"Not the gumdrop buttons!"

Last night, my fraternity held elections for the new Executive Board for the upcoming school semester.  One requirement of all the actives is that they wear "pin attire" or a suit and tie.  I couldn't help but notice that although all of my brothers looked great, they failed when it came to buttoning their jacket. 


There are two main tips that I have learned about buttons on suits.  (these go for men and women)  First and foremost, if at any point you find yourself standing, your jacket should be buttoned.  The jacket should then be unbuttoned when you sit down, and vice versa.  Sometimes its tricky to stand, button, and shake someone's hand all at once.


Practice this before interviews and meetings so that its natural when actually put into practice.


The other piece is to know which buttons to button on any suit jacket.  There are many tricks to use, but the one that I use the most is the saying "sometimes, always, never".  On a three button suit you can say one word for each button as your work your way down.  This way you know which are and aren't appropriate.  For a two button jacket, you just start with "always".


These tips should help you get through most situations.  If you would like to know anything else feel free to comment on the article and I'll help you out!