The Finishing Touch: How Handkerchiefs Transform a Tailored Look
While they’re often the final thing that’s added to a tailored ensemble, handkerchiefs have the ability to truly complete an outfit by adding a finishing touch of insouciance, style and personality. However, with a dizzying number of patterns, fabrications and styling options available, it can be slightly daunting knowing where to start.
Here, we offer our no nonsense guide to the world of luxury handkerchiefs, providing an overview of what fabrics match what occasions, the various folds available and what’s trending right now.
What fabric for what occasion?
Handkerchiefs or pocket squares come in a range of fabrics that run from linen and cotton right through to silk and more elaborate brocade fabrics. Don’t let this overwhelm you though. Our general rule is that the more luxurious or sumptuous the fabric of your suit, the more premium the fabric of your pocket square should be.
In action, this means that if you’re wearing a light construction linen blazer, you would pair it with a similarly casual pocket square like one made of linen or cotton. Conversely, if you were slipping on a dinner suit, you would go for something slightly more luxurious like silk.
How to style handkerchiefs with tailored suits?
Having chosen the pocket square itself, you can now make a decision on what kind of fold you’d like. While there are many elaborate options out there - and the instructional YouTube videos to match - we generally steer people to one of two styles.
The first is the classic presidential fold. This can be easily achieved by folding the pocket square to the width of your breast pocket and neatly tucking it in so that 1-2 centimetres of the fabric is sticking out evenly. This is perfect for more reserved occasions or when you have a block coloured handkerchief where there aren’t multiple elements of the design to display.
In contrast, the second option is one that we’ve affectionately dubbed ‘the croissant’. While it looks complicated, this is a style that’s incredibly easy to achieve and is perfect for adding a little more panache to your look. To create the croissant, you simply pick up the handkerchief from the centre and then twist the loose ends into a rope. Bring the two ends together and tuck them into the breast pocket. You can then fan out the resulting ‘pleats’ as you see fit.
What handkerchief styles are trending now?
As we head into silly season, lighter styles of pocket squares are enjoying their time in the sun. Particularly popular are gauzy linen styles that pair perfectly with more unstructured blazers. Generally these come with a pattern and provide the perfect offset to a neutral coloured jacket.
To discover the full range of Oscar Hunt pocket squares or to learn more about how to style them, we invite you to swing by your local showroom today.