How to Dress Up in Winter: Men's Style Guide

Whether you love to dress up in modern, trend-setting attire or prefer classic, traditional outfits, you’ll feel confident and look your best if you know how to choose the right winter fabrics, styles, layers, and accessories.

Certain fabrics are especially suited for winter wear. Tightly woven fabrics designed to hold in body warmth will keep you comfortable when temperatures drop. And layering isn’t just for winter sports and activities — it’s a key skill for staying warm when dressing up in winter.

Read through our men’s winter style guide. We uncover what you need to know in order to choose the best winter fabrics. We’ll also show you how to balance style, warmth, and functionality. With our men’s guide to winter clothes, you’ll be able to create a finished, fashionable, dressed up look no matter your style preference or the occasion.

Best Colors for Winter Wardrobes

As the seasons change, the colors of your attire should transition from the earth tones of fall into the darker colors of winter. Your winter suits and blazers should echo the colors of the season.

Navy, charcoal, burgundy, and forest green are classic winter season foundation colors. Dark teal, deep shades of red, browns, and rich purples can also work well for winter wardrobes.

If you feel the need for a bit of pizazz, it’s easy to add a pop of color or pattern with accessories. A patterned tie, a jewel tone cashmere scarf, or a colorful pocket square can subtly embellish your attire.

For example, our Botanica Rosewood Tie features a burgundy background with sage, cream, and gold floral highlights. This type of patterned neckwear can add personality, color, and style to your classic winter wardrobe.

Essential Winter Fabrics

Quality wools, flannel, alpaca, cashmere, and silk are fabrics that lend a more formal, dressed up look to your attire. When choosing your winter suits, blazers, slacks, and accessories, select them in dense, tight weaves that will insulate and maintain body heat.

Mastering the Art of Layering

You’d never think of heading out for a day of skiing or trek through the woods without dressing in layers. Just as those layers keep you warm when you’re active, the same principle applies to keep you comfortable when you’re dressing up for special events in winter.

When dressing up, stay warm by wearing:

• Top and bottom base layers in a technical synthetic fabric or silk.
• Middle layers that will consist of your tight weave cotton dress shirt and a fine merino wool sweater or vest and wool pants.
• Outer layers that consist of your suit or blazer, a topcoat, a neck scarf, gloves, and a hat.

Winter Coats and Outerwear

Overcoats, parkas, peacoats — there are a wide range of winter coats and outerwear styles that will keep you comfortable while looking polished. Be sure to choose the type and style of outerwear based on the level of formality you’re dressing for. Look for coats that have winter weight linings.

Top your suit or blazer and dress pants with a wool, cashmere, or camel hair overcoat. A parka or peacoat is a great choice for more casual wear such as a wool sweater paired with khakis or chinos. An insulated leather or wool bomber jacket can add style to a merino turtleneck paired with dress pants.

Winter Accessories: Beyond the Basics

Scaves, gloves, and hats are basic winter accessories that are musts to keep you warm and comfortable. Gloves will help keep your fingers functioning to find your keys or pull out your credit card. Because a tremendous amount of body heat is lost through your head, be sure to wear a hat during very cold weather.

Adding some panache to your outfit is important too. Elevate your outfit with a fashionable, stylish pocket square, a tie bar, scarf, or suspenders. Even your socks are critically important for warmth! Choose the insulating effects of cashmere or Merino socks over cotton.

Footwear for Winter

When dressing up in winter, wear leather lace-up dress shoes or dress boots to add the necessary polish to a suit or blazer and slacks. Leather oxfords, brogues, or polished Chelsea boots will keep you warmer than a loafer or low vamp shoe.

A performance Chukka boot or waxed suede Chelsea boot will provide warmth while adding style to a more casual outfit such as a cashmere or alpaca sweater with dress pants.

Salted sidewalks and melting snow are hard on footwear. Leather soles that remain damp can warp. Polyurethane soles are susceptible to hydrolysis and can break down and crumble if not dried properly after wearing. By all means, make sure you waterproof your shoes or boots if they don’t already have a protective finish.

After being out and about, always clean and dry the leather or synthetic soles of your shoes so materials don’t begin to weaken or even disintegrate.

Dressing Up for Winter Events

When attending a formal winter party or event, you’ll look elegant and sharp in a dark suit, crisp white dress shirt, silk tie, and dress shoes.

When you dress up in winter, elevate your look with an elegant silk tie, either in a solid color or a beautiful pattern. Jewel tone silk ties in claret or emerald green are a terrific choice for formal holiday parties. Subtle colors such as a soft blue or sage green silk are a great choice for winter wedding ties.

If appropriate to the occasion, you can incorporate seasonal elements or holiday motifs into your winter formal outfits for men. A well-chosen holiday tie or pocket square can add a fun, fashionable touch.

Winter Workplace Style

Even if office dress codes have shifted in recent years, you still want to maintain a professional look in cold weather. Layering gives you the opportunity to stay comfortable even when the temperature control system is set too low or too high.

For example, a tailored vest helps maintain a polished, professional look if and when you need to remove your suit jacket or blazer. A merino button-up polo adds personality and pizazz over a crisp dress shirt and wool tie.

It’s easy to incorporate tasteful winter accessories into your work attire. A handsome tie bar will keep your necktie in place, especially if you’re moving around a lot in an active job. A pocket square adds balance and style to your suit and tie. Suspenders can add character to your outfit — just remember you won’t wear a belt if you wear suspenders.

Caring for Your Winter Wardrobe

Quality winter clothing is an investment. Protect your investment by caring for it properly. Check fabric tags and follow directions for proper clothing care.

Many fine fabrics can be either machine or hand-washed. Some are dry-clean only. High-quality pieces will last much longer when you follow manufacturer’s care instructions.

When not in use, hang your suits, blazers, jackets, pants, and overcoats on sturdy wooden hangers. Choose hangers that are hefty enough to give support to shoulder seams. Folding your pants over a hanger bar will often leave unattractive creases so select pants hangers that clip trousers at the waistband.

You’ll want to fold, not hang, fine knits such as merino, cashmere, and alpaca. Knits will stretch out of shape on hangers. If you notice that some of your sweaters or knitwear are pilling, simply buy a small de-fuzzer or fabric shaver. This little item can make your sweaters look fresh and new.

Winter weather can be hard on clothing. Snow, sleet, rain - if clothing gets wet, shake out as much moisture as possible, then hang it to air dry. By all means, don’t hang wet or damp clothing in your closet. Your other clothing pieces will wilk the moisture and before you know it, your closet will turn into a petri dish of growing mold.

If weather damp pieces can handle a run through the dryer, set the dryer at a low temperature for a short time to remove excess moisture, then lay pieces out on a terrycloth towel or hang them to dry completely.

Embracing Winter Style

Winter offers an ideal opportunity to wear beautifully tailored pieces accented with interesting textured layers and color. Elevate your winter style by choosing fine quality fabrics in seasonal colors such as navy, charcoal, and burgundy. Add thoughtful accessories such as our handsome Barberis Italian wool ties or a classic pocket square for a finished and refined look.

You’ll be ready for any winter dress up event with pieces from The Tie Bar. Explore The Tie Bar’s winter collection for stylish cold-weather clothing and accessories. From fine dress shirts, beautiful silk and wool ties, pocket squares, sweaters, fashionable suit pairings and more, you’ll enjoy wearing quality winter pieces from The Tie Bar.

SHOP WINTER ACCESSORIES