HOF: What Are You Wearing Right Now - Part IV (starting May 2014)

[An Acute Style]

Could use some direction on this thrifted suit. I think the sleeves may been needing a touch of length. Also found a new natural light spot, but I cut off my feet in the photo.


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Suit looks good. A higher camera position would look better. At least chest level.

 

[acconrad]

Hi all. New poster here and first time post. Please be brutal. I enjoy dressing formally, but sometimes feel that I can’t be objective.

Here I’m wearing brown tassel loafers by Charles Jourdan, grey high rise trousers by Spier & Mackay, white TM Lewin Shirt, Shibumi Firenze tie and Navy DB jacket.

I think in the photos the trousers have fallen slightly at the waistline but other than that please let me know what I can do to improve the fit.

Looking forward to being here and contributing.

First of all welcome and congrats on wanting to dress better. I hope it will be a fruitful experience here for you to get some help in your journey.

Given you asked for advice, I'll see what I can do:

First, let's acknowledge at least the things you are definitely getting right: color combinations, materials, and the overall aesthetic. Great choice in colors for jacket, pants, and the tie. They all work really well together. You have an eye for style so you're not completely starting from zero here.

The area to most improve is fit. You know how to combine colors and patterns to create a harmonious look. Now we just need it to fit your body.

As others have said, your clothes need to better drape your body and build. It helps that you took pictures from multiple angles because it will illustrate the point better.

A suit or odd jacket/trouser combo is meant to flatter your build; it is the great equalizer in men's fashion. It can make a portly man look trimmer, it can make a muscular man not look so comical and imposing, and it can make the rakish man appear more solid than he actually is.

The fit is what achieves all of this. Proportions of the suit should equalize the proportions of the body and cover up the extremes. As a result, you shouldn't see areas of fabric puddled or a sausage-casing fit. You fall more into the latter, as is shown particularly from your side pose.

All you really need to do is choose a different body part to base your measurements off of.

So you probably took the standard advice of basing your jacket off of your chest and shoulders. And your jacket does fit your chest and shoulders. But just barely so. The truth is you're supposed to leave an inch or two at the largest measurements for the garment itself. Meaning, if your chest measures 40" across, the jacket should really be more like 42" across to accommodate drape and not completely hug every curve of your body. My guess is you took your body measurements and found garments that measured the same, and the result is a skin-tight drape. So you need to have the largest body part for the garment dictate the drape. So if you have more belly than chest, the belly dictates the drape. Similarly, in pants, if the thighs are bigger than the waist, you have to go off of the thigh/hip measurement and use suspenders if the waist is too big (or bring the waist in, rather than start with the waist and have hips, thighs, and calves too tight).

If you get that, you're 99% of the way there. I think the only other minor piece would be to lengthen the sleeve. You only need to see about .25-.5" of cuff, and the sleeves appear to be a bit short on the jacket. Also the lapel on the jacket is quite narrow for a double-breasted jacket. You want your lapels to be somewhat proportional to your build - so a really thin lapel on a larger-framed man like yourself should have a beefier lapel to match.

 

[acconrad]

Could use some direction on this thrifted suit. I think the sleeves may been needing a touch of length. Also found a new natural light spot, but I cut off my feet in the photo.


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Looks pretty good overall but I guess it depends on the aesthetic you're going for.

The suit gives off a ivy sack suit vibe. There's not a lot of contour between chest and waist and if that's what you're going for then not much needs to be done but it could be taken in the waist a smidge.

I do think it's a tad bit big in the shoulders - it seems like where the collar bone meets is slightly before the sleeve, which isn't ideal, but it could just be the angle.

Yes, the right sleeve could be a tad longer.

Also, based on your build, the pants are a bit low in rise. I would expect the pants to meet closer to the natural waist but they seem to sit closer to the hips like a pair of jeans. A more modern fit, so it's not "bad", just not classical in the tone of the forum (if that's the look you want). The cut though is sublime - the drape down the leg is perfect.

 

[sugarbutch]

Could use some direction on this thrifted suit. I think the sleeves may been needing a touch of length. Also found a new natural light spot, but I cut off my feet in the photo.


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It’s…fine. A bit boxy, buttoning point is too high, the jacket could be longer, and the rise of the trousers is insufficient. It certainly doesn’t look bad, but these are things to look out for with future acquisitions.

 

[Heykal]

Monday wear:

• shoes: Roberto Ley
• socks: Pedemeia
• trousers (navy blue): Scavini
• suspenders: Albert Thurston
• shirt: Lanieri
• jacket: BOGGI Milano
• tie: Calabrese 1924
• pocket square: Granqvist
• trench: Mackintosh.

Have a great week!