How to avoid accessory theft in social situations.

Sometimes style queries are about more than just clothes. Tweaks and improvements to your life and your decisions can have untold impacts on your appearance. Which is the main steer of this week’s question, which concerns disappearing pocket squares. Find out what to do about this tricky accessory, and discover some alternatives, below.

When I wear a pocket square with my suit, people feel the need to pull it out and take it. How can I prevent this from happening?

**@myspaceoddityofficial via Instagram **

Whether this question is serious or not, myspaceoddityofficial, it raises some critical points. First, the friends you surround yourself are really rather important. You may be disarmingly handsome. You may have a job that is the envy of all your LinkedIn contacts. But unless you are 12 years old (we do not know if you are 12 years old or not), if you surround yourself with people who steal items from your person, then you cannot really claim to live a particularly successful life. Cancelling dinner with a friend at the last minute is one thing. Clothing theft? Beyond rude.

The easiest solution might be to get some new friends. If we assume, however, that you have fantastic pals, but are inexplicably the victim of the mischievousness of strangers, what to do? You could make your pocket square look so good that no one would dare mess with it. Watch our video here on the matter. Or you could buy a suit with a built-in pocket square, but, as is evidenced by the fact that they are not stocked on MR PORTER, we don’t really approve. The alternative is to create the kind of statement that a pocket square makes in another fashion. The pocket square is for show, to add colour and dimension to your suit. If you take it out of the equation, you could make a similar point with an interesting tie, such as this casual one by Missoni, or let your cufflinks do the talking (try these). You could always wear some colourful socks, such as these ones from Paul Smith. Or wear a suit that’s so fun and bright on its own, such as this one, it doesn’t need any embellishments. Good luck.