The right suit can make a world of difference in your self-confidence. You'll feel more confident wearing an attractive, premium suit. While there are dozens of types of premium suits from which you can choose, however, you may want to consider a houndstooth suit. Houndstooth suits have become increasingly popular. They offer a modernly stylish appearance that's synonymous with men's formalwear. What is a houndstooth suit exactly?
Overview of Houndstooth Suits
Houndstooth suits are characterized by their pattern. They feature a houndstooth pattern. If you buy a houndstooth suit, you'll notice this pattern on the jacket and trousers. Houndstooth suits don't feature a checkered, plaid, or striped pattern; they feature a houndstooth pattern.
Also known as dogtooth, houndstooth is a pattern that resembles the teeth of a typical canine or hound. When inspecting a houndstooth suit, you'll probably notice that the pattern isn't even. Rather, the houndstooth pattern consists of uneven shapes, each of which is typically pointed in the corner. These uneven and four-pointed shapes create the houndstooth pattern.
Houndstooth vs Checkered Patterns
Some people assume that houndstooth and checkered patterns are the same. While houndstooth and checkered patterns share some similar characteristics, they aren't the same.
The checkered pattern consists of even squares or rectangles. In some checkered patterns, the squares or rectangles overlap slightly. In others, they don't overlap. The houndstooth pattern, on the other hand, consists of four-pointed shapes.
These uneven shapes aren't squares, rectangles or any other recognized geometric shape. Instead, the houndstooth pattern consists of uneven shapes. It's known as the "houndstooth" pattern because the shapes look like the teeth of hounds.
Benefits of Choosing a Houndstooth Suit
You can rest assured knowing that a houndstooth suit will complement your appearance. Houndstooth suits are simple yet attractive. They don't feature any intricate shapes. While they all have uneven shapes, houndstooth suits have simple shapes with pointed corners. These four-pointed shapes will complement your appearance.
Houndstooth suits are easy to match. You can wear a dress shirt in the same color as the four-pointed shapes in the suit's pattern. Alternatively, you can choose a dress shirt in a slightly darker or lighter color. All suits require a dress shirt. With a houndstooth suit, you can simply choose a dress shirt in the same color as the four-pointed shapes. There's no easier way to create a matching outfit.
Houndstooth suits are better at concealing stains than most other types of suits. Of course, it's best to avoid stains altogether. If you're going to wear a suit, regardless of the pattern, you should try to avoid spilling liquids or other substances that may stain it. With that said, houndstooth suits may conceal minor stains. The uneven shapes used in the houndstooth pattern can conceal small stains so that they harm the suit's aesthetics.
Tips on Choosing a Houndstooth Suit
You can't choose the perfect houndstooth suit without considering the fabric from which it's made. Some people assume that houndstooth itself is a fabric, but this isn't the case. As previously mentioned, houndstooth is a pattern. Houndstooth suits are actually available in many different fabrics. If you're planning to buy a houndstooth suit, you'll need to choose an appropriate fabric.
Wool is a popular fabric in which houndstooth suits are made. It's soft, warm, lightweight and fluffy. Houndstooth suits made of wool offer these same benefits. As a result, you may want to go with a wool houndstooth suit for the fall or winter months.
You can also find houndstooth suits available in tweed. Tweed is technically a type of wool. The term "tweed" refers to any rough-spun fabric with a napped surface. Some houndstooth suits are made of tweed. Tweed houndstooth suits offer a more traditional appearance than their plain-wool counterparts.
Don't forget to choose a houndstooth suit in the right color combination. All houndstooth suits feature multiple colors. Most of them feature two colors. They have a primary color for the background and a secondary color for the four-pointed shapes. Some houndstooth suits are black and white. The primary color is either black or white, whereas the secondary color is the other color.
Always buy both the jacket and trousers together when shopping for a houndstooth suit. It's not uncommon for some men to buy these items separately. Known as suit separates, it may work for other patterns -- but it doesn't work for the houndstooth pattern. The houndstooth pattern is very specific. If you buy the jacket and trousers separately, they may feature slightly different four-pointed shapes. For a more uniform appearance, buy a houndstooth suit that includes both the jacket and trousers.
How to Maintain Your Houndstooth Suit
After buying a houndstooth suit, you'll need to maintain it. All suits require regular cleaning. You probably won't need to wash your houndstooth suit each time you wear it, but you will need to wash it on a regular basis. Otherwise, it may develop permanent blemishes or even damage that shortens its lifespan.
How do you wash a houndstooth suit exactly? You can check the care tag for cleaning instructions. Most houndstooth suits, however, can either be hand-washed in cold water or dry-cleaned. Dry cleaning is the easiest solution. You can take your houndstooth suit to a local dry-cleaning establishment to get it cleaned.
In addition to cleaning your houndstooth suit, you may need to iron it. Houndstooth suits can develop wrinkles. Wrinkles are typically the result of creases in the fabric. If you don't hang up your houndstooth suit on a heavy-duty clothes hanger, it may develop wrinkles. Fortunately, you can eliminate wrinkles by ironing it.
Whether made of plain wool or tweed, houndstooth suits are typically safe to iron. Just place your houndstooth suit on an ironing board and run a steam iron over the surface of it. You can start with the lowest heat setting. If the wrinkles remain, you can raise the heat setting on your steam iron.
