Watches, Tie Bars and Lapel Pins: Suit Accessory Rules

A suit does most of the work on its own. Accessories add the last ten percent: a watch that slips under the cuff, a tie bar that keeps the tie in place, a flower on the lapel at a wedding. Chosen well, they make an outfit look considered. Chosen badly, or piled on together, they make it look like a costume. Below are the practical rules for watches, tie bars, lapel pins and boutonnieres, belts and cufflinks, and how to decide when to stop.

What accessories should you wear with a suit?

The essential accessories with a suit are a watch and a belt (or braces). Cufflinks become essential when you wear a shirt with French cuffs. Everything else is optional: a pocket square, a tie bar, a lapel pin, and a boutonniere for weddings and formal events. The more formal the occasion, the fewer and plainer the accessories should be, and with evening dress restraint is the whole point.

What size watch should you wear with a suit?

The right watch for a suit is slim, simple and sized to your wrist. A useful rule is that the case should cover about two-thirds of the width of your wrist. Today's average men's watch measures about 40 mm across, which suits many wrists. Men with smaller wrists, under about 6½ inches (17 cm) around, usually look best in a case of 36 to 38 mm. A thin case matters as much as the diameter: it has to slide under a shirt cuff without catching. Bulky dive and sports watches tend to sit on top of the cuff and fight the clean line of a suit sleeve.

To check your size, measure around your wrist with a soft tape just above the wrist bone, then look at the watch from above: the lugs, the small arms that hold the strap, should not overhang the edges of your wrist. A plain dial with simple hands looks more formal than a busy dial crowded with sub-dials.

Which watch strap goes with a suit?

A leather strap is the most formal choice. Match it to your shoes and belt: black strap with black shoes, dark brown with dark brown. A brown strap with a black suit and black shoes looks disconnected. A plain metal bracelet is fine for business wear; match its metal to your belt buckle and cufflinks. Rubber, fabric and nylon straps are casual and look out of place with a business suit.

With black tie, wear a slim dress watch with a plain face on a black leather strap, or no watch at all. With white tie, tradition says no wristwatch. See our guides to black tie and white tie.

Where does a tie bar go?

A tie bar goes between the third and fourth buttons of your shirt, roughly in the middle of your chest. It clips both blades of the tie to the shirt placket, so the tie stays in place when you lean forward or the wind picks up. Wear it level, not tilted, and make sure it catches the shirt as well as the tie, or it will just slide down.

• Narrower than the tie. The bar should cover roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of the tie's width where it sits, and never stick out past the edges. A slim tie needs a short bar.
• Not too high, not too low. Above the third button it crowds the knot; below the fourth it disappears under a buttoned jacket.
• Not with a waistcoat. A waistcoat already holds the tie in place and hides the bar. Skip it under a buttoned cardigan too.
• Plain for business. A simple polished or brushed bar looks better than a novelty design at work.

How do you wear a lapel pin or boutonniere?

Wear a lapel pin or a boutonniere on the left lapel, just above the heart. If the jacket has a working lapel buttonhole, put the pin or the flower's stem through it; if not, pin it at the same spot. Wear one at a time: a lapel pin and a boutonniere together look cluttered.

Lapel pins

A lapel pin is a small badge: a flag, a club or company emblem, an award or a simple metal or enamel design. Keep it small and meaningful. It suits business events, ceremonies and days when it says something, such as a commemoration. It does not belong at black tie events or funerals, unless it marks the occasion itself.

Boutonnieres

A boutonniere is a single flower, or a small cluster, worn in the lapel buttonhole with the stem pointing down and the flower facing out. At weddings it is traditional for the groom, groomsmen and the couple's fathers; guests do not usually wear one unless asked. At black tie, a boutonniere is optional and should be small and single. Many well-made jackets have a small thread loop on the back of the left lapel, behind the buttonhole, that holds the stem in place.

What belt should you wear with a suit?

Wear a slim leather dress belt about 1 to 1¼ inches (2.5 to 3.2 cm) wide, with a plain buckle. Match the leather to your shoes in color and roughly in finish, and match the buckle metal to your watch and cufflinks. Aim to fasten it on the middle hole, so the tail reaches the first belt loop without flapping.

If your trousers have side adjusters or brace buttons, wear no belt. Never wear a belt and braces together. Proper braces fasten to buttons inside the waistband, not with clips, and hang straighter. Our guide to belt loops, side adjusters and braces explains each option.

Cufflinks, pocket squares and jewelry

• Cufflinks: only with French (double) cuffs. Choose simple metal, mother-of-pearl or silk knots for business, and match the metal to your watch and buckle. See French cuffs and cufflinks.
• Pocket square: complements the tie without matching it exactly. A white linen square goes with everything; see how to fold a pocket square.
• Collar bar or pin: holds the collar points close under the tie knot. A dressy, deliberate look; keep it plain.
• Rings: a wedding ring and perhaps a signet ring. More than that competes with the watch.
• Bracelets and necklaces: keep bracelets thin enough to sit under the cuff, and necklaces inside the shirt.

How many accessories is too many?

A good default with a suit is a watch, a belt and one more piece: a pocket square, a tie bar or cufflinks. Add a second extra only when the occasion invites it, such as a wedding. Choose one point of interest and keep everything else quiet; if the tie is bold, the pocket square and cufflinks should step back.

Matching metals does more than anything else to make accessories look like a set. Wear yellow gold with yellow gold and silver tones with silver tones across the watch case, belt buckle, tie bar, cufflinks and collar bar. A mixed set of finishes reads as accidental, even when each piece is fine on its own.

Which accessories suit each occasion?

For the clothes around these accessories, see our guides to wedding suits and how to wear a suit.

The tailor's view: details that make accessories work

Several accessory rules depend on how the suit and shirt are made, so ask for the details when you buy or commission. A working left lapel buttonhole, ideally with a flower loop behind it, makes pins and boutonnieres sit properly. Trousers cut with brace buttons, or with side adjusters, free you from a belt. A shirt cuff sized for your watch keeps the sleeve smooth.

Get these right once and the accessories become easy: a slim watch, a belt that matches the shoes, a tie bar where it belongs and, on the right day, a single flower on the left lapel. That is all a good suit needs.

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