Opposuits

If you want a guaranteed conversation-starter rather than a wardrobe staple, OppoSuits deliver exactly that. The whole brand is built on loud, all-over patterned suits, and the holiday styles in particular are what made it go viral. Treat one as a costume-with-tailoring: brilliant for a Christmas party, a stag do or a stadium, less so for the office.

OppoSuits is a genuine clothing company, founded in Amsterdam in 2012, that grew into a multimillion-dollar business selling in more than 50 countries. Shoppers tend to be pleasantly surprised that a full novelty suit comes properly cut with jacket, trousers and tie. Just expect a fun-first piece rather than heirloom tailoring, and check the size guide carefully since fit can vary.

Start with whatever matches the occasion you actually have coming up. The collection has grown to more than 30 designs since the brand began, and the Christmas styles are its signature crowd-pleasers. If you want something you can re-wear, a bolder solid or a subtle all-over print travels further than a one-night-only holiday motif.

Yes. OppoSuits started out squarely as menswear, but on 1 November 2016 the brand announced a women's collection featuring a skirt and jacket. So the same loud, all-over-print spirit is available beyond the men's range.

Beyond its own site, OppoSuits is carried by a number of major retailers across Europe and North America. Wikipedia lists chains including Macy's, Nordstrom, Kohl's, Debenhams, House of Fraser and The Hudson's Bay Company. The brand reports being sold in well over a thousand stores, so a department store near you may stock the seasonal styles.

OppoSuits was founded in 2012 in Amsterdam by Jasper Castelein, Jelle van der Zwet and Guus Bakker. The very first product was an orange suit aimed at Dutch soccer fans, which set the tone for everything that followed: turning the ordinary suit into something deliberately attention-grabbing.

A lot of it came from celebrities and viral moments rather than advertising. Jimmy Kimmel wore the holiday styles in 2014, Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor wore one to the 2015 Grammys, and in 2015 the Christmas suits went viral when one wearer reportedly racked up huge numbers of matches on a dating app. That kind of coverage made the brand a seasonal favourite.

It has. In 2014 OppoSuits won the prize for Best Small / Medium Enterprise at the Golden Bridge Trade & Export Awards in London. The jury was struck by how quickly a novelty-suit idea had grown into a multimillion-dollar company trading with consumers and retailers in more than 50 countries.

OppoSuits is a Dutch company, founded in Amsterdam, that operates warehouses in Holland, the UK and the United States. That footprint is why its products ship worldwide, and it explains the brand's strong presence across both Europe and North America.

Because these are statement pieces you may only wear a handful of times, the safest move is to measure against the brand's size guide rather than guessing from your usual jacket size. The full set typically arrives as jacket, trousers and tie, so you want the jacket and waist to land right. A quick check before ordering saves the disappointment of a too-tight novelty suit on the big night.