Problem Solved: Sweaters with Ties

Ok, here’s the problem. I like ties. Such is their ability to add an exciting dash of colour to an outfit, I prefer to wear one whenever possible. Yet sweaters have their advantages as well, and the two are hard to wear together.

Let me explain. If you wear a V-neck sweater with a shirt and tie, the back of the shirt’s collar is pulled forward, hugging the neck as its top button is fastened. The collar is at least an inch higher and probably half an inch closer to the neck that when that button is undone.

No V-neck sweater can cope adequately with both situations. Either it is bunched when your collar is undone, or (as is nearly always the case today) the sweater stands away from the collar when it is done up. So when you wear a sweater, shirt and tie, there is likely to be a gap, however slight, however variable, between your shirt collar and sweater at the back.

Some sweaters attempt to deal with this problem by adding a strip of felt to the inside of the back at the neck. Reiss often does this, even taking the effort to add a felt strip in a complementary colour. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really keep the sweater in place – rather like the rubber tabs that some tailors include in the inside of a trouser waistband.

Of course, a waistcoat wouldn’t have this problem, being both stiffer and tailored to fit a fastened collar. But that’s a different bias and a different argument.

If it’s sweaters you want, the key is a sweater with a collar. There are broadly three options (as illustrated by the three Ralph Lauren pictures opposite): the folded, shirt collar; the shawl collar; and the zip collar. I personally prefer the shirt collar, followed by the shawl. But this is largely a personal antipathy towards zipped sweaters born of some shoddy Gap varieties worn in my youth.

These collars solve the shirt/tie problem because they all have a greater rise at the back of the neck, avoiding any chance of a disconnection with the shirt.

I advocate the Ralph Lauren merino wool collared sweaters, which have only just been reintroduced for the fall/winter line this year. I bought one in a dark grey last year and found it so versatile and such good value that I looked for more. Unfortunately, they are not considered spring/summer items and so were put away until this month.

The other, secondary advantage of this look is that you can get away with some bold short/tie combinations, given that they only have a narrow triangle of wool to play in.

I quite liked the combination of a pink gingham shirt under a bright green tie (with red crests). It fizzed around the neck without any danger of overwhelming the outfit, thanks to the sombre grey surrounding it. A Paul Smith shirt decorated with small blue flowers also benefited from this limited exposure. Equally, one noticeable thing about Etro catwalk outfits is that many shirt/tie combinations look great under a sweater, but would look ridiculous worn on their own.

Notes From Las Vegas

I like Las Vegas, not enough to live there but enough to look forward to the five-hour flight from D.C. It’s a remarkable city that draws designers, retailers, craftsmen and brands from around the world. On my most recent business trip to Vegas I was able to carve out a little spare time to explore Sin City’s more acceptable vice: shopping.

While gambling - or gaming in the industry’s parlance - is the mother’s milk of Las Vegas, the city’s retail offerings rival most of the world’s A-list venues. Think of a brand and it more than likely has a presence in Vegas. And not only that, the city’s retail footprints are often large and glitzy. Like everything else in Las Vegas, bigger is better and flash always wins over subtlety.

As a consumer-dedicated destination city, you will see cheek by jowl companies that you did not even know had a store and familiar mass market luxury names – Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Cartier and Rolex to name only a tiny fraction. Some firms use their Vegas presence to create a new version of themselves, capitalizing on the town’s penchant for bigger and glitzier. I found an excellent expression of this philosophy in the Forum Shops at Caesars.

The Tourneau Time Dome is the venerable New York company’s Las Vegas Outlet. It’s Tourneau’s largest store; 35 custom-built brand shops-within-a-shop are spread across two-stories. From Swiss Army to Rolex to Breguet, more than 8,000 timepieces from 100 watchmakers are on display. Unsurprisingly, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the 17,500-square-foot space is the world’s largest watch store. If you are a watch person, you must visit this temple to luxury timekeeping.

And while you might expect to more fashion forward retailers in this other city that never sleeps, in the Forum Shops I encountered one of the nicest Brooks Brothers stores I’ve seen in quite a while. Large, well stocked and with a pleasant and knowledgeable sales staff, I’d go back in a minute.

Since I also have a thing for good pens and leather goods, I checked out the Mont Blanc store. I’ve never been too keen on their watches – I’m often like that with companies that aren’t really in the watch business; they are a pen company that moved into watches. I spent some time chatting with John Castiglione about the company’s plans to produce its own watch movements. With ETA close to ending its sales to non-Swatch Group watchmakers, Mont Blanc is taking the vertical integration approach and bringing everything in-house. Thanks to Mr. Castiglione, I have a better appreciation of Mont Blanc’s dedication to its watches. Maybe I do like the Timewalker after all.

Over at Belagio, Hermes is regular stop for me. It’s not the largest store, but it always has a wonderful selection of the company’s exceptionally crafted goods. The store also overlooks the Casino’s famous fountains. When I go out in Las Vegas, I always make a point of dressing up a bit. The place is choc a block with flip-flop wearing tourists; instead, I try to be the stylish traveler. There’s a big difference. Think “Ocean’s 11” – either version, though the newer one is to me the epitome of casually elegant modern style. As you wander through the swanky shopping arcades, aspire to be someone worth looking at. And in a place like Las Vegas, making the extra effort is extra fun.

If you really want to feel like a real high roller head over to the Wynn and check out Wynn Penske, one of the few factory authorized Ferrari & Maserati dealerships in the country. Once you’ve picked out your new set of wheels, visit the sumptuous Brioni boutique for some new custom duds. Then make a point to stop by Graff Jewelers and pick up a little 25 caret something for the girl in your life.

Jones Bootmaker: One Collection

Where would we be without our material dreams? I have often wondered what sort of person I could be without my never ending desire, nay craving, for perfection. When I wrote of my desire for a pair of Berluti’s I concluded that such a desire should never be satiated should I ever wish to enjoy any pair of shoes ever again. Achieving Everest in the first leap could prove to be disastrous to my sense of fulfilment. I recently ventured into Jones the Bootmaker in the spirit of attempting more lowly summits. Jones is a respected but rather commercial English shoe manufacturer. It is certainly an established name and one of the most respected high-street shoe shops but despite the Victorian trading date and the historical boasts, Jones has had little to recommend it. The shoe designs have been bulky and undistinguished. A year or two ago when I ventured into a branch to inspect their stock I was determined never to return due to the poor quality of design and manufacture; for shoes made of an exceedingly average leather, clumpy and unrefined, they were expecting gentlemen to part with at least £100. For a shoe aimed at the ‘young professional’ market – i.e. chaps who manage electronics stores – this was rather a lot of money.

I happened to walk past a branch on my way to lunch recently and despite echoes of my vocalised determination never to cross the threshold of Jones the Bootmaker so long as I shall live, I decided to have a quick browse; ‘To satisfy myself’ I mused ‘that there really is nothing I want in there.’ Indeed for several minutes there was nothing at all I happened to be interested in; square toes, exposed stitching, dull leather. I was thirsting for the pornography of an Edward Green or a Crockett & Jones when my eye glanced at an object that seemed curiously out of place; could it be? Yes. It was. It was a ‘proper’ shoe. I picked it up in disbelief, expecting it to vaporise in my grasp; the wishful mirage of a disappointed daydreaming shopper. Immediately, a Jones employee asked me if I needed any assistance. I confessed that I was in need of such assistance; some plausible explanation as to why there was such an excellently shaped shoe in the design desert of a Jones store. The assistant informed me briefly that it was part of the new ‘One’ Collection. Sadly, as with most high street shoe stores, her knowledge of shoes and shoe making ended there although her knowledge of sizes, European and English, in relation to stock levels was formidable.

The One Collection is specifically aimed gentlemen who are willing to spend money on good design and good quality, but who cannot afford the Jermyn Street whole-cuts or ‘superbrands’ such as Gucci and Prada. The fact that a manufacturer such as Jones has taken notice of the need to fill the huge gap in pricing, in the purchase of men’s footwear, is a pleasing one. However, there is the probability, in the UK at least, that chaps interested in spending £195 on a pair of shoes would rather not spend that sort of money in an establishment like Jones the Bootmaker; ‘Why bother’ they might suggest ‘when you can get a pair of Crockett & Jones for another hundred?’ Jones might experience better success overseas where the distinctly English name, the archaic reference to ‘bootmaking’ and the reassuring Victorian trading date carry greater currency.

The Rules and How to Break Them. No.1

Rule 1: Your trousers should fall so that there is one clean break at the front, and none at the back.

Rules are there for a reason, but there is nothing wrong with breaking them. These statements are not contradictory. That is one of the most important things to understand about the traditions of menswear.

All rules are there for a reason. They are useful rules of thumb that become formalised over time. And they become formalised because they have practical advantages that encourage men to apply them regularly.

So why is the generally recommended length for men’s trousers? Because it creates a clean line at the back of the trouser, adding to the lengthening silhouette that is the suit’s main aesthetic advantage. Because when a man is walking it looks more elegant if his suit trousers flap less and expose less of his ankle.

If the trouser were longer, it would create a puddle of folds that could ruin the silhouette of a suit, dragging the eye down and making a man look shorter. If the trouser were shorter, it would flap around the ankle and remove any elegance – probably reminding the viewer of a schoolboy in short pants.

That’s why the rule, or guideline, exists. But once you know this, there is nothing wrong with breaking it. Knowing why the rule is there helps you break it well.

For example, men on the European continent tend to wear their trousers shorter than is recommended here. They do that because they wish to expose their footwear, and perhaps their socks, to more inspection. Both are more a part of their outfit than for a English or American man. To quote one famous Italian “I don’t necessarily want people to see my socks, but I want to make sure they can see my shoes.”

Now, if men on the continent simply wore their trousers shorter, they would encounter the aforementioned problem with flapping. But they aware of the rules and why they exist. So they wear their trousers narrower as well, fitting them closer to the ankle and minimising any flapping. Hey presto: the shoe is on display, the silhouette is intact, but it is still possible to walk with elegance.

Once you know why the rules are there, you can work out how to break them effectively.

Step-by-Step: The Odd Waistcoat and Kilgour

Picking out and wearing an odd waistcoat with a suit needs a little more explication.

The previous post on this topic produced some surprise and scepticism, both among friends and on my blog (Permanent Style). The reaction, I find, is similar to that enjoyed by a suggestion on ties with jeans. Both are looks I favour because they add a twist to classic style (to paraphrase Paul Smith); they demonstrate an understanding of men’s style without sticking to a rigid set of rules.

They are, however, both hard to pull off. As was pointed out, they are not for the uninitiated, as small things – the weight of the waistcoat, the material of the tie – turn them from personal style into cringe worthy quirk.

The key to wearing a tie with jeans is material, as explained in comments to that post. The more casual the material, the better – wool, cotton, linen, in that order; but never silk unless it is knitted (and even then it is perhaps a little too dressy). Proportion, also, is important, with the narrower and more lightweight the tie the less formal it appears.

The waistcoat is similar. One reader commented that an odd waistcoat with a suit is “just odd, dandified in the extreme.” I can understand this reaction entirely, especially as the odd waistcoat that springs to everyone’s mind is brightly coloured, or at least lightly coloured – such as the buff waistcoats worn to many formal occasions.

But I would argue that if this waistcoat is plain, dark and of a slightly more casual material - flannel works well - it can look very suitable (no pun intended). After all, it is only slightly more dressy than a V-neck sweater underneath a suit, and performs a similar function.

Another reader commented that “I would be careful about using the third piece of a three-piece suit as an odd waistcoat. Especially if it is a stripe.” The waistcoat must, of course, be plain. A striped sweater would be hard to work, but possible. A striped waistcoat would not.

It must also be dark, falling as a shadow to the suit rather than a highlight. Dark grey with a lighter grey, patterned suit, for example (a checked suit works better than a stripe again, I’ve found, probably because the check is inherently more sporty). Black, also, can work well, though perhaps a little funereal. To avoid this, stick with a blue shirt, not white.

As if to prove my point, Kilgour has just come out with a selection of odd waistcoats in black and blue wool with its Autumn/Winter collection. I personally prefer the range without white piping (unlike the item pictured). But the suggestion that the customer might like to wear it with his winter, flannel suit demonstrates how far Kilgour has already run with this idea.

Also, having tried one of these on in the Savile Row store, the great thing about the Kilgour odd waistcoat is that it is cut much longer than the average part of a three-piece suit. This reflects the fact that men tend to wear their trousers on the hips rather than the waist today, yet the waistcoat should leave no exposed shirting between it and the waistband. A perennial problem (see the second part of The Waistcoat Theory for more) has been solved.