Why no love for the three piece suit?

[Jay_Gatsby]

I'm wearing my off the peg Boss three piece on Sunday... and I may just wear it with a fob and pocket watch

 

[MrDaniels]



Originally Posted by ohdannyboy

i agree with sellahi; i would LOVE to have a 3 piece in the collection (and may take the plunge) but the occasions where i could wear all three together, at least based on current life experience, are few and far between. i work in a large office (800+ people) and have not seen one 3 piece suit. ever.

If lots of guys wear suits (even double-breasted) in your office, try it once and see what happens. You'll probably get compliments from the ladies, and some of the suited guys will probably ask you where you got your 3-pc. The key is to wear it like you just threw it on that morning without a second thought ("What, this old thing? Had it for years.")

There is no "occasion" for a 3-pc. It's just another type of suit, like 2-button vs. 3-button.

This thread is ridiculous, people making up a bunch of rules and associations about 3 piece suits. As been stated before your colorful pocket square and your bright pastel pants will raise more eyebrows. People have seen enough 3 piece suits at least through media so it's not like they're eyeballs are going to melt from the formality of seeing one in real life. facepalm.gif

Well said. Any guy who thinks wearing a three-piece is a bad idea clearly has never worn one and spent the day getting more compliments than you can shake a stick at.

 

[yachtie]



Like double breasted jackets, 3 piece looks like costume on most people under 55 y.o.

Whaa?!?! There is no hope for you. Hell, I get my DB suits with a vest. I'm not 55.

 

[JamesX]

I own more 3 piece suits than 2 piece. My very first suit was a 3 piece. Wear it if you like it, it isn't going to look any odder than wearing a 2 piece. And I am well below 55.

Now if you wear it in place of a Sports Coat or Blazer then you are just wrongly dressed. That is not a fault of the 3 piece but that of personal choice.

 

[landshark]



Ok some people melt at any level of formality, then what makes a 3 piece suit so much worse to wear than a two piece suit with a pocket square? Your logic seriously falls apart...

Are you seriously equating a vest with a pocket square?

 

[fwiffo]

Actually I find this thread interesting because in the past few years, there have been plenty of people who wear vests and three pieces on television and in films.

If anything not as many people care these days as they would say when suits were banished for business casual ten years ago.

 

[hdbassman]

love the 3pc...i own a tiglio tufo 3 pc. in black with the peaked lapels. although i rarely wear the vest for a few reasons. the suit is a slim euro cut so it's a little snug. i'm a heavyweight standing 6ft. 232lbs wearing a 48R. i think the vest is better suited for guys that are less endowed in the middle than myself. and finally, the vest pockets are totally faux, not just sewn shut. this irks me quite a bit. what good is it? all in all, i like the suit and the 3 pc. look...maybe i'll wear the vest more often 10lbs from now....

 

[jamesny]

Why don't I ever see people wearing three piece suits aside from on TV? If I had the money, I'd have 112 bespoke three piece suits, one every day for four weeks for every season.

Originally Posted by sellahi22

Like double breasted jackets, 3 piece looks like costume on most people under 55 y.o.

Rubbish, plenty of younger people look good in 3-piece suits. It's more about attitude than about age.
I see a few youngsters wear one, then again you really have to be confident enough to pull it off.

 

[aanix]

I agree with you. Three piece suits look great !

 

[SuitedDx]

3PS and DBs are preferences and it takes some level of comfort. It's like LWB for shoes. Some poeple like them and some don't.

I personally like them and since my work environment is predominantly female dominated, it affords me some freedom to dress a certain way because not everyone is wearing a 2-button navy suit with Berluti shoes.

 

[akatsuki]



3PS and DBs are preferences and it takes some level of comfort. It's like LWB for shoes. Some poeple like them and some don't.

+1.

This year's clothing resolution for me was to not buy any suits that aren't three piece or DB.

 

[Holdfast]

Also, how well the jacket and vest fit on you matters.

This is an important point with any tailored item, but more so in terms of how an item looks to the general public with a 3pc or double-breasted, simply because with a buttoned-up waistcoat or DB, you can see the fit more accurately than with an undone 2pc jacket. Even someone who knows nothing about clothes will intuitively note something "off" with a badly fitting waistcoat or DB, even if they can't articulate what. The younger the wearer, the more likely that intuition will translate into concepts like "wearing his father's clothes" or "costume", even though that's not actually what they're noticing unconsciously.

A loose waistcoat is messy on anyone (I actually have a couple I need to get tightened up soon myself). And a loose DB isn't flattering to tall/lanky people. As youngsters tend to have slimmer builds with less muscle mass (or fat, as age really starts to have an effect... ), their wearing a loose waistcoat or DB can send out the wrong impression. This can happen with any suit, but it's more obvious with a 3pc or DB. A slim cut, echoing the current trend is (or better, a correct cut, but that's a lot harder to achieve than just either slim or loose) will at least create the impression that the young man has actively chosen to wear those items instead of them getting handed down to him. They may get accused of being too interested in fashion, or people may not like the look, but at least they'll be assumed to be doing it deliberately. That's a step-up.

As the years progress, it becomes easier to wear a more traditionally cut 3pc or DB, simply because the mental associations the viewer has of the wearer changes. This is perhaps unfair, but it is realistic. Having said that, the 3pc, despite its recent uptick, is still so rare that it stands out. DBs, I actually think are less noticeably different from an SB, in the eyes of the public. They notice "something" different about them, but don't pay enough attention to figure out what. The waistcoat of a 3pc is more obvious.

Actually I find this thread interesting because in the past few years, there have been plenty of people who wear vests and three pieces on television and in films.

Both 3pc and DB suits have become more popular recently. This year, DB suits (and DB waistcoats) will be really quite pervasive in many shops.

 

[unbelragazzo]



A loose waistcoat is messy on anyone (I actually have a couple I need to get tightened up soon myself). And a loose DB isn't flattering to tall/lanky people. As youngsters tend to have slimmer builds with less muscle mass (or fat, as age really starts to have an effect... ), their wearing a loose waistcoat or DB can send out the wrong impression. This can happen with any suit, but it's more obvious with a 3pc or DB. A slim cut, echoing the current trend is (or better, a correct cut, but that's a lot harder to achieve than just either slim or loose) will at least create the impression that the young man has actively chosen to wear those items instead of them getting handed down to him. They may get accused of being too interested in fashion, or people may not like the look, but at least they'll be assumed to be doing it deliberately. That's a step-up.

More often I see waistcoats that are too short and/or worn with pants that are low rise, so that there's lots of shirt showing between waistcoat and trousers, which destroys the look IMHO. For instance:

http://ivorytowerstyle.tumblr.com/post/15201111760/knowthedetails-suit-up-i-hate-to-go-all

(sorry for pimping my own tumblr, but this picture has over 3,000 notes on it, so presumably many people like it, yet everything is clearly ill-fitting)

 

[Holdfast]

Quote:
Maybe they're all just passing on the hate?

Seriously though, the short waistcoat/low rise trouser/belt combination is pretty prevalent these days, you're right. I don't like it either. But at least it's a more deliberate choice to viewers (being in line with modern trends) than a loose waistcoat. That has the function of making it more acceptable to others today, even if it will date much more harshly than a loose waistcoat over time. Simple solution: just get a waistcoat that fits reasonably correctly.

 

[unbelragazzo]



Maybe they're all just passing on the hate?

Seriously though, the short waistcoat/low rise trouser/belt combination is pretty prevalent these days, you're right. I don't like it either. But at least it's a more deliberate choice to viewers (being in line with modern trends) than a loose waistcoat. That has the function of making it more acceptable to others today, even if it will date much more harshly than a loose waistcoat over time. Simple solution: just get a waistcoat that fits reasonably correctly.

No, I'm pretty sure i was the only one hating. To me it just looks like a bar slut in a tank top showing midriff.