It can sometimes seem like women have all the fun when it comes to getting an outfit together. The sheer range of shapes, colours and garments available to women dwarf the options that men have, which are essentially all variations on a shirt and trousers. Add or remove a few buttons, change the length and put on or take off a jacket, and you have more or less every look imaginable for male fashion. Fortunately, men who want to look great can always take refuge with the elegant simplicity of a well-made suit. Suits exist on the outskirts of the fashion world, neither within it nor ever entirely anti-fashion. A good suit never goes out of style, but you hardly ever see a three-piece pinstripe on a Milanese catwalk.

Australian Suits

In Australia, particularly in the cities of the east coast, it can get extremely hot very quickly. Although you might look and feel great when you put on your suit in the morning, by lunchtime you’ll be sweating bullets, staining your crisp, beautiful suit and stewing yourself in your own fluids. That’s hardly the image you were going for when you first put on a great suit, nor should it have to be the case any longer.

While wool suits are traditional, they’re not appropriate for the Australian climate. You want to wear a suit made from a different material—one that breathes well enough to keep you cool, but has all the structural integrity and commanding presence of a wool suit. Innovative Australian suit makers are now making men’s suits from easy-breathing, lightweight materials like Egyptian cotton. Wearing a suit made from a feather-light fabric allows you to stay comfortable in the Australian heat while still looking your best.

Suit Accessories

Of course, no suit is complete without a few personal touches. You don’t want to look like the huddled masses of other men in two-pieces and bland shirts. You want your suit to look like you, an extension of your unique personality and je ne saisquois. When you buy your suit, have a look at the accessories offered by the suit maker and see if they have anything that suits you. All great suit retailers, particularly those that provide ready-to-wear suits, should stock a variety of shirts, shoes and belts as the bare minimum, so you can walk out with an entire wardrobe assembled.

Of course, suit accessories don’t begin and end with leather and shirts. If you’re headed to a wedding, or you want to add a touch of old-world personality to your ensemble, you might want to pick up some cufflinks, available in almost any conceivable design. Cufflinks might be a touch old-fashioned, but they look much better, and express your personality far more efficiently, than stock standard button-up cuffs. Similarly, if you’re headed to a wedding or a similar affair, you can wear a lapel pin or pocket square that complements the colour of your shirt or tie to subtly enhance your suit. Remember, the secret to pulling off a suit is to be elegant and understated.