Deciding whether you have to wear a tie with a suit or not is a question that pops up a lot when men come to dressing the part for an occasion. Although it has become increasingly popular to wear an open neck shirt with a jacket, there are a few things that you need to bare in mind.
So, is it OK to wear a suit without a tie? It depends on the occasion, however the answer is generally no. Not wearing a tie with a suit, would be like not wearing socks with your shoes or not wearing cuff links with your cuffs! The suit is designed for the tie and would be lost without it. There are some cases where you can get away without a tie and we will discuss these further.
Today, we'll help you decide on what is best for your suit and occasion and whether it is OK to wear a suit without a tie :)
Whether it is a professional occasion, formal event like a wedding or even sometimes a more smart casual event, this question is vital to get right!
Back to what we mentioned before, a traditional suit, means matching trousers and jacket, a shirt and tie, which are all designed to be coordinated together and not worn as separate items from one another. The suit itself is made to frame the tie, the collar is made in a way to frame your face, so all is designed to be worn in sync and complimenting one another. The suit would not be fulfilling it's life purpose if it did not have it's tie buddy to "tie" everything together! I mean, the outfit of these handsome gentleman below would just look wrong and incomplete if they hadn't accompanied their suit with a tie or bow tie.
Also, don't forget that a tie gives every individual the opportunity to show off their personality with a colour or pattern! It brings the suit to life and gives that individual more character than what a mono-toned suit could do on its own. Take a look at this lovely trio below! They have chosen to wear a tie with their suit for a wedding, but have selected their own colours and tied it together with a nice bright coloured boutonnière to express their own personalities and have a bit of fun!
Ergo, wearing a tie is generally a must for all professional and formal events. Showing up tieless to something like an important business meeting, as the best man for a wedding or even for a prom, where everyone else is wearing a tie can come across as plain lazy, or make you look silly for having not understood the attire for the occasion. It can also come across as very disrespectful to the hosts of the event, especially if they have specified the type of dress code.
There are some occasions you may attend where it is OK to wear a suit without a tie. For example a summery beach wedding, often has a more laid back attire and because it is most likely a hotter climate, you may be excused from wearing a tie with your suit. Other occasions where you may get away with it, could be a cocktail party or lower key events such as birthday parties, gatherings or possibly benefits, charity events or gallery openings etc.
However, majority of occasions where you'll be wearing a suit, you can assume you'll need to wear a tie. If you're unsure, make sure you research into the type of attire you should wear for the occasion you're attending and if there is an invite, check the dress code and research that code and whether a tie is required or not with your suit. Remember, as mentioned before, you can use this opportunity to show off your personality and dress the suit up with a colourful tie, or a patterned tie. There are so many options to stand out from the crowd and bring your suit to life!
If in doubt, just remember it is always better to be over dressed than under dressed! If you show up with a tie on and the event doesn't happen to be as formal as you expected, you can always take it off and rock the open shirt look! But if you show up without a tie and you realise you should have worn one, well... you may have to comb you're hair back and shine you're shoes so you don't look too under dressed! Better to be safe than sorry :)
I hope this has answered your question! Please just give us a shout if you have anymore :)
