The cycle in men's fashion trends moves much slower as compared to that of women, and nowhere is that more true than in men's suit trends. It's very easy to buy a navy blue or a dark grey suit but you'd be surprised at how much more flattering a brighter blue or a paler grey suit would look. Dark suits can make you look pale; colour gives you life.

Every man needs a good suit, but what are the often perceptible details that differentiate an average suit from the perfect cut? Maybe it's the colour, the size of the lapels or maybe just how it fits. More often than not, people want to push the boundaries in what they choose to wear. However, the numerous suit stores in the country hardly give us a lot of choices; not to mention how expensive these suits tend to be. My advice? Caroline Wanjiku.

Caroline Wanjiku is the brains behind my blue-grey suit experience; she happens to be one of the
most promising upcoming designers I know. According to her, we're going through a very interesting time in design. People are being more individual with what they want to wear but at the same time look stylish. There's a new generation of affordable custom made suits - and who doesn't want a perfect suit made from scratch?

Personally I don't like plain suits because they remind me of bankers and lawyers and all things that have gone wrong in this economy (not that I have anything against bankers and lawyers). I wanted a bright, slim-cut suit with extra additions. These extra additions happened to be the grey patches seen on the front of the coat.

With the coat closed, the patches form the letter 'C' symbolizing the designer behind the great piece. It can be paired with either a black or white shirt (as pictured) and is perfect for outdoor events as well as indoor events. I preferred not to button up since I wanted my shirt's colour to break the blue monotony. To finish off the look, a decent pair of official shoes are recommended. But if you are feeling more adventurous, then a pair of black or white sneakers would look great too.

Single-breasted suits never go out of fashion. But despite them being the default style, they’re also the dominant, on-trend suit cut for nearly every occasion. Suits right now are all about a cut that compliments the male physique, a suit that broadens the shoulders and trims the waist highlighting (or at least implying) an exercised body.

So still wondering where to get that perfect cut for your date, interview or even wedding? Go right ahead and contact Caroline directly on 0707 540 232 or email carokin.cw@gmail.com.

Menswear for most of us is very limited. And this is especially true when it comes to your bottom half. Tan, navy blue, black and grey are the basic range of colours men wear. But these colours are too dull and they are everywhere. That may be changing though. A close look at what colours the men in Nairobi are boldly wearing indicates a growing inventory of bright pants. And the business logic in all of this is: "Strong coloured clothes are less interchangeable than dull coloured clothes and therefore require you to buy more pairs."

Someone may ask, why not just wear colourful shirts?  Well this is because shirts have an in-built limitation that colours don't. A shirt's shade of colour has to blend with your complexion because it's right next to your face.

 

In order to wear bright pants, you have to be the nicest, most polite, friendliest person in the room. That's because someone wearing, let's say red pants, may cause people to assume that they are obnoxious. So hold doors open, let everyone go ahead of you, and always smile :)



Introducing a bright colour shade onto half of your body means the other half should remain conservative. Go with a simple blue or white oxford shirt so that you don't have two big blocks of colour. Like let's say you want to wear a pair of orange pants, a navy blazer would go down well with this. Your belt and shoes should also be neutral - and no polka dot socks (like I've seen some people do).

Ease into your cheerful pants by wearing them on the weekend or during a vacation, and not to the office. To the degree that your office has a dress code, official or not, you're likely breaking it. You're calling attention to yourself, so make sure your work is getting done.

Women love a guy in vibrant colours. I've been stopped on the street by women complimenting me on them. I can't speak about this in a dating sense, but women seem relieved to see a man who's dressing a little differently. If you're worried that bright-coloured pants will make you appear to be less of a man, you've got things backward.



Nothing you wear should ever make you feel physically or psychologically uncomfortable, so if this trend makes you uneasy, then just let it pass you by. But if you feel as if you've laboured under denim's bondage for too long, there's nothing like a pair of mint-green flat-fronts to offer liberation. Just know that at least once a day someone will call you "Mr Fancy Pants".