or side adjusters. So, you may end
up showing more break than you'd otherwise like to. This can be difficult to avoid even when
setting the length of your pants at a tailor because when doing this, you'll often
have them pulled up to their ideal height, not to where they may sink down to later on in the
day. As such, the simplest solution here would be to pull your pants up a few times throughout the day,
but a better solution would be to wear suspenders. Because suspenders or braces hold your pants
at the right length by hanging them from your shoulders, you won't be fighting gravity and
they'll stay situated properly, leaving you with a clean and unbroken leg line. In the number 12 spot
today, we've got the problem of managing your socks. The typical advice on dress socks for men is
that they should always be over the calf in style to prevent them from drooping down. The
shorter variety more popular today that only come halfway up the calf can sag or bag and they
can also expose your hairy shins when sitting down, which is decidedly not a stylish look. There can
be drawbacks to wearing over-the-calf socks, too however, as in summer, they may have the potential
to feel a bit warm and in winter, if you're wearing flannel trousers, the trousers could cling to the
socks in unsightly ways, again disrupting your leg line. Sometimes, it may seem necessary or preferable
to wear shorter socks, then, but you're, of course, then opened up to the issue of having them droop
down. This was a problem alleviated back in the day by men wearing sock garters, but these are seen
as silly today. They can also be a royal pain and frankly, they're mostly unnecessary as most
socks are elasticized to some degree. So, other than simply giving your socks a quick check and pulling
them up occasionally, another potential solution may be wearing shirt stays, which connect your
shirt to your socks if you can warm up to the idea. For more information on shirt stays as
well as collar stays, you can find our video on that subject here. Our penultimate problem today,
number 13, is creases on the vamp of your shoe. Like most articles of clothing, dress shoes look
their best when they're new and unworn. Once you put them to use, though, they'll inevitably develop
scratches, scuffs, dings, and gouges, all of which can be disguised by polishing to some degree except
in one location: the vamp or the upper part of the shoe directly behind the toe area. This is the
part of your foot and, indeed, of your shoe that will bend and flex the most when you walk. So, over
time, permanent creases are likely to develop here, and polishing the area may actually make things
worse as the wax can cloud or crack over the crease as you continue to walk in the shoe. So, what
is there to do? First, buy shoes of higher quality as shoes made from thinner, cheaper materials are
going to crease more and look worse over time. Next, use shoe trees after wearing your shoes and
when storing them as these are going to minimize creasing by holding the shoe in its original
unflexed position. Lastly here, simply try to live with the creases. Out of all of your clothing, shoes
may be the most hard working and hard wearing and over time, having a bit of creasing is only natural.
Indeed, it can simply add to the lived-in character of a good pair of shoes over their lifetime. And in
our number 14 spot, we've got another problem that relates to shoes, asymmetrical shoelaces. This may
be the most overlooked and, frankly, finicky of all gentlemen's problems, but once you're made aware of
it, you won't be able to unsee it. When you tie your shoelaces, it's likely that you loop the left lace
over the right when making a bow. The end result of this is that the finished knot is going to be
twisted slightly on the diagonal. In other words, it won't lie straight across or perpendicular
to the shoe. And while nobody else may notice, it's probably true that you will. Fortunately, we've
got a video that explains how to alleviate this problem by tying your shoes the right way, which is
to say crossing the laces in the opposite manner. The video also covers a few alternative lacing
and tying methods and discusses what types of shoe laces will be best for your shoes.
So, be sure to check it out here. And, as a bonus, mastering this technique will likely mean that
your shoes are going to stay more solidly tied for longer periods of time. To wrap up today,
then, we're fully aware that most, if not all of the problems on today's list represent the most
minute of issues in the grand scheme of things. Problems that most men not only aren't going
to notice, but might think are silly or outright ridiculous even if they were to think about them.
Ultimately, these problems are a result of seeking perfection. Not only to dress your best but, indeed,
to be flawless in your appearance. This ideal of perfection can be tempting, especially when looking
at professionally photographed menswear images. But, indeed, these photographs are done under the
most ideal of circumstances. They're often going to present products that are fresh out of the box
with no wear on them, under controlled lighting and, indeed, they may have filters or other photo
manipulation applied to them afterward. Therefore, especially because most of the people around
you aren't going to notice these smaller details, remember to have fun when you're assembling your
outfits. Take care, of course, and savor your style, but in the end, don't sweat the small stuff.
In today's video, I'm wearing a number of garments and accessories that serve to illustrate some of the
various problems we discussed in the video. Most readily apparent, of course, would be my dark brown
vintage suit jacket featuring a thin pinstripe in tan and light blue, which, as I said, dates to
the 1980s and thus has power shoulders that are frankly a bit big for my build, resulting in some
shoulder divots. Also, the sleeves of the jacket are just a bit short and I haven't had them let out
yet by a tailor. So, they sometimes don't harmonize perfectly with my shirt sleeves. However, given that
the French cuffs of my Charles Tyrwhitt shirt in a striped pattern of light blue and white can be
set at two different levels, I've got the cuffs oriented slightly shorter today to compensate for
the short jacket sleeves. Into those French cuffs, I've got inserted our gold-plated sterling silver
eagle claw cufflinks from Fort Belvedere featuring tiger's eye as the stone, which has some brown
and yellow tones to harmonize with many of my other garments. Also from Fort Belvedere today are
my two-tone shadow striped socks in navy blue and royal blue, my pocket square, which is in a color
we're calling antique gold ochre and in a wool silk blend featuring printed geometric medallions
in beige, red, and blue with a cream contrast edge, and my boutonniere, which is a relatively
new design to our shop. It's a dark blue mini delphinium. My vintage wool challis tie,
which is in a similar gold ochre color, features a repeated geometric motif in green and pink.
My trousers are in a stone or khaki color to ground the outfit. And my shoes from Undandy are in
dark chocolate brown suede. They're Oxfords with a cap toe and into them, I've got inserted some
Fort Belvedere laces in a brighter gold color, which serve to make the shoes pop a bit more and
also harmonize with this outfit. To prevent my trousers from sagging over the course of the
day, I've also opted to wear suspenders, which are in a blue color, which could harmonize with the
outfit. Although, of course, they won't be seen under the jacket. Additionally, my tie is tucked into
the waistband of my trousers given that they do sit relatively high on my waist and the tie would
otherwise be too long. And, of course, you can find all of the Fort Belvedere accessories I'm wearing
in today's video in the Fort Belvedere shop here. ♪ The Gentleman's Gazette theme song ♪
