Consider the Black Suit

Thoughts at A Suitable Wardrobe.

Originally Posted by Will

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Thoughts at A Suitable Wardrobe.

Good Stuff.

This is the sort of thing more enthusiasts in this arena should be composing.

Though I agree with most of your other articles, I'm still not sure why a black suit for clubbing is any better than a midnight blue or charcoal suit in the same style.

I'm not really feeling the tie with a suit for going out, if it's not to dinner/drinks. It's fine in that situation, but for clubbing? Seems like it's a bit restrictive, at least IMO.

Yeah, I'm not quite to the point where I'm free to commission a suit with such limited occasions for use.

Tomorrow night, I have dinner at a jacket required joint in DC - I'll be wearing a black suit with a white/black pinstripe RLPL shirt (tie undecided), with RLPL skull/bones cufflinks and Zegna medallion toed bals. Frankly, I think it'll be a great look for dinner out on the town and fie to anyone who thinks otherwise.

IMO the 'no black suits during the day' rule is mainly an American thing - it's not seen as a taboo in Australia, most parts of Europe or Asia and is often very classy. It seems to work especially well on young guys, too.

Originally Posted by Python

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IMO the 'no black suits during the day' rule is mainly an American thing - it's not seen as a taboo in Australia, most parts of Europe or Asia and is often very classy. It seems to work especially well on young guys, too.

I would beg to disagree. If you ask any of the older tailors in Sydney or Melbourne I will guarantee that you shall find otherwise. After all the tradition in dress here is English - not Asian.

As to whether the epidemic of cheap and nasty black suits afflicts us equally in Australia as in America and Europe then there is no denying it.

Originally Posted by Python

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IMO the 'no black suits during the day' rule is mainly an American thing - it's not seen as a taboo in Australia, most parts of Europe or Asia and is often very classy. It seems to work especially well on young guys, too.

Oh, no. Black suits are very common here, but as a trend among the youth. I'm guessing (though I do not know) that the situation is the same in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe. Older, more initiated dressers -- those who defer to style, not trend -- will still by and large advise against the solid black suit.

(I don't think a black self stripe is so bad, though I don't have one and don't suspect I ever will.)

Well, *style* is very much a personal thing - whether you prefer solid navy, solid black, black with a self-pattern, black with pinstripes, light grey or fluorescent pink with green polka dots and iridescent glow-in-the-dark lining, it's still style. Whether or not it's *traditional* styling is another matter entirely - this may or may not matter to you, but the ultimate purpose is to *look good*, not to simply follow 'traditional' styling dictates. Black suits, just like olive suits, look great on some people and downright awful on others. If it looks good on you and you're comfortable in it, wear it - it's your style.

Naturally there are not hard-and-fast rules to style. It's like art: if I like a canvass painted all black, or an ordinary piece of rock mounted on a stick, I can call it art. Yay, me! However, that doesn't mean it's roundly considered "artistic." My point was that the word stylish tends to mean a majority of those with similar interests will approve. It's not universal, and it's not guaranteed, but it's what we have.

Originally Posted by Sator

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I would beg to disagree. If you ask any of the older tailors in Sydney or Melbourne I will guarantee that you shall find otherwise. After all the tradition in dress here is English - not Asian.

As to whether the epidemic of cheap and nasty black suits afflicts us equally in Australia as in America and Europe then there is no denying it.

'Non-traditional' isn't the same thing as 'taboo'. Black suits during the daytime may not be a traditional thing, but is hardly frowned upon in modern-day Australia or Europe. Sure, it may be trendy at the moment, but it has also gone in and out over the years, never falling entirely out-of-fashion; IMO it has lasted long enough to be regarded as a legitimate 'style', albeit not the most traditional one. Because, really, a trend that asserts itself over an extended period of time essentially becomes a 'style' after a while. After all, it wasn't so long ago (in historical terms, anyway) that the suit itself was regarded as modern, trendy and a business faux pas, meant only to be worn casually. The tuxedo was invented by a group of young aristocrats who decided to cut their coat-tails short. Both were trendy at the time, but regarded as classic style nowadays.

Black Suit Denial.

I've found black suits from the early 60s. Not many from the 70s or 80s, but I'm sure someone was doing them.

I still think they need to be better made and fitted to differentiate themselves from the many, many crap black suits out there.

Didn't black suits boom after the Bluesbrothers movie? Or was it only the combination black suit+sunglasses? ?

going all black with dior homme is pretttty sweet