Style with Volume

Even when you're wearing the very latest in designer men's fashion, you could still end up with a boring outfit. For all the style options that are available to the modern man, flat and unimpressive pieces are very common. The end result is just that - unimpressive and flat. Volume is that secret ingredient that's so often missing in an ensemble. It doesn't take much to turn a dull getup into a daring outfit that would do GQ proud.

What Works with Your Body?
In fashion, it's always a good idea to know your body and how best to work with it. It's an even more important skill when working with volume since extra size or heft on one part of your body can exacerbate the smallest problem area.

Locate the area in your body that protrudes the most, such as your belly or thighs. It's this area that benefits the most from extra clothing volume because your clothes' visual heft will balance out the size of your body. This makes it easier for you to complete the rest of the outfit pieces, as there's no one area that commands immediate attention.

Slimmer men, on the other hand, will most probably aim to do exactly the opposite of understating their bodies' size. Volume is also effective for creating the illusion of a frame that's much taller and wider than it usually is. Pant women's coats s with a bit of room or jackets with some billow to them give the eye more material to view.

If you're yet to pay this kind of attention to your body, there's no better time to start than right now. It's more than just a question of style or self-esteem; one must know every detail of the canvas that is the body before you could paint it with fashion.

Balance and Proportion
Since you've already considered the necessary improvements, you may as well carry those out on your whole body. Keep control of all the volume you put into your outfit so that you're more likely to emphasize the best things and understate the worst ones.

Variety is a positive adjective in men's fashion, and it's more important in styles that involve volume. You'll want pieces with different layering values, like a billowing coat over a sleekly fitted vest or shirt. The variety is useful for keeping your problem area (and your solution to it) easy to see and distinguish.

Size, however, is not the be-all end-all issue. Prints and patterns can be used to make a plain item much more interesting. Feel free to use pieces that combine both print and volume, such as a patterned puffer vest in the fall. More often than not, though, volume is enough to stand an item on its own. You'd be better off using prints as elements that will balance out the voluminous pieces and keep them from dominating.

If you have the aforementioned puffer vest, for example, a lively printed necktie in some bright color will make your overall outfit interesting. Throwing in a print or a bright color gives the viewer a little something extra to consider when examining you.

Print on print is difficult; do you remember how hard matching neckties and shirts is? That should be enough to keep you from pairing volume on volume on volume. The Michelin Man look does no one any favors. Besides, all that heft will make it hard to walk around and maneuver. Be sure to mix it up!

Volume, Very Simple
Keep your total outfit simple. It's what keeps the whole thing from looking too contrived. When Ralph Lauren released big, bulky jackets in its fall 2009 collection, the runway look was monochromatic. The basic color scheme allowed the jacket's intimidating size and luxe sheen to really take center stage. Another person won't know what to look at first when you cram so many things in there.

Volume is a great way to make any outfit memorable, but you have to do it with restraint. A lot of pieces might not work well with your style or with other pieces, and there lies the true challenge.