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Newbie here and a few questions about my jacket lapels

pokeynut

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First of all, thank you all for the great advice and perspective you all provide. I've learned some very invaluable tips here.

If I may, let me start with the first question - need to give some background before the question begins...
I use to be a Tom Ford "whore" (stopped spending all my $ on clothes a while ago), have quite a few Base A suits, mostly 3 piece from late 2010-2011. My lapels are mostly peak and the lapels are fairly wide compared to say my Isaia or Zegna suit/jackets. Now, I haven't put much thought into suits since my job didn't require me to wear suits, actually it almost seems like casual is almost mandatory (no one even seems to wear a button down anymore around here except for me a few others ... in case you're wondering, yes I'm in Tech). Having said that, my new GF insists that I dress up more often but my thought is that my suits are probably out of style, although a good friend says that classic never goes out of style, I see everyone's lapels thinner than a standard ruler. I've been pretty much a chino/casual slacks and polo/button down kinda guy for years now. I do jeans and T's quite a bit as well. Having said that, are my wide lapel TF's out of style or "classic", and I should keep rocking them? I must admit that I wear them to weddings but I feel very conscious seeing 95% of the folks with jackets with tiny lapels and pants so narrow and hemmed above the ankle. My 3pc are all cuffed and the other 2 pc aren't cuffed but they are certainly wider than 7.5'

Thoughts?

Any and all input is greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone
 

Chowkin

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Sorry am not a Tom Ford guy and too lazy to google photos of the suits you stated. Please upload some photos
 

pokeynut

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BEB6A313-DA62-44C9-9209-7BFFE74C2D57.jpeg
989A6F19-EECE-4149-8B00-BCB2B90354D3.jpeg
2ED34D1E-EBEC-4437-9D9F-989B1D9162F6.jpeg
Here are two TF Base As (top 2). I put an iPhoneX on the lapel to give you an idea of how wide they are. The gray pinstripe is a Isaia suit for comparison purposes
 

pokeynut

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Oh...sorry for all those smudges on my phone. I know, where is the etiquette.
 

Chowkin

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The lapels of the TF suits are indeed a smidge wider than what I prefer but are in no way excessive. I would happily wear them with pride if they fit.

I hate skinny lapels.
 

jaxenro

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I don’t mind the lapels I don’t like the ticket pockets but that’s just me
 

pokeynut

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Thanks for the feedback...how about the pants...should I have them tapered? The 3 pc are mostly cuffed and they definitely hang over my shoes, the ones not cuffed just barely sit on top of shoes but they are not "skinny" as I see most wearing here...especially in Seoul Korea. Everyone wears "skinny" pants and their suits mostly have pant legs above their ankles and tapered fairly tight. Opinion...keep classic or go and get them tapered?
 

Chowkin

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Don’t taper the trousers cause it would cause incongruity with the jackets. Just keep things classic.
 

NoNameNecessary

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All those people you see have poor taste and doesn’t know better. All Korean TV stars wear ugly crappy suits
 

pokeynut

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Thanks everyone...
Are pant legs actually getting longer, what I mean is I know style always comes in full circles and while the "short" pant leg was in for so long I'm seeing pleats coming back - so are "regular" length coming back too? I was about to alter 3 of my Prada slacks because I didn't want to stand out too much here in Seoul.
 

maxalex

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Lucky you: some men come to this forum dressed in nothing but cargo shorts and t-shirts and, spurred by new love or new labor, seek to dress like a grownup from scratch. You on the other hand already own a fine selection of big-boy duds.

So what’s the problem? Nothing that can’t be cured by forgetting about fashion. Your concern with the ever-shifting mandates on lapel widths, pant pleats and leg tapers suggests a lack of confidence that is not your fault: the fashion industry has been trying for decades to conscript men onto their slave galleys, with some success.

But you don’t have to go there. While I would not recommend adopting spats and removable wing collars as daily wear, you need pay no heed to the latest trends. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain—Tom, Ralph, Giorgio, whatever his name is—and wear just about any tailored clothing you like that was purchased within the last twenty years, and often much earlier.
 

pokeynut

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Lucky you: some men come to this forum dressed in nothing but cargo shorts and t-shirts and, spurred by new love or new labor, seek to dress like a grownup from scratch. You on the other hand already own a fine selection of big-boy duds.

So what’s the problem? Nothing that can’t be cured by forgetting about fashion. Your concern with the ever-shifting mandates on lapel widths, pant pleats and leg tapers suggests a lack of confidence that is not your fault: the fashion industry has been trying for decades to conscript men onto their slave galleys, with some success.

But you don’t have to go there. While I would not recommend adopting spats and removable wing collars as daily wear, you need pay no heed to the latest trends. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain—Tom, Ralph, Giorgio, whatever his name is—and wear just about any tailored clothing you like that was purchased within the last twenty years, and often much earlier.

NICE! At the end of the day, you're right. I suppose I'm just too caught up on what's the latest trend and stuff...
 

jaxenro

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Lucky you: some men come to this forum dressed in nothing but cargo shorts and t-shirts and, spurred by new love or new labor, seek to dress like a grownup from scratch. You on the other hand already own a fine selection of big-boy duds.

So what’s the problem? Nothing that can’t be cured by forgetting about fashion. Your concern with the ever-shifting mandates on lapel widths, pant pleats and leg tapers suggests a lack of confidence that is not your fault: the fashion industry has been trying for decades to conscript men onto their slave galleys, with some success.

But you don’t have to go there. While I would not recommend adopting spats and removable wing collars as daily wear, you need pay no heed to the latest trends. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain—Tom, Ralph, Giorgio, whatever his name is—and wear just about any tailored clothing you like that was purchased within the last twenty years, and often much earlier.

Baby's clothes didn't used to be pink for girls and blue for boys boys also wore pink and girls blue. So why the change? Because someone who had a girl recently and now a boy, or the reverse, would now need to buy all new blankets, sheets, clothes, toys, whatever.

Properly cared for a mans suit is good for many years so would a man need to buy many new suits once he has a closet full of perfectly serviceable ones? The only way to keep men buying at the levels they want to is to change the "fashion" and convince men that a perfectly serviceable suit is out of date. If you want to buy into the latest style then buy into it don't try to alter your older suits into it.

But in my eyes it is far better to simply wear what you have. Agreed I might not go for spats and wing collars (although I might try spats you never know i could see white spats with my pink seersucker suit) but instead of trying to follow the latest trends pick a style and make it yours. Own it. You seem to like the classic look, wide peak lapels, pin stripes, sort of a 1930's vibe. So own that style and accessorize to it. Maybe a classic styled wristwatch not one of these modern digital thingies. French cuffs and cuff links. Nothing cartoonish or overdone but some classic understated elegance. And a fedora would pair nicely with those suits
 

Veremund

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Thanks everyone...
Are pant legs actually getting longer, what I mean is I know style always comes in full circles and while the "short" pant leg was in for so long I'm seeing pleats coming back - so are "regular" length coming back too? I was about to alter 3 of my Prada slacks because I didn't want to stand out too much here in Seoul.

Just read Alan Trusser’s Style and the man.
 

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