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Showing 10 posts tagged suits
Tone on Tone // Styling // Mens Formalwear
Perfect example of how to waken semi-plain fabric! Love this shot.
SYMPHONY IN GREY
(via randomitus)
Suits You Sir // Menswear // Mr Porter
Despite my uniform of fitted shirts and indigo jeans my heart continues to yearn for formalwear. I have several suits hanging in my wardrobe that just don’t get worn enough. Maybe this winter will change that and I’ll actually start to scrub up well. It’s not that I don’t feel comfortable in a suit. I do, they’re like a magnificent uniform instantly making me feel far more professional than some would say I am. I also love dressing up for an event or party, but as most of my social engagements generally end drunkenly dancing and rather sweaty its not always appropriate.
What really upsets me though is seeing men in badly fitted suits. Honestly, it causes me phyiscal pain. This morning I witnessed a man in his late thirties early forties positively drowning. Not in the torrential summer rain that has become a staple feature this year, but in his suit. I first noticed his shoes, (trainers - massive no!) but the suit, which by the way would have looked great on someone else, was totally out of proportion. If your jacket is practically grazing your knees you’re in the wrong size.
Photo Credit: American GQ
Gentlemen, regardless of your budget you are investing a substantial chunk of your personal income in a suit. Get it right. It doesn’t matter if you’re spending £150 or £1,500 make sure the suit fits right. Though if you’re spending over a grand you should probably just go bespoke, that or be expecting customer service that guarantees you look amazing. A well fitting suit will make you look taller, slimmer, broader, and debonair than almost anything else in your wardrobe. The complete opposite of speedos if you will. Even the hottest buffest man can look awful in a pair of budgie smugglers, but with a brilliant suit even Shrek looks like a catch.
I’ve been debating for ages how best to blog on all the finer points to look out for when ensuring a good fit. How best to illustrate my point, what details to look out for and how to point these out to the sales clerk if they aren’t sufficiently trained.Then *boom* up comes Mr Porter’s The Knack and complete with a few sketches they do it all for me. The piece is written by Antonio Pipitone of Brioni, one of the top Italian formalwear brands in existence. Here’s how to get some classic ‘sprezzatura’ without veering into over done ‘swag’.Click through the image below to find more.
Mugler Menswear Collection // Brothers of Arcadia // Spring Summer 2012
So after the video teaser which Formichetti is calling a moving mood board. Here’s the actual collection. I must say I really liked it. Sure there were some totally crazy clothes. I won’t be rocking neon green Lycra next summer, well probably not, but in the crazy was a whole lot of cool.
The two suits above are fantastic. The smokey grey is unbelievable and I’m in lust with it. The cut out in the white, which also came down the catwalk as a black/lilac option is brilliant, though reminds me a little of Braille (available in Wolf and Badger)
The jewellery, more like armour was incredible, delightfully impractical, and to be fair the only way you’d catch me in cropped top would be to flash an armour plated stomach!
The body con tops and leggings, (yes leggings!) were also brilliant. I’m not saying get them and stroll down the High St. But as catwalk pieces, inspired. I’ll be hoping the Lycra tops are translated into knitwear as I think they would be phenomenal, and actually something I’d wear.
The shorts were again mid thigh, but thats no shocker. I was however liking the slightly looser fit of them. Still tailored and sharp, but allowing a little more leeway. As for the shoes…I want now, even the crazy neon green flashes. In fact those are the exact ones I want. The plain black ones despite their jagged loveliness just wont cut it.
Formichetti has done Mugler proud with this collection, insanity and accessibility rarely make as good bedfellows as they do here.
Photo Credit: Style.com
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Love it! Sometimes suits must be sacrificed in the name of a great shoot. Seen this styling and camera work before, but generally on snow and surf shoots. It transfers well here and love it.
Jeremy Cowart | via
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looking mighty dapper, my good sir.
My celeb doppelganger accodring to some weird website. Do you think in some weird other dimension Jake sits at his laptop contemplating how he looks like me? No….oh…ok then. Back to the suit very feckin stylish, and love the hitchcockian shadow on third shot.
Prada
Hailed by many as the show of the week, Miuccia wowed the fashion glitterati from the moment they walked through the door. The clothes themselves were as ever fantastic, eschewing everyone else trends Prada stood out alone with a preppy collection. However, summing it up in such a brief term doesnt do the collection justice. Everything was played with, changed turned on its head, from the silhouette, to the fabrication as well as scale and returned back to us in a way we hadnt thought of but couldnt believe we missed.
Ermenegildo Zegna
In a see of charcoal, greys, blacks and blues a spot of colour looks ever more vibrant. This season The Sartorialist picked up on green as a major trend in Pitti just a week ago in Florence and it seems Zegna definitely had their ear to the ground as green appeared in several places in this collection. As ever this classic Italian house showed impeccable tailoring that sums up the Italian sense of style, with a dash of the Tyrol thrown in for good measure.
Photo credit: gq.com
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Whats inspiring me at work at the moment.
This panel gets updated most weeks with new shots, and randomness. So things stay and some things get booted out.
This Christmas the BBC treated us to a broad range of delights from Dr Who, to Nan’s Christmas Carol and of course the last ever episodes of Gavin & Stacey. But what passed many people by was the stupendous production of Hamlet. The ensemble cast all shone in their individual roles and played to each of their strengths.
David Tennant portrayed the decent into madness of Hamlet with skill and prowess, using the bards words in a highly accessible manner which meant even those put off Shakespeare for life by secondary school education could gain pleasure from this great performance. Patrick Stewart was ever a pleasure to watch for many of the same reasons but brought to the screen in a very different way.
But above all of this my pleasure in this production was in its transformation into a modern guise. Shot as though taking place today the costumes gave us access to a regal and harsh world, full of black marble and opulence. As you can see from the screen grabs above courtesy of BBC iPlayer, the costumes shone against the austere backdrop. Sharp tailoring and modern twists on classic looks for the men, followed by accessible yet luxe jeans & tshirt combinations were beautiful, on trend and yet not fashion in the traditional sense. For the women, regal dresses often in empire lines, cleverly built on the atmosphere, when not formally dressed their costumes often drew inspiration from the classic tailored lines of Chanel.
All in all a beautiful film, and a fantastic way to spend 3 hours, even if I had to watch in sections.
Winter Blues
So winter is definitely upon us, and despite the brief respite of sunny warm days we got through November are long gone. The sun may be shining today on a gorgeous winter morning, lets not kid ourselves, in a matter of weeks the weather will indeed be miserable. Yes, the annual floods are back, train companies have already ground to a halt completely taken aback by the bizarre arrival of the adverse weather conditions that happen every December, and who knows what cold damp misery awaits us in January (the worst of all months, rubbish weather, poverty after the Christmas over indulgence, not forgetting the huge rush to the gym to shed the extra pounds gained during said over indulgence). More importantly than that however, the advent of central heating presents a challenge to us all. How do you keep stylish all day when you are forced to run the gambit of a -2 degree outside world and 17 degree office?
Layering is key to the success of any winter look these days, and whilst women have the upper hand here with a myriad of knits, pashminas, gilets, tights and leggings, men are not left behind. The 3 piece suit and overcoat will take you from your under-floor heated penthouse, outside into the cold, into your chauffer driven car, and then the office, (or more likely warm home, freezing walk to the tube, through the underground sweatbox, and into the office) without forcing you to lose your impeccable style.
3 piece suits are on every catwalk this season from D&G & Gucci, to Paul Smith & Paul Costelloe. The secret of the 3 piece suit is the extra layer of structure it gives you. Think of the waistcoat as magic pants for men, instantly improving your silhouette. On top of this the subtle layering means you’re ready for anything the great British winter throws at you, without resorting to looking like some oversized parka clad yeti.
As for the overcoat, it’s as though winter weather was designed specifically to make men look good. The right coat will strengthen your shoulders, broaden your chest, and shrink your waist in ways the summer T-shirt never can. But more of that to follow….
