“I'm short — will stripes make me look even shorter?” That question arrives at Mon Amie's cloth counter like clockwork, along with its twin: will checks make me look bigger? The short answer is that it depends on the scale of the pattern and how you pair it. Choose striped and check suits for men in the right scale and the right base colour, and you get a suit with depth and no showiness. The five styles below run from discreet to bold, so you can begin from a safe place and move on gradually.
The short answer
Five easy-to-wear striped and check styles: pinstripe for the office, soft chalk stripe for cool weather, coloured stripe on a dark ground for evenings, small charcoal check for everyday wear, and large check for occasions that call for standing out. The larger the pattern, the plainer everything else should be.
1. Pinstripe: lines as fine as a thread, for the business suit
Pinstripes are very fine lines, as if drawn with the tip of a pin, running vertically down the body of the jacket at roughly one centimetre apart. From a distance they look almost plain; only up close do you see the lines. That makes this the discreet choice for the boardroom: a navy or charcoal ground with white or pale grey stripes. Vertical stripes lead the eye up and down, so the figure looks slimmer and a little taller.
Pair it with a plain white or pale blue shirt, and a plain tie or a small polka dot like the one in the photo. The rule to keep: never put a stripe next to a stripe of the same scale, because two layers of lines stacked on each other confuse the eye of the person opposite. To understand the standards of this style better, see what a pinstripe is and how to choose and pair it.
2. Chalk stripe: soft, blurred lines for the cooler seasons
Chalk stripes are also vertical lines, but broader and with a fuzzy edge, like the lines a tailor chalks onto cloth; they are commonly seen on thick brushed wool or flannel. The spacing between stripes is looser than a pinstripe, so the suit looks warmer and more substantial. It suits board meetings, traditional-style meetings with partners, and cool days.
A charcoal or navy ground with pale grey stripes is an easy colour pairing. A pale blue shirt, and a wool or textured grain-weave tie, will go well with the surface of the cloth. One point to remember: because it looks thick, a chalk stripe is not for the harsh heat of Saigon; if you still like it, choose a thin, open-weave wool and avoid a heavy lining.
3. Coloured stripes on a dark ground: burgundy and copper-orange for evenings
This is a step on from the pinstripe: the stripe is no longer white or grey but coloured. On a charcoal ground, a burgundy stripe gives a warm note without showiness; on an olive green ground, a copper-orange stripe glints when you step out into the sun. The spacing is usually wider, so the suit can “speak” more than the wearer. That is why you keep everything else very quiet: a white shirt, a plain tie, dark brown shoes.
The charcoal suit with burgundy stripe and red waistcoat in the photo is an example of this style; in the same direction is the olive green double-breasted suit with copper-orange stripe. They suit evening parties, events and meeting clients in creative industries more than a finance boardroom. A small note: look at the cloth under natural light, because under showroom lights burgundy easily drifts toward another colour.
4. Small charcoal check: from afar like a plain colour, up close you see the squares
Among striped and check suits for men, the small check is the balance point between plain and patterned for people who work in offices. A small check does not catch the eye, but up close you see that the cloth surface has character. When small checks are arranged in overlapping layers, people usually call it glen check, a classic pattern of British wool cloth. A charcoal ground is an easy choice because it pairs with a white shirt, a pale blue shirt and every shade of tie, from plum red to olive green.
The Traveller Grey Check Suit belongs to this group. The shirt and tie should be plain so that the suit's pattern is the accent to look at; if you want to add more pattern, choose a tie whose dots or stripes are clearly smaller in scale than the suit's check.
5. Large check and big-scale check: only for occasions that call for standing out
Windowpane is fine lines crossing to form large, widely spaced squares on a plain ground. A big-scale check has thicker lines and strong contrast, such as black and white. Both “widen” the figure, suiting a well-proportioned build with enough shoulder and chest; a small, slim man is easily swallowed by the pattern. As a blazer or a suit for parties, events and going out, it looks better than it does in a meeting.
One point of craftsmanship you should know: a large pattern forces the tailor to match the checks at the back, pockets and shoulders, so it takes more cloth and labour, and a jacket with misaligned checks is noticed at once. You can look at the Blue-Black Check Suit for a deep tone, or the Black-and-White Check Suit for a bold black-and-white version. The baste fitting is the moment to check whether the checks align.
Quick summary table
| Style | Suits | Remember |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pinstripe | Meetings, partners, the office | Plain shirt and tie; never a stripe next to a stripe of the same scale |
| 2. Chalk stripe | Board meetings, cool days | Looks thick; choose thin wool for Saigon |
| 3. Coloured stripe | Evening parties, events | Keep the rest muted; view the colour in natural light |
| 4. Small check | Everyday work | Plain pairing; any extra pattern must be smaller than the suit's check |
| 5. Large check | Parties, events, going out | Needs aligned checks; suits a well-proportioned build |
Tips from Mon Amie's master tailors
- Use the rule of three scales: large pattern on the suit, medium on the tie, small or plain on the shirt.
- Your first patterned suit should be a pinstripe or a small check on charcoal or navy; try coloured stripes and large checks in later suits.
- View the cloth in natural light, because pattern and colour under lamps often differ from how they look outdoors.
- At the baste fitting, check the back and the shoulder seams as well: if the stripes break or run off line, this is the time to tell the tailor to fix it.
- With a patterned suit, the pocket square and accessories should be plain, and one accent is enough.
Frequently asked questions
Do striped suits make short men look taller?
Fine, even, unbroken vertical stripes make the torso look longer and slimmer, so a shorter man should choose a pinstripe. Conversely, widely spaced stripes, broad stripes or horizontal stripes make the torso look wider and shorter. More important is a jacket that fits at the shoulder and is the right length, because the length of the jacket affects perceived height more than the pattern does.
How should I pair a striped or check suit with a shirt and tie?
A plain white or pale blue shirt with a plain tie is the safe pairing. If you want pattern, choose a tie with a different type and scale of pattern from the suit, such as a small polka-dot tie with a pinstripe suit.
Which hairstyle suits a striped or check suit?
A neat cut, a clear parting and sides cut clean help the suit's pattern be the accent instead of competing with the hair. See 8 men's hairstyles that suit a suit to choose by face shape.
Besides stripes and checks, which other suit jacket styles are worth knowing?
There are many styles, by number of buttons, lapel and length. Read 12 styles of men's suit jacket and how to recognise them quickly for the overall picture, then come back to choose the pattern.
Conclusion
Pattern is the tempting part, but with striped and check suits for men the wearer is still at the centre: when the shoulder fits, the length is right and the colour suits your skin, stripes or checks become a plus. You can open the design tool to try a few combinations, then book a measuring appointment to see the real cloth in natural light and try it on.