Originality is nothing new

In a time when male celebrities often wear nothing more formal than a pair of jeans and even Hermes has stopped putting ties on their models, some young men are shying away from the classic styles, suits and other accessories such as tailored shoes. The fact is fashion, and particularly suits, is supposed to be comfortable, not restrictive or clumsy and as useful as anything you might wear to the gym. Here Men’s Style provide some practical advice to help build a versatile, yet classy wardrobe fit for any occasion.

There used to be a time when any self-respecting man would not have answered the door without attaching a collar to his shirt. These days, in your leisure hours, you’re free to wear what you like – clothing that’s comfortable, what would have once quaintly been called bohemian. And in some areas of the media or entertainment, where it pays to be an individual, the same rules may apply to your working hours.

We’ve become so good at being funky that we may need a few pointers when it comes to elegance. Sir John Birt, as BBC Director General, reportedly derided the wearing of neckties. Meanwhile, designer Hedi Slimane, who was at Dior, was pioneering the return of post-punk skinny to the catwalk and street. Now that dressing down, once rebellious, has become an orthodoxy, we’ve even fewer places to turn to for style advice.

You don’t need an excuse like a party or a wedding to dress up. You’re free to look stylish any time. We shouldn’t let casual culture encourage us to think of formal clothes as less comfortable. The made-to measure style of bespoke tailoring should guide our purchases, even of ready-to-wear suits. In fact, a suit that’s more elegantly form-hugging will be more comfortable, and will bring out the best in its wearer. Comfort is an essential part of the right look, whatever your shape.

If you’re feeling good about your job, don’t let your appearance send out a different message, your suits should reflect your confidence. As Slimane says, ‘I’d like to think there’s a return to elegance, a revival of the notion of fashion for men. I’ve mounted a crusade against this informal ‘Casual Friday’ trend. I’d like men to think about evolving into something more sophisticated, more seductive.’

CLASSIC STYLES:

Suits You, Sir

If you make the right purchasing decisions, you can look good in a suit whatever your body shape.

• The shoulders are especially important – thin men look best in a narrow cut with little or no shoulder padding, narrow trousers, slim lapels and a nipped-in waist. The jacket should fall softly over the hips.
• A broad-shouldered athletic type should similarly go without shoulder padding, but with a more flattering double- breasted outfit.
• A more corpulent man should avoid features that made him look larger. Lapels of a medium width are more suitable. Whereas slightly shorter trousers, with their hem at the achilles tendon rather than heel, will lengthen the look of the body laterally and shorten its appearance, but braces will elongate it.

Signs of a good suit

• Although a matter of design rather than quality. It’s usual for the shoulders to have a slight slope.
• The first one or two of the sleeve buttons can be undone.
• Trousers sit high on the hips and are close-fitting to the legs.
• Traditional British jackets have two side vents, one on either side. A three button jacket can have one at the back, but a double-breasted jacket should always two side events.
• Typical of custom-made suits is a loop behind and below the buttonhole on the left lapel.

Bespoke, made to measure or designer ready-to-wear?

The tailors of London’s Savile Row and its neighbouring streets include famous names such as Gieves&Hawkes, as well as smaller premises where the tailors are effectively cutters who contract out the tailoring for a bespoke suit (adapted to your particulars from a typical set of measurements). Some men happily spend four figures on a designer-label suit without realizing that for similar money, if they are prepared to wait for their products, they can purchase one from such a tailor.

AMEICAN STYLE:

United Tastes

From Wall Street to the Grand Canyon, the USA is a vast and majestic country. Americans have created clothes to deal with the highest corporate corridors, and the great outdoors, both as unforgiving of the underdressed in their different ways. From snap-brimmed postwar style, through Ralph Lauren’s preppy look to Tom Ford’s glitzy populism, sartorial America has simultaneously stated both its individuality and its homogeneity, in which all members of the world’s most ethnically diverse population can proclaim themselves American with ease.

Contrary to European impressions, America has strict traditions of dress, particularly on the East Coast. How else could they have given us the concept of ‘dress-down Friday?’ For formal business wear, in addition to European patterns, Americans favour grey flannel or herringbone and Prince of Wales check – traditional leisure-suit fabric in Britain. In summer, light blue or beige suits make an appearance. Diasporas brought many Jewish and Italian tailors to the USA, while clothes from Madison Avenue’s Brooks Brothers have been worn by Abraham Lincoln and many significant Americans since. Their classic ‘sack’ suit is the model for many formal designs, with a single vent and a three button jacket. The top button is ironed into the lapel and not used. Jackets may be available in up to five lengths – the longest of which is surprisingly ‘zooty’ – with sloping shoulders that give a more pleated, and the waistbands sit high on the hips. Perhaps the most formal/semi-formal exported American item is a shirt with a soft-roll collar based on John C. Brooks’ design. They may or may not be button-down and are available in plain, or in plaid or stripes for casual wear.

BRITISH STYLE:

Evolution not Revolution

The suits that we consider formal work attire were only introduced to offices in the 1930s. Before that, clerks, scriveners and their superiors wore morning jacket, waistcoat and trousers of differing materials. British design remains steeped in tradition, with an emphasis on looking appropriate. Despite this, the British relish the challenge of bending the rules; breaking them in a little too easy.

Your choice of suit should suit the occasion, the time of day, and the time of year. There are three aspects to this:

Cut
• Single-breasted two-piece (most popular choice). This is available with two or three buttons, a centre vent at the back of the jacket or two side vents. Trousers may or may not have turn-ups (cuffs).
• Double-breasted. Two sides vents or, unusually, sometimes none, but never just one.
• Three-piece. Although rendered unnecessary by central heating, the waistcoat is making something of a come back, both as part of a such with retro charm (Gieves & Hawkes offer them) or as a stand-alone fashion item.

Colour
• Traditional business colours are black, dark blue, and dark to light grey. Lighter greys are currently becoming more fashionable.
• Green or brown (especially a tweed suit) are best reserved for classic sporting events, leisure or self-consciously hidebound work such as academia or antiques dealing.

Fabric
• There are many weights of material, and you should think about the temperature in which you’ll wear your suit before buying. Medium weight is recommended for year round use.
• As the most crease-resistant natural fibre, wool is still the best option.
• Popular fabrics for business include: plain worsted in all colours and weights: white (or blue) pinstripe on blue: grey pinstripe: chalk-sStrip on grey; and ‘nailhead’, a more discreet pattern in blue or grey.

A GREY AREA

When it comes to street fashion, anything goes. Look funky, feel sexy, or just blend in: it’s up to you. For work, we adhere to a dress code, or select clothes that make us look successful. So what do we grab from our wardrobe when an invite states smart casual? That phrase strikes a doubtful note with anyone who’s had a weekend invitation to meet the boss’s partner, however. These are the times when it’s easy to stumble into being underdressed or overdressed.Christopher Bailey, creative director at Burberry says, ‘If you feel you’re overdressed, you’re probably really overdressed.’ Think of the time of day, the time of year and whether you will be indoors or al fresco. During the day a suit may be too much. That goes equally for informal events outdoors, with the honourable exception of a classic tweed suit at a racecourse of course. The market has mushroomed, however with trendier, form-hugging leisure suits for wearing past cocktail hour. To judge by Dolce & Gabbana and Armani, monochrome is in. Black, much touted, may be severe, but grey has come full circle. Once the staple colour of wintry flannel trousers worn with a sports jacket, in a leisure suit it suggests the effortless style of Gregory Peck or the Rat Pack. If the occasion is quite conservative, there are classic combinations such as tattersall check with corduroys or preppy chinos with a blue jacket (if not quite the full blazer of Ralph Lauren’s look). Otherwise:

• Always wear a shirt rather than a T-Shirt
• Pinstripe jackets with jeans are a fashion statement of the past.
• A busy shirt – with stripes or a pattern – is fine with jeans or chinos but suits are better with plain shirts.
• Lambswool or cashmere sweaters are classic in reds and blues and fashionable if thin, patterned and short.

STYLE KNOW-HOW

Tailors’TLC

• Good suit hangers have shaped shoulders and a trousers hanger with a clamp that holds the bottom hem so trousers regain shape under their own height.
• Air your suit for a while before putting it away. Perhaps near an open window.
• Invest in a good clothes brush. Don’t brush too vigorously.
• Hanging your suit in a steam-filled bathroom will remove creases.
• Invest in a trouser press, or iron your trousers with a damp white cotton cloth between them and your iron.

ITALIAN STYLE:

La Dolce Vita

In the 1950s Italian fashion brought glamour back to the world of the suit. Italian style entered America via Hollywood, with matinee idols such as Gary Cooper and Clark Gable sporting Italian tailoring, and the clean-cut cool of Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday

There are two good reasons for the appeal of Italian Style: design flair that meets the demands of the catwalk season and traditions of using light materials (on account of Italy’s dry climate) that ensures you’ll be cool during the summer season. Merino Wool, cashmere and even mohair can feel lighter than a typical shirt, and suits can be half-lined to ensure shape while letting body heat dissipate. Italy also pioneered the use of cotton and linen.

Traditional suits from tailors based in Rome, Milan or Naples are aspirational products. Among the cognoscenti, names such as Brioni, Kiton, Caraceni, D’Avenza and Cifonelli are unmistakable for their cut, rather than their label. A fiting at one of their premises is desired by financiers and gangsters alike.

From the 1980s, Italian ready to wear brands brought individually to the manufactured suit, again via Hollywood. Giorgio Armani in particular has moved from the pushed-back sleeves of Miami Vice to monochromatic sharpness. Dolce & Gabbana, together with others such as Ferragamo, continue to combine exquisiteness with new references and, in Versace’s case, a knowing vulgarity that incorporates rock and street features – such as patched jeans – into couture.

In the tradition of the passeggiata, in which one demonstrates one’s self-worth, Italian designers have taught us to see cloth as creating an opportunity for self-expression.