TJ Walker explains why most presenters should button their suit jackets during presentations. TV hosts like Dave Letterman and Matt Lauer get away with unbuttoned jackets because they have stylists and perfect fits, but regular speakers look neater and more focused when buttoned.
To button or unbutton, that is the question. That's a dilemma every man who goes on TV faces when it comes to the suit jacket. Now, if you look at the masters, if you look at Dave Letterman, if you look at Matt Lauer, Regis Philbin, they all have that unbuttoned look. Normally I say follow the masters. If it's good enough for Dave, if it's good enough for Regis, it should be good for you. Here's the problem, though. If you are Dave or Regis or Matt Lauer, you're surrounded by professionals, stylists, tailors, people to groom you. Everything can fit just right, so nothing looks out of place. But in the real world, most of us men, we've got an extra couple inches here. Something doesn't fit quite right. You're exposing yourself to more risk. With an open jacket, I personally recommend that most men, if they're going on a show, going on tv, button the jacket. By buttoning the jacket, I can create a neater look. It's easier for me to center my tie because if my tie is crooked, I can just get it like that. If it's too long, I can tuck it in. Now, because my jacket is on and buttoned, there's less light material showing down here. So you're sort of focused to look at my face more. There's more light now on my face. By having the jacket unbuttoned, you see all this material. The tie can flap around. It's easier to create a messier appearance. It's one thing if you're on TV every single day, every morning, every night. But if you're a business executive, an author, a politician, and you're only reaching this audience once, well, why not focus on your message, what you're saying, not necessarily what you're wearing? So I'm an advocate of just keeping the jacket buttoned. Now, make sure your suits fit properly. If it's so tight, people are worried about your button popping off and hitting them in the eye. That's not good either. The main thing we're looking for anytime you're figuring out what to wear and how to wear things, is to avoid distractions. You want the focus to be on your message, what you're saying, and not. Why is all that fabric coming out here? Oh, TJ's putting on a few inches here. You don't want the focus to be on your body. You want it to be on your message. So when in doubt, I play it safe, button the jacket.
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