Men's Jewelry

For a man wearing a suit the right jewelry can upgrade your look from smart to brilliant. At the same time, ostentatious 'bling-bling' is distracting and unattractive; men's jewelry should always be subtle. The watch passes the test by virtue of its functionality; cufflinks and tie clips earn provisional legitimacy on the same grounds. The wedding band is respected for what it represents, and other rings may be subtle enough to work to a man's advantage in the right setting. Piercings have featured prominently in so many counter-culture movements, from pirates to camp to punk rock, that they immediately arouse negative reactions from many. If you are going to wear an eyebrow stud with a suit, the suit had better fit you like your own skin if you don't want to be remembered as 'the guy with the eyebrow ring.'

A general rule of dressing says to match metal to metal. That means that if your belt buckle is silver, for instance, so should be your cuff links, tie clip, and anything else shiny you wear. As with all things, this is a general guideline, not a hard and fast rule: a man with a gold wedding ring can wear silver cuff links if he likes, and one who wears an heirloom silver watch is free to wear brass buckles. Another rule says not to wear gold after dark (nor button-down collars, nor brown shoes, for that matter). This is good to keep in mind when dressing for the night-life, and again, it is a good suggestion rather than a cardinal law.