pinstripe suits

Reading the stripe

Two variables decide how a pinstripe suit reads: how far apart the stripes sit, and how much they contrast with the ground cloth. A fine white stripe set wide apart on navy is close to a plain suit from three paces and belongs in an office. A broad, bright chalk stripe set close together on charcoal announces itself across a room and belongs at an evening event or a themed one. Neither is more correct — they are different garments doing different jobs, and buying the wrong one for the occasion is the usual mistake.

Business, evening and vintage

For business, stay with navy or charcoal and the narrower stripe. For evening and celebration wear, wider spacing and higher contrast photograph well and hold their own under artificial light. If you want the stripe to read explicitly period rather than corporate, look at 1920s mens suits, where the stripe is paired with wider lapels, a higher button stance and a fuller trouser. A double breasted pinstripe pushes that further again.

What to wear with it

Keep everything else plain. A patterned shirt fights a striped suit, and a striped tie against a striped suit rarely works unless the scales are obviously different. Plain white or plain light blue shirts are the safe pairings, with a solid or textured tie. Vertical stripes lengthen the torso, so the trouser break matters more than usual — one clean break, not two. Black or dark brown leather shoes, polished. Our suit color guide covers shirt and tie pairing in more detail.

For plain cloths and the rest of the range, see mens suits, or three piece suits if you want the waistcoat.