The Way

LOVING "What My Boyfriend Wore"

Apparently this stunning Tumblr account was started by Sergio Ines' girlfriend at the time, and he has continued to lavishing us with his superior style... really swoon worthy!!

According to Twitter Sergio is the "proud runner up in GQ's best dressed man 2013" - follow him there, and just everywhere! (links below!)

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Now for some lovely photos from his Tumblr!

The style that suits

Style is a big factor in picking a suit. There are too many factors that go into style but let’s go through the basics.

There are three major cuts of suit; The Italian cut, The English cut, and the American cut.

The Italian:

This is the strongest of the cuts. Well padded shoulders, a defined tapering to the waist by the use of darts back and front, well-constructed chest pieces and narrow fit of pants. All these create a somewhat dramatic and characteristic inverted triangle shape, even if your build is not vaguely similar to this. The jackets originally had no vents but in recent times double vents have been added.

The drawback is that one tends to look top-heavy and the effect can be overdone. This said it is the trendiest of the three.

The English:

This is a medium cut. There is structure provided by some padding in the shoulders, a minor taper to the waist and strong chest pieces to hold the structure in front of the shoulder. This provides for a fitted look that is not overwhelming. The lapels tend to be narrower than those on the Italian cut, which lends to a slimming look. The jacket is double-vented to compensate for the closer fit. This is my favoured suit.

The drawback is that if it is not fitted properly it will have creases and pulls which make the wearer appear to be slovenly dressed.

The American:

The cut with the least definition, thus nicknamed the sack suit. They rose in popularity in the 1920’s with Ivy League graduates and therefore found their way into the rest of America.

Now, I do not wish to deride the Americans but this is very simple suit. The lines are straight up and down, there is little padding in the shoulders. The lapels are wider than the English but narrower than the Italian and often no taper in the fit. The jackets are also single-vented. All this results in a boxy silhouette. 

The drawback is that one cannot look as clean-cut in this cut as the other two options. Over the years these suits have become more tailored, making them more stylish, but they remain built for comfort.     

There is always a style to suit, depending on one’s build and how on wishes to present oneself.   

What suits me best?

Every man should have a suit. A plain and simple statement that may get people debating that suits are not mandatory in our modern lives. I tend to disagree.

I foolishly bought my first suit when I was 19. Foolish you say? I had not finished growing and the pants only fit properly for about 2 years, the jacket is still serviceable but tight over the shoulders. Never the less, that suit was worn on a good number of occasions, including a wedding and a formal 21^st party.

When I bought that suit I learned some basic lessons on fit and so on. A suit needs to fit properly. I have no interest in how much you paid for it, if your R20 000 suit does not fit well you have wasted your money. A R500 suit that is fitted properly can look better than a R5 000 suit which is too big or small.

One way to look at it is that a suit is like armour, social armour if you like. When it fits properly and is in a style that is appropriate to your build then you are filled with confidence.  

I will not go into details over style and fit now, I can discuss that later, but my point is that the suit is not dead. Just ask Harvey Specter.