Mix & Match Suit Separates: Can You? Better Yet, Should You?

When you think about suiting style and how to wear your suits, you may often think of an entire suit as a one-and-done deal. If you purchased the pants and coat together you must always wear them together while having fun and mixing up the dress shirt and accessories.

What if we told you you don't have to wear them all together all the time? What if the Ticknors style experts told you that you can (and should) create your own custom suit styles by mixing your separates to create new looks.

Taking your suits and deconstructing them in a way that gives you more options is a great way to really get the most out of your suits. This also gives you even more choices for all of your suiting occasions.

But how do you mix and match your suit separates with ease? How can you take your suits and create new looks all while looking effortlessly stylish? Ticknors style guides are here to help you figure out how to do just that.

Tip #1: Make sure the fit is consistent.

If you have a great slim fit suit and another more classic fit suit, Ticknors style experts don't recommend trying to mix and match those separates. To achieve the best look you want to make sure your fit style is consistent throughout your look. Pair your slim suit coat with slim dress pants, your classic fit coat with classic fit dress pants, and so on. 

Tip #2: Don't be afraid to pair a dark suit coat with lighter pants. 

You don't have to keep the suit coat and pants in the same color family - and the summer is a great time to mix it up! Lighten up the color of your pants to inject some summer vibes right in to suit style quickly. 

This look was created by swapping out a dark pant for a suit pant in tan. This look is also great for Friday's at the office, a lunch time meeting, or a summer wedding. 

Tip #3: Also consider swapping out your dark suit coat for a lighter coat to create instant visual interest.

Our second tip talks about swapping out the pants of a suit with a lighter pair to inject professional summer time vibes but don't forget the reverse is also true - you can mix up your suit coat by swapping it for a lighter color and add really great visual interest to your look. This is a great option for afternoon weddings.

Lighter grey suit coats are an easy launching point to try out this look.

Tip #4: Use suits that have the same fabric weight and come from the same season.

While Ticknors is all about personal effortless style, we don't advise going so far off the deep end that you start mixing and matching suits that come from different seasons. 

A pinstriped suit shouldn't be mixed up by adding in a wool garment (like wool dress pants) - it just wouldn't look right and you wouldn't feel your best. Try and pair like fabrics with like fabrics, and fabric weight with similar fabric weight. 

Tip #5: Add in your favorite accessories.

If you are an avid reader of our blog, you know that Ticknors style experts suggest using accessories to create unique and one-of-a-kind looks and your suit style is no exception.

If you are limited and cannot wear bold and bright colored shirts (due to profession, or industry, or even HR) really mix it up with your accessories. Mix up your pocket square and play with style by adding a solid pocket square to give yourself a modern feel. Add bracelets, cuff links, or a great time piece. Really have fun with it!

If you want to make sure you have the right pieces to create your own mix and match looks, stop in to any of our Ticknors stores.

Our style experts are ready to help you create your perfect wardrobe so you are always the most stylish in the room.