Things I Get the Most Compliments On

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Getting a compliment is a confidence boost for everybody I know and probably also for you. One of the benefits of dressing well is not that you just get better service, people respect you more, but naturally, you’ll also get more compliments.

Because you dress up, people automatically assume you know about clothes, they also expect a certain level of wealth and status, and they just think of you more highly.

In my experience, it is also a great conversation starter, if you are a little shyer, receiving a compliment is a perfect way to start the conversation. Now, unfortunately, a lot of people aren’t used to getting compliments once they dress up, they get them, they don’t know how to reply properly.

https://youtu.be/6k4Cwxaqwco

Now I like to dress up, and in 95% of the cases, I am the best-dressed man in the room or the situation, and because of that, I stand out in a certain way. I do so subtly, and most people can’t pinpoint it at the same time, it just earns me compliments automatically.

Dressing differently and especially dressing up will earn you compliments too I guarantee it. Over the years I’ve received a lot of compliments, and so I sat down and thought about what I’m most complimented on and what are the things that I earn compliments for so you can cut right to the chase and do it yourself as well.

Compliment Worthy Items In My Wardrobe

Sven Raphael Schneider in Three Piece Suit with double breasted waistcoat
Sven Raphael Schneider in Three Piece Suit with double breasted waistcoat

My Overall Look

Sometimes people will say “Hey! Great suit man.” even though it’s a sport coat combination, and so all I do is thanks and smile because I don’t want to insult a person and not give other people compliments in the future and also don’t look like a jerk. Most of the time, people will just say “Hey! You look really great.” and they don’t notice all the individual elements that are in my outfit, but they just think overall, it’s very pleasing to their eye. To create outfits like that, you want to have a harmonious outfit with no single item that stands out too much; you can do that with colors, with patterns, and with textures.

Silk Boutonnieres that look like real flowers - they just never wilt & travel well
Fort Belvedere Silk Boutonnieres that look like real flowers – they just never wilt & travel well.

Beautiful Boutonnieres

While most men haven’t heard of them today, they’re something that has been around in classic menswear for a long time. They’ve just fallen out of favor because it was a lot of work to get a fresh-cut boutonniere from your florist every day; not only was it expensive but you also needed a florist close by that knew how to make a boutonniere. Unfortunately, in this day and age, it’s very rare to find a florist who can do that.

When I went on a cruise, I realized I wanted to wear boutonnieres a lot more, but I couldn’t find them, so I decided to design them myself, and we’ve created silk boutonnieres that look like real flowers, but they’re not. It has the advantage that they will never wilt, you could wear them day in and day out, and it’s also a lot less expensive. It’s such a simple thing, and it takes even less time than putting in a pocket square. The minute you wear it and no matter if you are at the airport, at restaurants, and a meeting, people will always notice and compliment you on it. Honestly, that’s not just my experience; I talk to lots of customers and my father-in-law, my father, whoever wears it gets the compliment.

Colorful Gloves

Obviously, you can only wear them during the colder months of the year or the transitioning seasons, but if you go with unlined gloves, you only can’t wear it in the summer. Most men today wear either black gloves or brown gloves, however, elegant gentlemen in the past would often wear grey gloves because they weren’t as dull as black and it would combine with a lot more items. Also, they would have chamois yellow gloves or burgundy gloves or very light cognac colored gloves because of that, I decided to design a range of gloves in different colors and materials with a little button for old twist that provided a really great range of movements, out of very soft leathers, in colors that are easy to combine in your outfits.

Sven Raphael Schneider with full cut trousers pants

Three-Piece Suits

People won’t say “oh what an awesome, great three-piece suit!” because sometimes they won’t even notice, but I can tell that I get more compliments with three-piece suits than with two-piece suits. I suspect that’s because a three-piece suit is less common, it also shows less of your shirt at the same time, you wear your jacket unbuttoned, and people can see the pattern of the suit, and it just provides a different air around your appearance.

So if you’re in the market for a suit, consider getting a three-piece suit next time because that way, you can wear as such or maybe combine it with other items in your wardrobe.

To Learn All About How A Suit Should Fit

Sven Raphael Schneider's first rope stripe suit
Sven Raphael Schneider’s first rope stripe suit

Rope Stripe Navy Suit

While some people think of it as an Al Capone suit, most people really like it and for some reason, they think it’s a 30s suit even though the 30s suit is not quite cut in the same way. Most people are not so familiar with the intricacies of suit cuts and they just associate a double-breasted peak lapel suit with stripes with this kind of era.

It’s just a fascinating look, and some people would consider you to be a banker, or someone of a particular standing because other people would not wear a suit like that. The funny thing about this rope stripe suit is that it was my first quality suit and it was from Ralph Lauren Purple Label. At the time, I could have never afforded new, so I just bought it off eBay for a few hundred bucks but it was an investment, and it’s to this day the favorite suit of my wife, so I wear it on occasion, and whenever I do, she’s particularly pleased.

Navy pants, burgundy vest and tweed jacket - business casual in the fall
Navy pants, burgundy vest, and tweed jacket – business casual in the fall

Vests

I love to wear vests especially during the fall-winter season because they add a layer to my outfits, they keep me warm, yet they provide an opportunity for me to change the look of the same outfit with just a minimal investment. My favorite odd vest to combine is probably a burgundy vest.

Green Safari Jacket
Green Safari Jacket

Jackets In Unusual Colors

Most men today wear colors in let’s say black, charcoal, or some form of Navy. If you wear a different colored jacket such as this Brown, and off-white Prince of Wales check with a blue over plaid, it just shows that you are different than other men, and the same is true if I wear, for example, a green jacket, or a seersucker jacket, or any kind of thing that is just outside of the usual realm of what most men would wear.

This is not only true for suit jackets, Blazers, or sport coats, but also for more casual items. For example, the other day, I took a walk around the lake with my light green linen Safari jacket and three separate people stopped and complimented me on my coat, as well as on my driving gloves. One man even went so far as to ask me where I got it so he could get one himself.

Quilted tweed jacket with burgundy suede gloves
Quilted tweed jacket with burgundy suede gloves

Quilted Jacket

Another jacket I get complimented on very often is a quilted jacket made of a houndstooth tweed in brown, green, and caramel colors. It’s something I wear a lot during the transitioning season; sometimes just over things or when I run some errands, and people always look at it and are like “Wow this is an awesome jacket where’d you get that?”.

So if you want compliments, try to get something that is out of the ordinary without being too flashy. No one wants a bright orange or bright red suit because that’s just over the top. If you go with subtle patterns and colors such as brown, that’s enough to make a difference and stand out and earn a compliment.

Dapper Bow Ties

Most men today either don’t wear any form of neckwear, or maybe they don ties but very rarely knew they were bow ties. It takes a certain kind of man that can pull off a bowtie and if you’re not sure you can, I urge you to watch the video on how to pull off a bowtie because I firmly believe every man can do it and once you do so, you become more confident and automatically you’ll get more compliments. I know some people associate a bowtie with a particular kind of standing such as a college professor but you can even pull them off as a young guy, and it’s just about a matter of confidence and how you combine them with your colors.

CONCLUSION

So, all these eight things are something that you can do as well in your wardrobe, and I guarantee you once you make those changes, you will get compliments left and right!

Reader Comments

  1. Amazing article. Really appreciated it.
    I think it would be more appropriate if the titles and perhaps the text were prior to the images, though. Or maybe having the image in between the body of text.

  2. Compliments come my way regarding Trafalgar’s theme braces. Colleagues liked the movie posters, rodeo, and sporting motifs.

    Andrew Gregg,
    Palm Springs, CA

  3. The jacket sleeves are too long on your light grey suit. You have violated a basic rule to always show at least 1/2″ of shirt cuff.

    1. Other than the photo of yourself, I would be interested in any pictures from know experts such as G. Bruce Boyar or Alan Flusser which show a suit sleeve with no cuff showing.

        1. I have reviewed the images by googling each individual and find examples of virtually no one without cuffs showing beneath sleeves. What I would be most interested in is if you could provide quotes from these two recognized authorities which support your “rules on sleeve length”. As far as I am aware the only time a cuff should not be exposed is when wearing a military uniform.

        2. Peter, we have explained the rule and cited sources, if you want to pursue it further, you are welcome to do so and reach out to people. I have provided you with two pictures of the people you asked for showing they do sometimes wear jackets that do not show the shirt sleeves. At this point, you have not provided anything of that would support your point of view. If you want to show cuff, go for it, I do most of the time, but understand that there is not absolute right or wrong.

    1. I actually get quite a few compliments these days on my clothes. My go-to response is to say some variation of “Thanks, that’s really nice to hear. You made my day.” (Because they did!) If it feels appropriate I turn it back to them and compliment their appearance in some small way.

  4. That quilted jacket is gorgeous, it looks like the ones Lavenham used to make. I love that houndstooth tweed look!

  5. Dear Sven Raphael really you deserve all these compliments and those to come in future!

  6. Dear Sven, I’ve been a follower of your advice for a few years now. It has made all the difference in style for my dress. It’s sad to say that I didn’t learn how to dress properly until I was in my fifties. Better late than never. I’m constantly gleaning new information in all aspects of the gentleman. Compliments on my dress are commonplace now as they were nonexistent in the past. The items that consistently receives praise are my flat caps. Fall is such a wonderful time to look good. Thank you so much for all you do. It has made a world of difference in my life.

  7. I love this site, and have been inspired by many of the videos. I recently bought a vintage houndstooth tweed sports coats (something I never would have done before finding GG). It was made in London, England by DAKS, had some repairs to the original lining and mismatched buttons. But the fabric was immaculate, not even a tiny stain. The fit in the shoulders and waist was oddly perfect. So I bought it (for $9.99) and had it dry cleaned ($16.79) and then took it to an alterations tailor to shorten the sleeves and replace the buttons ($39.20). The tailor told me the drape was so lovely due to the weight of the fabric and it seemed to have been made for my body double. A few days later I wore it to a play with my wife and another couple. I received several compliments on it that night, including from the ticket-taker at the theatre. People regularly comment on it now, and the whole project cost me just $65.98 Cdn.

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