Nowadays, with a sea of options in accessorising even with men’s fashion, picking the right pieces to incorporate to your suiting ensemble that will spark a flair might be a lot confusing.
If you’re still discovering your personal style and familiarising yourself with dressing up well, we recommend you to start with small pieces that will not be too loud and won’t crowd the whole outfit.
And a great yet subtle way to look suave and elegant without getting miles away from your comfort zone is to wear lapel pins.
READ: Know Your Accessories: Lapel Pin
But as small as lapel pins are, they might be a bit of a hassle to figure out. So, here at DQT, we will help you learn how to style lapel pins for any occasion.
How to Wear a Lapel Pin
Whether you’re going highly formal or totally casual, and even if you’re wearing a suit jacket or not, the only golden rule in wearing a lapel pin is to wear them approximately where the lapel buttonhole is or would be, which is the upper part of the left lapel.
How to Style a Lapel Pin
There’s actually no clear rules in terms of colour, style, and size, but here’s a few rules of thumb to remember:
- Metal Pins
Try to match your metal pin to other metal accessories on your outfit, like your cufflinks, tie clip, braces, belts, watch, or any jewelry. So, either go all gold or silver.
- Vibrant Colours
Break up your brightly coloured lapel pin with a neutral shirt and jacket, and play on the contrast it will create. Your simple knowledge of the colour wheel will go a long way.
- Pastel/Muted Colours or Flowers
Since these are the most subtle styles, make sure that it will not look invisible along with your other accessories and the outfit as a whole. So, you can have these lapel pin accentuated with matching necktie or pocket square.
When to Wear a Lapel Pin
Though some formal events require wearing lapel pins, you can never disregard wearing one even in more casual settings to give a little pinch of panache to your everyday getup.
Here, we will show you how to sport lapel pins in the most extravagant to the simplest occasion you have to attend.
- Weddings
This is the most common event where you are required to wear a boutonnière, especially if you are the groom or just a part of the entourage.
As boutonnières are made of flowers, you must keep them as fresh as possible. The key here is to make sure its cut on the last minute or at least know the specific flower’s shelf life.
Wearing a tuxedo is the best option for this type of lapel pin as the crisp black cloth will make a red or white flower to pop.
- Regular Day at the Office
There should be no excuse for every gentleman not to wear a lapel pin even on a regular day at the office.
You can always sport a stick lapel pin made with metal of your choice, be it gold, silver, copper, etc. that has a subtle detail making it still business appropriate and avoid breaking any dress code.
It’s an amazing way for you to still look stylish while running your daily errands at the office without intimidating your colleagues.
- Casual Parties
Heading out for a beer night with your friends? Or just a celebratory barbeque party at your backyard? Go ahead! Wear a lapel pin with your casual jacket, sweater or a waistcoat.
This will give your outfit that extra character and may also be a conversation piece while you interact with your friends.
Make it a habit even in casual appearances will build your confidence and will make you more comfortable on wearing more extravagant lapel pins when a high esteemed event calls for it.
To sum it all up, just always keep in mind that your main goal of dressing up is to emphasize your own facial features and physical attributes as a whole.
When wearing your lapel pin, you should not aim for anyone to just focus on your chest area but to integrate everything you are wearing making it all look pleasing in the eye.
And when in doubt, just make sure to get your accessories here at DQT. We have everything to fill all your sartorial needs. So, shop now and be that well-dressed gentleman you are!
