Mad men vs. the trendy modern suit

[LA Guy]

While you can definitely criticize skinny suits, this particular thread has to be among the more stupid on this forum. You are essentially framing the question thus:

What looks better, a professionally shot photograph of an outfit chosen by a team of talented wardrobe stylists, or a candid photograph of the same actor in a different suit, where that actor may or may not have any knowledge about, or interest in, clothing?

 

[Academic2]

While you can definitely criticize skinny suits, this particular thread has to be among the more stupid on this forum. You are essentially framing the question thus:

What looks better, a professionally shot photograph of an outfit chosen by a team of talented wardrobe stylists, or a candid photograph of the same actor in a different suit, where that actor may or may not have any knowledge about, or interest in, clothing?

Others can speak for themselves, but that's not at all what I was talking about. I was talking about the trend toward tighter and shorter in suits, starting with off-the-rack suits. Here's me talking about precisely that, from an earlier post in this thread:

"I couldn't agree more. But it's everywhere in the RTW world. People who wear them look like they put their suits through a washer and dryer and shrank them by a couple of sizes. "

Cheers,

Ac

 

[adamantine]

An honest question: If you aren't fat would this be a problem?

 

[CrimsonSox]

Hamm is dressing in a way that's emblematic of much of trendy RTW, as Academic put it well. The jackets are excessively short and tight. It's true that it would be futile to make the comparison with Draper if Hamm were dressing in a style that was idiosyncratically bad. The comparison has an important point because it's not idiosyncratic but representative of a larger fashion that many of the posters recognized. Thom Browne, who can hardly be called an amateur dresser, makes the exact same missteps as Hamm:



What makes the comparison between Hamm and Draper even more telling is that Browne and other designers claim to be inspired by Mad Men and the early 1960s look. Brooks Brothers makes clothes for both Browne's Black Fleece Collection and the show. But the comparison demonstrates that Browne and other designers are missing the jacket length, which should be longer and cover the rear. The maker can be the same, the person wearing the clothes can be the same, the inspiration can be the same, but the design makes all the difference. Men who care about clothes and who are buying suits would be well-advised to make sure that the length is appropriate, and it's a lesson well-illustrated by the comparison between Hamm and Draper.

 

[JackDry]



I haven't seen the film, but I've seen a few still shots, including those to be found on this web-site:

http://thesuitsofjamesbond.com/?cat=101

As you could guess, I don't like the new look, for all the reasons already mentioned in this thread.  And while I don't like the honey-I-shrunk-the-suit look on anyone, I do think that, all other factors being equal, it looks even worse on older men than on younger men.  And Craig is looking noticeably older in these shots than in his first Bond film.

I do, however, like the Tom Ford tab collar shirt.  But I'll cheerfully admit that liking tab collars is a personal idiosyncrasy.

Cheers,

Ac

Got to agree with you about the collars!
They do look good. Tricky finding them in the Uk though.

 

[OliverGauffe]

I don't wear full on suits very often, but I certainly can't imagine wearing the trendy skinny version of them... skinny jeans are bad enough...I go for a straight cut that doesn't look too terribly feminine cuz I'm a skinny bastard. But the jackets that look like the button's gonna pop off... I don't get it either...

 

[Cubits]

He just looks SO punchable!

I fail to see what this look achieves in terms of the male aesthetic. The buttoning point makes him look pot-bellied and tiny-shouldered, and goes hand in hand with that "tweedle dee" amount of visible pant.

It looks like the private schoolboy equivalent of a woman trying to fit into her highschool cheerleading outfit.

 

[Academic2]

An honest question: If you aren't fat would this be a problem?

Yes. The suits we're talking about are both too tight and too *short*. "Short" here includes both jacket length and trouser rise.

Cheers,

Ac

 

[Rincon]

It's like a Grandpa Simpson convention in here.

 

[MikeDT]



It's like a Grandpa Simpson convention in here. 

Yeh I bet Grandpa Simpson wouldn't look too good in a button popping, skinny, cropped RTW suit, because that's all he can get. He's no teenager these days, like many of the rest of us. Fine if you got the $$$ to spare and can afford and justify a nice classic MTM or bespoke jacket or suit. Think this thread thread is mainly about the current state (trend/fashion/style) of RTW tailored apparel. I certainly won't wear it, because it doesn't look good on me. Great for a slim 17 year old school student though. They look quite good in them IMO. In Mad Men and Skyfall, although things are narrow, there didn't seem to be any problem with length, i.e. the jacket always covered the backside completely. But if I buy a RTW suit or jacket from a store now, in my size, can very much guaranty the jacket will barely go down beyond the belt line, and watch out for flying buttons!

 

[MikeDT]

This is a definitely a did you put it in the washer driver suit? And a high waist on the pants will never fix a **** looking jacket. The sleeves are longer than the jacket, like WTF!!

 

[LA Guy]

Thom Browne. is going for something that is deliberately provocative, so, hardly a good example of anything. It's arguable that his impact is among the highest in menswear in the early part of the 21st century.

I tried, unsuccessfully, to find a more full body version of this shot:

, but it's a suit that was criticized soundly here. I personally thought that he looked great, and if you've ever met or seen Nick Wooster in person, you'd realize that his suits are extremely trim, and that his is a very distinctive silhouette.

On another note about the rant, making a rant about RTW, in general, barely makes sense anymore, even the amount of market segmentation. There are the Yamamoto acolytes of the world, there is Tom Ford and the Tom Ford-a-likes, and there are the Kitons, Attolinis, and numerous brands that aspire to be them. Not of these are "famous" for short skirt lengths in their jackets, or for skinny lapels. There is a wide variation of lapel widths and jacket lengths, and you have to choose the one that makes sense in your mindscape.

 

[poorsod]

 

[MikeDT]



Thom Browne. is going for something that is deliberately provocative, so, hardly a good example of anything. It's arguable that his impact is among the highest in menswear in the early part of the 21st century.

I tried, unsuccessfully, to find a more full body version of this shot:

, but it's a suit that was criticized soundly here. I personally thought that he looked great, and if you've ever met or seen Nick Wooster in person, you'd realize that his suits are extremely trim, and that his is a very distinctive silhouette.

On another note about the rant, making a rant about RTW, in general, barely makes sense anymore, even the amount of market segmentation. There are the Yamamoto acolytes of the world, there is Tom Ford and the Tom Ford-a-likes, and there are the Kitons, Attolinis, and numerous brands that aspire to be them. Not of these are "famous" for short skirt lengths in their jackets, or for skinny lapels. There is a wide variation of lapel widths and jacket lengths, and you have to choose the one that makes sense in your mindscape.

I don't know much about designer stuff, apart what I might have read about on SF. I'm just referring to what seems to be generally available and is affordable, what I can buy RTW in high street stores. Seems to be all short and tight, and that's it. Even appears to be the same in the UK, looking through Marks & Spencers and Debenhams websites. Fortunately I do know of a tailor in HK, who can sort me for a jacket or suit if needed, and it would be something I like.

Unfortunately what is largely available to the general pubic is very much dictated to by fashion. 2010s short and skinny, 2020s maybe long and baggy, just a guess. They'll be people in 10-20 years all laughing at their short and skinny wedding suit photos.

 

[MikeDT]



That seems to be good, is it bespoke? No comment for the dude on the right though. BTW I do like the reefer on the left. But then this is my opinion. others will differ.