A revelation: I can't stand English suits

[lowlander]

I am British and had always just accepted as fact that English suits are some of the best in the world. My only actual experience with English suits has been with solid ready to wear options: some Gieves & Hawkes here, some Richard James there and some Ede & Ravenscroft in between etc etc. English tailoring is indeed famous, but I feel liberated to accept that it just isn't for me.

The truth is, I never felt comfortable in an English suit. I assumed this was my problem and that I just didn't feel comfortable in suits in general. All the English suits I wore made me feel stiff, the hard shoulders, padding and overly tapered waists, I felt, made me look more than a little ridiculous. If wearing a suit was supposed to make you feel more confident then why did I always feel like a clown when I put one on? I wanted to love wearing a suit but I just hated it.

Then I tried a high quality Italian suit. Who knew a suit could buttress your posture while at the same time, through such delicate construction, encourage you to move as freely as you would butt naked in the Garden of Eden. While I always felt restricted in an English suit, an Italian suit encouraged me to endeavour.

The funny thing is that for a short while I was convinced that I preferred American tailoring to English until I realised it was just because elegant Americans in fact wear Italian. (The truth is that English tailoring is just a niche luxury commodity, if you want proper style and timeless understatement you must go Italian.)

Arrivederci!

 

[Andy57]

The funny thing is that for a short while I was convinced that I preferred American tailoring to English until I realised it was just because elegant Americans in fact wear Italian. (The truth is that English tailoring is just a niche luxury commodity, if you want proper style and timeless understatement you must go Italian.)

This is nonsense.

I'm glad you found a suit that you like. Your generalizations about English suits and about what Americans wear is about as useful as generalizations usually are.

 

[jaywhyy]

Ironically, a lot of English RTW are made by Caruso (the good ones at least, Ede & Ravenscroft is made in Mauritius by Wensum iirc).

Roman tailoring is nearly as structured as most English tailoring. Rubinacci is called London House for a reason. Anderson & Sheppard style is very soft.

Also, Neapolitan tailoring is not as flattering as most assume, especially on those with weak shoulders.

 

[lowlander]

This is nonsense.

I'm glad you found a suit that you like. Your generalizations about English suits and about what Americans wear is about as useful as generalizations usually are.

Nonsense? Have you ever tried to drink an espresso in under 3 minutes wearing an English suit?

 

[madhat]

Nonsense? Have you ever tried to drink an espresso in under 3 minutes wearing an English suit?

Maybe you're buying an incorrectly sized suit?

 

[lowlander]

Maybe you're buying an incorrectly sized suit?

Not at all, I know how a suit should fit. It's all about structure: you wear an Italian suit, I always felt that English suits were wearing me.

You'll either know what I'm talking about or you won't. Each to their own I guess.

 

[bdavro23]

Nonsense? Have you ever tried to drink an espresso in under 3 minutes wearing an English suit?

Huh?

 

[BXpress]

Nonsense? Have you ever tried to drink an espresso in under 3 minutes wearing an English suit?

What's hard about drinking an Espresso? I can finish one in under 30 seconds even if i was wearing plate armour.

 

[Big A]

I’m actually with you here, though I’d say I prefer Italian over English tailoring. I don’t hate British tailoring (I have a couple of suits made by British tailors that I like quite a bit) but stylistically I prefer the Italian stuff

I also agree with you that the most common RTW American tailoring outside of Brooks Brothers has a more Italian stylistic influence.

So while I wouldn’t necessarily comment in absolutes, I will disagree that your original post was “nonsense.”

 

[lowlander]

I can finish one in under 30 seconds even if i was wearing plate armour.

And I'm sure you'd look not in the least bit ridiculous doing so.

 

[Andy57]

Nonsense? Have you ever tried to drink an espresso in under 3 minutes wearing an English suit?

Once again, nonsense. And, yes, to your question, just about every afternoon.

In your original post, you declare that you've purchased and worn "solid, off the rack" suits, whatever that means. But one thing that it does mean is that you have never actually worn English tailoring. You don't mention if your Italian suits are RTW or bespoke. Either way, wearing a RTW suit is not the same thing as wearing tailoring. You get what you pay for.

I must now assume that you are a troll, making ridiculously ill-informed statements in order to provoke a reaction.

 

[BXpress]

And I'm sure you'd look not in the least bit ridiculous doing so.

What's ridiculous about a suit of armuor? Or is it the fast drinking that you find ridiculous?

 

[lowlander]

Once again, nonsense. And, yes, to your question, just about every afternoon.

In your original post, you declare that you've purchased and worn "solid, off the rack" suits, whatever that means. But one thing that it does mean is that you have never actually worn English tailoring. You don't mention if your Italian suits are RTW or bespoke. Either way, wearing a RTW suit is not the same thing as wearing tailoring. You get what you pay for.

I must now assume that you are a troll, making ridiculously ill-informed statements in order to provoke a reaction.

Hi Andy, I certainly don't mean to antagonize you, so I will do my best to deescalate the tone of the exchange - I'm very sincere and am certainly not a troll. Perhaps I should have been more clear about the context at the outset. I am admittedly no "sartorialist" in the sense that tailoring will never be for me the lifestyle, hobby and passion that it is for some others: I will take the liberty of assuming tailoring is for you what it is not for me.

My uses for suits are much more utilitarian than that. Formal professional environments require me to be well dressed and of course that demands a good degree of general knowledge about structure and fit, but beyond that my interest wanes. I always seek to be well-dressed enough so that people who care about these things can find no fault, yet dressed unaffectedly enough to fly under the radar of those who don't.

The first Italian suit that I tried that I really liked was a Canali made to order (I am not sure if houses like Canali even do "bespoke" in the Savile Row sense of the term).

 

[lowlander]

What's ridiculous about a suit of armuor? Or is it the fast drinking that you find ridiculous?

There's nothing at all ridiculous about the thought of you drinking espresso in full armour, it's just the fist pump when you realise you've done it in 28.5 seconds that looks a little silly.

 

[BXpress]

There's nothing at all ridiculous about the thought of you drinking espresso in full armour, it's just the fist pump when you realise you've done it in 28.5 seconds that looks a little silly.

I don't do fist pumps. I'm Mediterranean, i drink Espresso and Mocha like it's water.