A mini-rant of three points.
Last week provided me with three scenarios that I needed to share and discuss with you. I’ve called it a mini-rant but mostly this is about simply getting the details right.
1. Fit before fun.
There was a sartorial epidemic in the financial district last week – younger guys in suits or dressed casual were seen everywhere wearing bright and colorful socks and pocket squares. Obviously that in itself is not a problem – in fact I applaud them for their efforts. The issue however is that the fit of their suits and clothing in general was very poor – ranging from overly loose and baggy to too tight and restrictive. In essence they were detail oriented and on-point with their accessories but completely missing the mark with the major building blocks of their outfits.
Walk before you run.
The first and most important aspect of dressing well is fit – it’s about getting the balance and proportions for your body type dead on. This is what makes you look great – no matter how basic and simple the execution of the outfit is. Once you’ve nailed this aspect you can start to add the fun in terms of the accessories. Do it too early and all the socks and the pocket squares are doing is highlighting the fact that your suit doesn’t fit correctly. Subtlety and details first – the fun and playfulness comes second.
2. Actually tie your shoes.
This is so obvious but it’s something I constantly see – both within my clients and guys I observe walking around town. I’m talking about loosely tied shoes. My theory is that a lot of guys are simply lazy and choose to leave them loosely tied to enable them to slip them off and on daily. This is horrible for the structure and longevity of the shoe itself but there is another unintended consequence – that being its effect on the break of the pant.
We all know that pants have become slimmer over the years. When done properly this means a gentle taper to the bottom of the pant. The majority of pants I cut these days have a bottom measurement of 14 to 15.5 inches. When pants are on the thinner side and the shoes aren’t tied properly what occurs is a lot of catching. The pant gets hooked on the back, sides or front of the shoe and the line of the pant is ruined. So it’s about details – simply put if you choose to wear your pants in the slim style please tie your shoes properly to enable the pant bottom to fall softly over the shoe thus maintaining the silhouette of the pant.
3. Softness – the difference between tight and fitted.
I’ve spoken about this before but I had two clients last week that really brought this point home. In both cases the clients were very solid guys with a lot of muscle mass and they wanted a very trim silhouette. For the first fitting I cut both jackets relatively trim and in both cases we loosened them up a great deal to achieve a softer look and feel. The end result was that in both cases they looked slimmer and trimmer after we let the jackets out.
The point is softness and fluidity. When clothes are too tight they catch and don’t move naturally with they body. This can lead to the bunching of cloth that actually adds visual weight in the wrong places. It’s a fine line and something to keep in mind next time you’re buying or getting clothes made for yourself.
As always I’d love to hear your opinions on this or any sartorial subject for that matter. Better yet book a free appointment and we can banter in person and see if we might be a good fit to work together.
Take care – Michael
info@martinfishertailors.com
