You may not always want to wear a shirt, but sometimes certain occasions call for more formal attire and every guy in the room shows up in a shirt and tie, blending into the crowds of beautiful cocktail dresses. Here are a few ways you can spruce up your formal attire and not look like every other guy in the room (and maybe even outshine the ladies).

#1 Wear a suit (that fits)

No – we don’t mean show up in your wedding suit. There’s a difference between that and the pick-up-artist suit that Barney Stinson wears in every episode of How I Met Your Mother. Choose the latter if you’re going to suit up – even if you’re not there to pick up!

#2 Lose the tie

A tie these days doesn’t automatically spruce up your whole look. A fitted shirt does. If you’re going to go tie-less, make sure you shirt fits you like a glove. If your shirt is swimming around you, you end up looking like you put in no effort and chose to look sloppy.

#3 Go for a tie bar & textured tie

A textured tie takes the formality out of wearing one and a tie bar ensures your tie doesn’t fly back into your face! Having that little tie bar streamlines your whole look because it straightens your tie and makes your torso appear longer.

#4 Do up all the buttons & wear a bow tie

As geek is the new chic, looking like a college professor isn’t always a bad thing. This button-up shirt and bow tie look is extremely popular especially if you’re on the slimmer side of things.

#5 Wear a vest

Don’t write it off before you consider that it slims down your waist and makes your arms look bigger. Enough said.