Bold suits - choosing the rest of the look

Originally Posted by Holdfast

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David Niven, going for solid shirt, blockstripe tie



And solid shirt, regimental stripe



(ok, second one is a sportcoat, but the same principle applies)

It's a shame they didn't have color photography then so we could really appreciate these. The prints from Apparel Arts aren't quite enough.

Originally Posted by Holdfast

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Polka dots. I hadn't thought of that. That IS a very bold choice. I don't think I own any true polka dot sized ties. A fair few smaller dots but big polkas, no. Interesting!

These are fairly small dots. I'm wearing one with a bold suit today. The stripes in the suit are white as are the dots. Maybe this is in line with what Will discusses on his blog.

Originally Posted by S. Magnozzi

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very few can dress bold without looking clownish.

My wife refers to all of my suits with large checks as clown suits. Here's today's:

Here is the thing (for me) about bold suits, (and MBreinin and o/o suits posted here are not what I would call bold) 99% of the time they look like crap, too much pattern at the top and bottom. You can't look at movie stars in publicity shots or movie stills and say "that looks great!" and think you can co-opt the look. Every attempt that I have seen at looking "apparel arts" has failed miserably. The Duke's loud suit were mostly country tweeds, and given who he was and where he was most of the time, it worked for him. If you have to give a lot of thought into what to wear with a suit, the chances of you looking good in it dwindle tremondously. I have nightmares whenever I go into the Dashing Tweeds website. My general rule is that if a suit's jacket would look good as a sportcoat due to the loud pattern, it will not work as a suit. if you are not in fashion, an actor or british nobility, stay away from them.

Originally Posted by edmorel

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My general rule is that if a suit's jacket would look good as a sportcoat due to the loud pattern, it will not work as a suit.
Pretty much the opposite of my take, but my SC's are fairly sedate. With the decline of business suit wearing in my milieu, bolder suits play better due to their more "casual" look. YMMV This would fly with a mottled dark grey mocc T and no vest for me- smick.

Originally Posted by yachtie

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Pretty much the opposite of my take, but my SC's are fairly sedate.

With the decline of business suit wearing in my milieu, bolder suits play better due to their more "casual" look. YMMV

This would fly with a mottled dark grey mocc T and no vest for me- smick.

You would wear this suit, Yachtie? And, with a T-Shirt?

Mike

Originally Posted by MBreinin

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You would wear this suit, Yachtie? And, with a T-Shirt? Mike
A long sleeve mock turtleneck. Sure. Probably a merino one (it's more of a cold weather color scheme anyway) I'd drop the vest though unless I were wearing a conventional shirt and tie.

Originally Posted by Holdfast

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(thugh the jumper in the second pic acts much like a solid shirt would, to break up the look)
One of the things the jumper also does is to make the same fabric shirt and tie look more harmonious within the whole; a normally necessary element to pull them off successfully, actually

Originally Posted by Holdfast

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Polka dots. I hadn't thought of that. That IS a very bold choice. I don't think I own any true polka dot sized ties. A fair few smaller dots but big polkas, no. Interesting!
My purple knit tie with large yellow dots is one of my favoured choices for my new houndstooth suit. The outift linked to was certainly Fellows-inspired - as Will notes, he was fond of using contrast collars in his bold suit illustrations But I've always thought that the best examples of these are less Apparel Arts and more Carnaby Street due to the Go-To-Hell overtones. Even so, the clashing colour method of shirts and ties with such suits can be abused. For check suits, I also like tattersal check shirts and an unpatterned tie in a strong, but not sharp, colour, perhaps like Peter Sellers in There's A Girl In My Soup Hamish Bowles (who works in fashion, by the by :edmorel: ) has an affinity for this style in principle, but his bold ensembles never quite coalesce for me. In this case, he tries to overwhelm his overwhelming Dries van Noten suit with a relatively louder tie: Here, he does it no favours with an unappealing tie: This tie works a lot better: But despite owning one of the most fun bespoke suits originally owned by the great dandy Bunny Roger, he rarely seems to do it justice with his own pieces: I actually think bold suits particularly sing as three pieces (or, indeed, with v-necks), which allows for more sedate shirts and ties without it being boring (to say nothing of the accessories). Bunny himself sometimes followed that principle I definitely agree with turtlenecks and would also like to see where bold coloured suits (burgundy, cerulean blue, plum for the Kenneth Tynan crowd and mauve for the Bunny Rogers) rank on the scale

^ You owe me a new monitor. Preferably one that is puke resistant.

Originally Posted by acridsheep

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^ You owe me a new monitor. Preferably one that is puke resistant.

Couldn't agree more.

Vile is the word...

^ I did intend it as a cautionary tale

I still like the Dries suit for its cut and devilmay care-style - it would also be a ball of fun at a drugged-up happening

^ Bringing a German Shepherd wearing a K-9/police uniform to a "drugged-up happening" is fun, wearing that suit is an act of terror.

Originally Posted by KObalto

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It's a shame they didn't have color photography then so we could really appreciate these. The prints from Apparel Arts aren't quite enough.

I know what you mean. The Apparel Arts prints are always delightful... but they are just illustrations at the end of the day, with all the limitations and manipulation inherent in that medium. Not to say that photos can't also be subject to artistic manipulation, but at least you're one or two steps closer to reality.

Originally Posted by edmorel

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Here is the thing (for me) about bold suits, (and MBreinin and o/o suits posted here are not what I would call bold)

o/o's and Mike's first suit, yep I agree, they're not bold. Not conservative business dress but not massively bold. Sort of in between. I'd put the 2nd and 3rd suits Mike posted in the bold category though.

If you have to give a lot of thought into what to wear with a suit, the chances of you looking good in it dwindle tremondously.

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At first, yes, but one should improve with practice and reflection. People not used to wearing a suit at all (or who have never considered colours in any artistic way) initially have to think about whether a white shirt and navy tie goes with a conservative suit viz. all the "interview attire" threads. After a while they learn. I don't buy the idea of automatically effortless style; everyone goes through a learning process at some stage, to some degree.

(That's part of the reason I don't go for sprezzy little touches myself; I find them intellectually inconsistent/dishonest, and so, not to my taste.)

Originally Posted by yachtie

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With the decline of business suit wearing in my milieu, bolder suits play better due to their more "casual" look.

Yes, this is certainly true. Tweeds, bold checks, and other formerly country patterns are now much more acceptable in environments they would have previously been anomalous. I suspect they're increasingly viewed simply as a particular - eccentric - dress style, similar to how someone might look at someone who chooses to wear ripped jeans and heavy metal T's, or who favours a particular designer, or who always wear black, or whatever.

Originally Posted by barims

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But I've always thought that the best examples of these are less Apparel Arts and more Carnaby Street due to the Go-To-Hell overtones.

Great post, and some intriguing ideas. I have to say, I only actually like the first of the Bowles outfits. The others aren't coming together for me. Bunny Rogers was quite the character, too...

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This outfit borders on brilliant. I really like except for the tie. The tie pattern works well but the color pallette is a little off. (edit off in relation to shirt & suit , not within itself - its a beautiful tie that would work with other colors)





This tie IS DREADFUL

I kind of like Hamish's style. Esp. for a fashion writer and professional dandy. But, I'm with Ed in that suits should be quite a bit tamer than sport coats. And that bold suits usually don't look good on regular guys in the regular modern world. Here's a few AA examples of bold suits. They always seem to mix patterns of different scale and the colors work in harmony. Oldog does this thing very well imo. These guys look pretty good for wealthy artisos lounging around the Polo fields. The town guy looks pretty bad imo.