Pocket Squares Explained
Men of undisputed taste and elegance have always maintained that a tailored suit is naked without the pocket square (or posh handkerchief, to you and me). Indeed, during the 1900s, the handkerchief was a symbol of social status and no true gentlemen would be seen without one tucked into his breast pocket.
Pocket Square: Cool. Smoking: Not Cool. Ok, a bit cool.
He who understands the impact of the pocket square will always look a cut above the rest and there’s no better occasion than the Big Day itself to pull out all the stops with your wedding accessories, so let’s learn!
Lingo
Let’s start by getting the terminology sorted. When used as an accessory to a suit, a handkerchief is known as a pocket square. Pocket squares can be plain, patterned or monogrammed and those worn at weddings are generally made from silk, but occasionally from cotton, satin or linen.
Colours
Like the tie, there’s a daunting range of colours and styles available. Check out the impressive range on offer from our lovely friends at Swagger & Swoon and you’ll see what we mean. A sensible starting point is to match the colour of the pocket square to a colour in your tie or cravat. Helpfully, many suppliers offer matching cravat/tie and pocket square/handkerchief sets. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to colour, but you might want to keep the following conventions in mind:
- Red can bring out the navy blue in a suit
- Pink can make a charcoal suit look more modern
- With a black suit, pretty much anything goes
Patterns
Colour chosen, there’s then the option of patterns. From paisley to checkered and spotted to striped, patterns add character and can even help you to achieve a more individual look, if that’s what you’re after. Take your time and don’t forget that there’s lots of help out there. Most specialist retailers offer some sort of colour matching and fabric samples service.
How to fold it and place it
The idea is to show a flash of colour just above the breast pocket. The problem is that a pocket square can often drop down into the pocket or ride up out of it. There’s oodles of advice available on the optimum method of folding and wearing a pocket square, but one of the most straightforward (and most traditional) ways is called the One-point or One-corner Fold. It looks like a small triangle peaking out from the top of the pocket. Here’s how it’s done.
- Iron the middle of the square so that you’ll get nice sharp folds. Don’t iron the border.
- Place your square on a flat surface, matte side up. The side you want on display should be face down. Turn the square so that it makes a diamond shape.
- Take the bottom point of the diamond and fold it up to meet the top point. This creates a perfect triangle, with the longest part at the bottom.
- Fold the triangle into thirds by folding the left corner in one third of the way towards the right. Repeat this step and take right side in one third of the way towards the left. You’ll end up with a vertical rectangle with a point on top. Hopefully.
- Put on your suit jacket. Tuck the pocket square into your pocket with the folded edges facing the inside of your suit.
Other styles
Here are some of the other options out there if you want to do things a bit differently…
"The Presidential"
The Puff
Winged Puff
And you can learn how to create all of these styles and more (including The Astaire) courtesy of Belisi.
Etiquette
Regardless of the style selected, a pocket square should only show up to 1.5 inches above the pocket. If it features a monogram, etiquette dictates that it must never be visible whilst on display in the pocket.
Final checklist
- Do make sure that your pocket square is clean. Remember – it’s purely decorative …
- Waft an iron over it – it will look much smarter. Check the settings first, though.
- When you’re satisfied it’s in place, LEAVE IT ALONE AND DO NOT FIDDLE!
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