No doubt that casual wear and athleisure are taking over the fashion world. But there's one style that will forever stay: formal attire. When talking about formal wear for men, we usually think of suits & ties. In fact, formal attire doesn't have to follow strict rules anymore - they can be worn and styled more openly and comfortably while staying stylish and relevant to dress codes.

What's Formal Attire?

The first question is, what exactly is formal attire? In short, if you find yourself receiving an invitation for formal attire, it's where you are expected to present in your best and most polished dress. It's usually going to be a fancy party - so you would not want to stick out in a crowd of well-dressed men. As a rule of thumb, always keep in mind to dress up! 

Understand Your Formal Dress Codes

Going deeper into formal attire - there are many different dress codes and levels of formality. The highest level is white tie, then black tie, business formal, semi-formal, cocktails, and comes down to semi-formal and dressy casual. 

1. White Tie 

Also known as “full evening dress”, white tie attire is considered the most formal of all dress codes. The white tie dress code indicates that guests are high-caliber, royal, or have high social standing. 

2. Black Tie

Black Tie is slightly less formal than White Tie and it is the most common formal dress code for weddings, proms, formal dinners, theatres, etc. 

Nothing can beat a man in a tux. The black-tie staples for men are: black tuxedo jackets and matching trousers, a formal white shirt, a black bow tie, a pair of quality formal braces/suspenders, and finally a pair of formal black shoes. How about dress leather belts? Ideally, you don't wear belts with tuxedo trousers as they are sleeker when worn with dressy suspenders/braces or the pants would be made with side tabs/adjusters. Tuxedos are meant to be tailored to your body, creating clean and straight lines. Wearing belts can interrupt this line and create bulk around the waist. Finishing up the look with a black bow tie, black patent leather shoes and socks. 

3. Business Formal

This dress code usually comes with a suit jacket and matching pants, preferably in dark colors. A plain dress shirt, conservative tie, and leather dress shoes are typical items. There are matching accessories to personalize your look, but they should not be a distraction. That's why premium men's black leather belts are essential in this case as you need to express a high level of business class. A premium men's clip belt made of genuine leather is the professional touch you should go for. Pay attention to the belt sizing as you would want to make sure it fits perfectly to your waist. A quick and easy belt sizing guide is available for common questions like how belt size work. 

4. Cocktail/Festive Attire

A popular dress code for summer/spring parties and holidays, this attire allows you to have a little more fun. Simply grab your favorite sports coat or blazer (a tartan blazer, for example) and a matching tie with your holiday theme. Finishing up with a genuine leather belt of your choice. Try not to limit yourself with only black belts, try on some more creative colors and styles, such as brown leather dress belts or tan genuine leather belts with embossed details. 

5. Casual

Casual dress code is informal, comfy yet still clean and professional. The last thing you would want to wear is your sweat pants! Just pull off a pair of khaki/jeans or shorts (depends on the climate), nice polo shirtn and some choices of best belt with jeans: mens plaited belts, mens woven belts and of course the all-time favorite - a pair of classic mens real leather belt. 

Important - Make sure your chosen belts are fit!

A belt cannot fully do its job if it does not fit you well. Instead of looking for the most common belt size (which you might end up having them too big or too small), let's take a look at how does belt size work at our easy and quick BELT SIZING GUIDE HERE to own your perfect pairs of belts for your next formall attire events.