With their sleek and serious auras, straight (i.e. non-patterned) charcoal grey suits straddle the respective, albeit overlapping, arenas of business wear and formal attire. Massively popular amongst modern professionals, in particular, these suits can be sported at high-level meetings, weddings, and pretty much anywhere in between.

As any expert at Joe Button can tell you: material matters. That’s certainly the case with charcoal suits, which come available in a variety of shades and fabrics. To reduce shine and keep the quality high, most men stick with matte colour and wool material, though bear in mind that not all wools are created equal. Naturally, you’ll want to avoid cheap or synthetic wool.

Delivering a warmer vibe than straight black, charcoal is more or less synonymous with a dark shade of grey. That said, a number of modern labels and manufacturers have expanded upon the term in recent years. As a result, you might find colours like “light charcoal” and “dark charcoal” when shopping for a charcoal suit. From there, you’ll discover even more shades of charcoal with much catchier names such as Storm, Wrought Iron, and so on.