Ok gentleman, it’s that time of year again.

Yup. You guessed it. It’s the season of the holiday party. And today we’re going to throw you our $.02 about how to dress for the most important of holiday parties: The office holiday party.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, office holiday parties will come around every year, regardless of your sentiments.

Our advice? Take advantage. With a rockin’ outfit to boost your confidence and an open bar to lighten the mood, you’ll be able to both rub elbows with your senior boss and tactfully approach the pretty lady you’ve been eying in the department two doors down—in the same night! How’s that for killing two birds…?

Now to get you in with the boss and the lady friend, we, at indiTailoired, have a few pointers. First, since this is a work event, there are a few key adjectives we want you to keep in mind when picking out your shirt: classy, professional, and stylish. 

Ultimately, your goal is to show that you have style, but not go too crazy with patterns and bright colors.

With that in mind, we’ve come up with a sophisticated twist to a professional office party shirt: A tight-fitted collared shirt with color and the right amount of personality. We’ve chosen a green/blue/white checked luxurious Italian fabric with a blue/white/brown check fabric for the contrast collar and cuffs to add a bit of dimension and spice. If you find yourself at a more formal affair, we fully endorse pairing this shirt with a solid color (think navy) tie and a fitted blazer to top off the look.

Just remember, when mingling with co-workers, you want a style that is festive enough to get you noticed, but not too festive to get you confused with the Christmas tree.

Take it from us, this classy shirt from indiTailored is sure to do the trick…

Last Thursday, indiTailored was featured on Kurt the CyberGuy, which means that 15 million people across the country watching Tribune affiliate stations (FOX, CW, ABC, and MyNetworkTV) were enlightened. That’s right. They learned all about indiTailored.

For all you who missed the monumental event, never fear.

You can watch the video again and again and again by pushing that handy little play button below.

The segment might not be *quite* as amusing as Reporter Turns Ghetto in 3 Seconds or Charlie the Unicorn, but few things really are. So let us have our few seconds of fame in peace!

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Now that we’re done, feel free to go back to Greg Rutter’s List. That should keep you entertained for at least a few more hours.

When you think herringbone you probably think—well if you’re like most people you probably think—‘Fabric.’ While you wouldn’t be wrong, herringbone, like all people and things worth knowing, has got a little history. And by that we mean, a little baggage.

Since you’re not dating herringbone, this is totally fine.

If nothing else, it gives you something to talk about at parties when people ask you about the killer shirt you’re wearing.

Instead of simply saying, “Hey yeah thanks, it’s some fabric!” You’ll be able to swirl your martini glass and say, “Herringbone, actually, very common in twill or tweed weaves.” When knees have stopped knocking together at your sartorial prowess, here’s what will happen next:

“W-hy,” a still woman party-goer will ask, “W-why is it called herringbone?”

At this point in time, feel free to live the dream and do your best Humphrey Bogart, “Well doll…” (regardless of gender calling someone doll in the manner of Humphrey Bogart is universally hilarious and awesome).

Next you’ll say, “Notice how the weave itself is a v-shaped formation? Come on, don’t be shy, take another step over here and get a real good look.” At that point, the whole room will fall silent as a throng of smitten folks will step towards your custom made herringbone shirt. You’ll whisper over your glass or perhaps after taking a drag on your cigar (if that’s what you’re into), “Back in the day, they thought these v-shaped weave patterns looked like little fish bones—herringbones, if you will.”

(kinda like fish bones—right…?)

At the mention of bones you will immediately earn all manner of street cred. Not only will those with a passion or sartorial history bow before your superior knowledge, but even the Goth gang’s hearts will go pitter-pat when you whip out the word ‘bones.’

And the notoriously hard please fashionistas won’t care one way or the other—they’ll just be thrilled you’re wearing a unique product tailor-made to suit you. Well played, Mr. Bogart well played.

Not all cotton dress shirts are created equal and you’re likely to discover this the hard way if you don’t know what to look for. OK, seeking out higher quality cotton dress shirts may be a bit more expensive, but considering how many hours we spend in dress shirts, it’s more like an investment in the future. Y’know—like college or good scotch (see Johnnie Walker Red/Black label below).

So here’s what you should be investing in:

* Strong yet soft: Higher quality shirts will be two-ply, not single-ply. This makes the fabrics stronger, but also softer, less rough and scratchy. You can save that for your 5:00 shadow.

* Count your threads: No, not literally. Quality cotton dress shirts boast their thread counts themselves. Thread counts of 80s and higher make finer, softer, and ultimately better looking shirts.

* A stitch in time and all that: Take stock of the seams on the shirt. Cotton dress shirts that are high quality will have straight stitching and evenly spaced stitches. Irregularity in stitching is a big no-no.

* Details make the man: Men’s fashion is all about the hidden details. Check your shirt for little added bonuses, like contrast fabrics, embroideries, cool labels, nice buttons, or $20 bills in the front pocket.

* Fit, fit, fit. All the tips in the world can’t substitute the feeling of a shirt that actually FITS. Avoid the baggy shirt or the pregnant man look. Too many off-the-rack dress shirts are made for the largest common denominator, meaning you’ll end up with a shirt that’s much too billowy and large to adhere to today’s “skinny-is-better” trend.

So next time you are in the market for a quality cotton dress shirt (why not today), do yourself a favor and go for a custom dress shirt.

It’s what all the cool kids are doing.

If you’ve ever worked in a start-up, you might be familiar with that one guy who wears running shoes, high-water jeans and a Hawaiian shirt to work. Here’s a pointer. Don’t be him!

image courtesy of santamariasun.com

At indiTailored we advise you to always look ridiculously good—wherever you work—and we’ve got a few ways to help you get there.

To start off, you should always look put-together. We’re not saying you have to wear a suit, but even at a start-up (one of the most laid-back working environments), everyone appreciates a tailored shirt with a pair of crisp trousers. It’s a simple look, but a winning one.

The key here is ensuring that your put-together outfit doesn’t end up looking boring, old, or cliche.

If you’re wondering how, we recommend experimenting with different collars, cuffs, and details. These little things keep the outfit looking professional and fresh, in addition to showing off your impeccable style and taste.

Case and point: Take the wide spread collar we recently wrote about. The wide spread collar on a slimmer shirt makes for a great Euro look—a far cry from what your father used to wear (thank god!), but still appropriate for the office setting.

And perhaps most importantly, don’t forget to play around with color! The black suit/white dress shirt/black tie will always make you look sharp, but color gets you noticed. Integrate salmon stripes or blue pin dots, find ties that complement your tailored shirts and trousers, and you’ll be well on your way to best dress in your office superlatives.

Don’t know where to start? Here’s an idea—click this link and start building your custom dress shirt! 

With monograms, as in other arenas, size absolutely matters—get those three letters stamped a little bit too large and you run the risk of being recruited by someone named Jocky to play on his Polo Team. However, go too far in the other direction and you’ll be treating an awesome tradition with the same sense of shame and chagrin applied to those lunch-box notes mom used to tuck in with your hot-pockets.

Our philosophy is bigger isn’t always better, (that’s what she said). A quarter inch is really all you need. But where is the proper place for a monogram, you ask?

Correct answer: Pocket or cuff.

Which means, monograms are the perfect contribution to your brand spanking new indiTailored custom dress shirt. It’s all about the details. Your initials and a flash of color will give your shirt a subtle pop, which will label you “Man of Mystery” faster than we can begin to hum the Bond theme (and that is pretty damn fast).

So, it’s time to take back the monogram! No longer the currency of the wealthy, the monogram is now the emblem of the proud, the confident, and the achingly well-dressed man. Your monogram literally speaks to who you are, and son, if that ain’t unique, we don’t know what is.

Okay, when do you end up shopping? Middle of the day Wednesday? Nope, not if you’re employed. (And actually probably not if you’re unemployed - whose spending cash on clothes then, right?) If you’re independently wealthy or a trustafarian, maybe. But if you are, this post is not for you. Frankly, if you are, I hold some resentments toward you that may or may not be justified, nonetheless, they exist, and might alter my judgment as it relates to weekday shopping.)

But, back to the point. When do we shop? We shop on the freaking weekend. The weekend! This is playing, partying,working-out,project-finishing, oil-changing, long-riding, hangover-recovering, lounging, general debauchery, catching up, hiding-out, trekking, angle-working, girl-watching, bird-watching (maybe not), fishing, hunting, surfing, boarding, car-washing, rock-climbing, cow-tipping, snake-catching, river-rafting, bungee-jumping, go hard weekend!! Oh, did I mention the game? What game? Who cares what game, there’s a game. Right now it’s baseball, or Nascar, Wimbledon if you’re into tennis, or the Strongest Man competition, or maybe one of those eating contests, or, yes please, MMA reruns. But who really cares what the game is. There is a game. Or .... you could go shopping. See the point? There’s always something better to do.

What about a custom dress shirt? Talk about a time-muncher! Go to the tailor. Get groped and measured by said tailor, who is probably not Giselle Bundchen’s hotter older sister. Leave with nothing. Come back the next weekend (oh the pain,please make it stop) and pick up your shirt. Hand over some cash. Walk out with one custom dress shirt, and many lost, never-to-be-recovered, weekend hours. (Oh god, my arms are going numb.) Well, how about this: visit indiTailored Custom Dress Shirts, configure your shirt, answer some questions about your body (nothing private, that’s a different web site).Done. Shirt comes to your address a few weeks later. Good to go. Lost weekend hours? Zero. Zero. Zero. Want more? Cool, log in at indiTailored, modify your previous order (don’t go through the whole process again, completely skip the measurement questions), and bammo. Done again! More weekend hours saved. Okay, I’m done shilling. But for the sake of the weekend and all its beauty, think about what you can do to save it for yourself, you never know what you might be missing.