Dressing for Success

Tailored Clothing

Workplace AttireThe suit has been in decline as business wear over the past several decades. In some industries it is

still going strong, in others it has faded away. Instead we get ‘Business Casual’…which is all over the board.

Tailored clothing has it’s place, whether it be the suit you wear to an interview, the sportcoat you wear every day, or even just the pants you wear with the sporty polo.

Suits…quality suits

• They will last as long as you take care of them. A suit may last you the rest of your life.

What is a quality suit• All suits have a layer of fabric between the lining and the outer layer.

On most ready-to-wear suits that layer is glued or ‘fused’ into the suit. This is quick and inexpensive for the manufacturer. However, over time the fused layer can stiffen, bubble and warp. Also, the fused cloth will not move fluidly with your body as it is rigid. Dry cleaning fused suits will shorten the life of them dramatically and can accelerate the degradation of the fused layer.

• Better suits are constructed using a ‘canvass’ method of construction. The middle layer is a layer of wool that is sewn to the jacket. By sewing the piece in there is more give to material and it moves with you. Also, over time, the canvassed suit can be cleaned without risking the same sort of damage a fused coat can suffer from cleaning.

What do you want in a business suit?

• 100% natural fibers• Preferably ‘full canvas’ construction• No ‘fashion forward’ details (4+ buttons on the front, contrasting lapels, etc.)

Suit Styles• 1, 2 and three button jackets can be business appropriate • Notch or peak lapels• Single vent or double vent• Pleated or plain-front pants• Two piece or three piece (vest)

American, English, Italian• The American look is traditionally the undarted box suit.

J. Press is one of the few places still specializing in this. Brooks Brothers, who invented the look, has moved away from it.

• The English dress to ‘fit in’. Their suits are traditionally very dark and cut from heavier cloth with a stiffer style. That being said, English tailoring is more demanding than American. Brown is a color not worn in the city according to the English.

• The Italians favor flowing, soft suits. Colors vary more widely, as do patterns.

Fashion?

• One key aspect of men’s dress clothing is that it is ‘timeless’. By avoiding trends you can wear your clothing for a long time.

• Here are some pictures of men of the past wearing classic clothing. They would look great wearing the same items today.

Formality• Darker suits are more formal.

• However, black is not a good choice for business wear. Black has a tendency to wash a person out.

• Black is for eveningwear

• Patterns are less formal.

What does looking good look like?

The basic business suit collectionFirst two – mid-weight worsted wool• A solid charcoal grey is a key suit that should be the first

you acquire. Appropriate for interviews, sales calls, weddings, funerals, formal events…this is a cornerstone

• A solid navy is a logical choice as a second suit. Navy works even better than grey for evening.

• From there branch out into stripes and checks.• Also start to add seasonal fabrics like flannel for winter

and frescos for summer.

Seasonal SuitsHonestly there is not really such a thing as a ‘year round’ suit.

For summer you will want lighter colors and fabrics, for winter, heavier.

Grey flannel suits for winter are great.

Odd Jackets

An Odd Jacket is a tailored jacket without matching Pants. The traditional blazer is the most basic version of this. Pair odd jackets with odd trousers.

Odd jackets can be dressed up or dressed down. The traditional navy blue blazer can be worn with a nice dress shirt, tie and wool pants to the office. It can also be worn with cotton pants, a polo and boat shoes on the weekend.

An odd jacket should not look like the jacket from a suit without the pants. Details like contrasting buttons (or metal ones), patch pockets, bolder patterns, more delicate fabrics, extra details like collar tabs, all help the odd jacket stand out from the mismatched suit jacket.

The Navy Blazer

As the most useful odd jacket the navy blazer deserves a bit more attention.

It can be made from almost any fabric, you may have one in a medium worsted, a heavy flannel for winter and a light linen for summer.

You can get all sorts of different buttons for your blazer. You should not feel trapped by the ones that come on your navy blazer. You can also move the buttons to new jackets in the future so go ahead and get a silver set with your initials on them.

Suit Care• Use good hangers with wide shoulders (hangerproject.com) • Do not clean your suits too often. Is hard on a suit, especially if it is

fused. A couple of times a year should suffice. Instead, invest in a clothes brush (Kent Brushes are the finest made) and brush your suits regularly. This removes the surface dirt. (kentbrushes.com)

• Give your suits a break. If at all possible do not wear the same suit several days in a row. Give the clothes time to dry and air out.

• Use a steamer to release wrinkles (Jiffy makes the best). While travelling, hang your suits in the bathroom and run the shower for a bit to steam things up and let the suit stay in that room.

• If you need to press your suit, use an iron on medium but use a press cloth, otherwise you risk damaging the fabric.

• Between seasons hang your bag in a canvas suit bag to keep dust and critters away.

Ready to Wear (RTW) Top Quality Suit Brands

• Attolini• Kiton• Brioni• Oxxford• Barbera (Luciano) Collezioni Sartoriale• Bijan (there are some by Brioni)• Brioni• Dior homme• Isaia • Sartoria Attolini• Zegna Napoli• Battistoni• Belvest• Borrelli• Castangia• Cheshire Clothing (Chester Barrie)• Cifonelli• D'Avenza• Stuart’s Choice • Ralph Lauren Purple Label (St. Andrews• Zegna (regular and Napoli lines - not the “Z-Soft" suits)

RTW Suits - Mid Range• Boss Baldessarini (made by Caruso)• Canali, Canali Exclusive, Canali Proposta• Cantarelli• Caruso• Corneliani• Polo Black label (most made by Caruso)• Ralph Lauren Polo Blue Label (currently made by Corneliani)• Nervesa• Ravazzolo• Zileri sartoriale line• Armani Classico and Black Label (made by Vestimenta)• Canali Proposta• Corneliani Trend and CC• Polo Blue Label (made in Italy)• Samuelsohn - Canada• Paul Stuart (made in Canada by Samuelson)• Vestimenta• Zileri Gruppo Forall [white label]• Hickey Freeman (most)• Martin Greenman• Brooks Brothers – Golden Fleece

Odd PantsTop quality RTW makers

In addition to most of the suit makers listed here are a couple of trouser specialists

• Incotex• Valentini• Mabitex Sartoriale

If the suit fits…• All too often people can be seen wearing ill fitting suits. The shoulders are

too wide, there’s too much material in the waist, the sleeves are too long and the pants are pooling around the feet…and those are just the most obvious problems.

• A good tailor is the key to success with any tailored clothing. Find a good one and stick to them.

• To dispel a myth, no one should ever expect that off-the-rack clothes will fit without tailoring.

• Sleeve length – you should aim to show ~1/2 inch of shirt cuff at the end of your sleeve.

• Shoulders, bigger is not better. You don’t need to dress as if you’re playing for the NFL.

• Pants, no-break to small break is OK. Pooling around your feet, is not OK. Show off your shoes…they are worth it aren’t they?

• Waist suppression is good, unless you don’t have a waist.

• People always want to know about whether their pants should have cuffs or not. It’s a personal choice. Also, feel free to make your cuffs as large as you want. 2” is not unreasonable, especially if you are tall. They help pants drape better.

• The inside of the pant opening should be lined with extra material as this is a high wear area. Also, the additional material will help your pant drape better.

Made-to-Measure (MTM)• Retailers will only carry an inventory of what they believe they can

successfully sell each season. The choices in fabrics, patterns, styles, and sizes is limited.

• Many brands offer ‘Made-to-Measure’ programs, often at no additional charge. A retailer will measure you and you can select from a wider range of fabrics. Details for your suit, jacket or pants can be selected.

• The manufacturer does not create a custom pattern for you, rather you mix and match from their ‘stock’ patterns. This does provide the ability to get closer to a perfect fit before alterations. You can get a suit where the drop (difference between the chest size and the pant size) is greater than normally offered in off-the-rack. Thereby simplifying the process of fitting the trousers to you.

Bespoke (Custom)• Bespoke opens you to a world of endless possibilities. Any fabric, any

design….the sky is the limit.• Good tailors are hard to come by and you should commit to a

relationship with your tailor. It will take a few pieces to establish your relationship and help you settle upon what you want.

• Expect to pay $1000+ for some Asian tailors who travel to the US. Otherwise $2000+ for a domestic tailor with the prices varying widely. If you must go Savile Row, expect pricing to start at £3,000.