Without suits, most men would look unimpressive and commonplace. As most fashion experts would say a good suit remains a man's only trump card. Even in this fast-paced age of casual-wear, men's suits still symbolize success, sophistication and masculinity. Many suits are today designed with care to make the wearer look smarter, to make a small man tall with pinstripes or a fat man look less obese. If you are wearing the right type of suit, you can look conspicuous in any gathering and grab the attention of the ladies around.

The tricky thing about men's suits is the fit should be perfect. If the suit is oversized or far too tight, it can make the wearer look clownish and he can even become an object of ridicule. The right fitting suit, even if you work ten hours in the office with your jacket on, should keep you ready to attend cocktails after work. The unfortunate aspect is many men either do not know or do not bother about wearing a suit properly.

If you wear suits infrequently and do not wear suit daily for going to work, you do not need ten suits – and just four suits in different colors and styles should suffice. This means you can be a discerning shopper and also spend time to maintain your suits in good condition. You can have them dry cleaned once a year and hang them properly so that the suit does not form creases.

Ideally, the four suits can be:

• Standard Blue: Wear it for business meets, lunches, summer dinners, or casual parties. Combine it with black or brown shoes, even white if you want to look different. Standard blue generally means navy blue and not any other paler shades of blue that will look odd.

• Classic Gray: Can be worn for different occasions and this suit will make even ladies turn their heads to notice you. Grays also look imposing with different stripes and patterns classic gray suits are the hallmark of a gentleman.

• Basic Black: The favorite suit of many well-dressed men and goes well with a good white shirt. If you can afford only one suit, then prefer this versatile Basis Black.

• As a fourth choice, you can select any of the above three with pinstripes.

Men of average physical build can choose either single-breasted or double-breasted jackets. Double-breasted jackets are intended for slim men so that their leanness is not too visible and single-breasted jackets are meant for the stout to somewhat hide their obesity.

Choose the jacket style that best suits your build . The jackets must be of perfect fit and cause no wrinkles when you button them up. As far as possible, shoulder pads should be avoided and your tailor should guide you in this regard.

You must now choose a trouser style although most men do not attach much importance to trousers and accept any pants that come with a jacket. When you discuss trousers, you need to worry about waist, drape, belt-loops, posterior-hugging, crotch-dangling, and whether or not you need a watch pocket. The best way to judge a pair of pants is to ask "Will I be able to wear these pants without the jacket and still look fine?" If the answer is yes, then the pant is of perfect style and fit.

Sometimes it is good to heed to the advice of a salesman and buy two pants for the same jacket. The idea is you can alternate pants with the jacket so they wear evenly over time. There may be occasions you may wear the pants minus the jacket, it is always prudent to have a back-up pair.