Fit Above All Else
Several men’s style websites run forums that ask ‘what am I wearing today?’ Several blogs out there do the same. A few days ago I made the mistake of perusing them, looking for inspiration.
In my mind, the people on the site would look like those photographed on The Sartorialist. They would be dressed with obvious care and knowledge of the pieces that clothed them, with a spark of originality that inspires. Each would be a budding style expert, translating the experience of such forums into fresh, personal creations.
Instead, it was all rather depressing. First, they were keener to talk about the brands that made their garments than about how those garments were made, cut or designed. Each person listed the relevant brand for each item – Loro Piana, Zegna, Brioni – without anything about why they thought a particular combination worked, or why they admired the shape of a particular piece.
Second, not one single post impressed with its understated elegance. Each seemed to equate an interest in men’s style with flamboyance. One individual was particularly pleased with his cream suit, cream tie and white shirt. With a white fedora. This is not style, it is caricature. Another finished off his grey jacket and black trousers with a pair of white clown shoes. With their pointed toes they were almost as long as his shins.
Thirdly, most depressingly, and in a way linked to the other two sources of woe, none of them showed any knowledge or indeed any interest in fit. Trousers puddled on shoes. Shirt cuffs hung three or four inches beyond the jacket sleeve. Shoulders bulged out of jackets that were too small. Indeed, several jackets weren’t even done up, which is not a good sign in itself but also prevents anyone seeing whether it fits.
This is linked to the first two points as fit had obviously been sacrificed to brand and exuberance. There were many discussions of shops and over-the-top accessories. But none on cloth or cut.
One gentleman was very proud of his Zegna jacket, which was lovely except that his shoulders were visibly straining against the top of the jacket sleeve. Not just a little, but a lot. It looked like he was wearing a sweater. A polite suggestion from another contributor that his jacket was too small brought the response that “I like my jackets in this style, it’s a personal thing. I think it makes the outfit tighter and sleeker.”
Now, fit is obviously a variable. There are many questions of personal choice, and many variants in style around the world. But the variations are all more subtle than most people think (with the probable exception today of Thom Browne). The difference in silhouette between the Sack, the Drape and the Continental is largely in the waist and the trousers, in small alterations to the length of the jacket or the curve through the chest. No one advocates puddled trousers. No tailor has ever deliberately made jackets so tight that the back strains against its stitching. If you want a tighter suit, this is achieved through darts and a sleeker chest; perhaps through less shoulder padding or a shorter jacket. Material does not strain on purpose, because it is uncomfortable and because it is inelegant.
Fit is more important than anything else. If I have realised one thing about menswear in past five years, it is that. Clothes can be cheap, they can be threadbare and they can be hideously patterned. But the man wearing them will always look better than his contemporary if they fit him well, and his contemporary’s do not.
Of course, this tenet is debateable at its extremes. But rules are always so – they are simple in order to be easy to remember and easy to bend. I believe that fit is more important than anything else, and this is the first advice I would give to any style novice.
While there are few websites that display photographs of their authors wearing well-fitting clothes, they seem to be vastly outnumbered. Hopefully, there is a forum out there on fit that I am yet to discover.
7 Guest Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
• Permanent Style (by Simon Crompton)
• Ruffs, Cuffs and Farthingales (by Winston Chesterfield)
• Smarter Style (by Michael Snytkin)
- Jussi: Thank you, Winston, for your answer....
- Clinton: What is your distinction between...
- Mink B.: I appreciate this concise and...
- Winston Chesterfield: Charles Tyrwhitt are...
- Jussi: I wonder if Charlet Tyrwhitt is a...
I agree on the fit issue but let’s not forget that Sartorialist is a great photographer with great equipment and the whole purpose of his blog is to inspire. On the contrary it’s hard to be inspired by cellphone shots of an amateur.
Comment by Kai — May 13, 2008 #
Simon,
This is a critical issue, and I am pleased that you have addressed it. Fit is above all else, especially as proper fit dictates everything. If the fit is poor, the entire look fails. I have seen poor fit on a number of style sites, as well as in so-called men’s magazines. There often is not only a lack of fit, but as well, a lack of color and pattern dimension, and overall proportion. This is certainly due to the ignorance of the subject publications editors who will allow such errors to pass.
Nicola
Comment by Nicola Linza — May 13, 2008 #
Simon, I think you’re being somewhat narrow in implying that there is no place for flamboyance in stylish menswear. After all, Winston does write here, and I recall more than a few endorsements of various flashy celebrity styles in past articles. I don’t mean to imply that there’s a company line you should be toeing, but I think it’s unfair to equate flamboyance with absurdity and clownishness in this context. At the end of the day, the desire to experiment will always benefit from attention to detail
With that said, I also agree that there are some less than impressive outfits littering these forums, but I’m usually judging them on a different criteria to you, looking not only for fit and silhoutte, but also for imagination and individuality within the bounds of what is accepted as good taste in menswear. I
Comment by Barima — May 13, 2008 #
I have to agree with you on this. I look at the Sartorialist on a daily basis, and it is inspiring. But as he says himself it is rarely an entire outfit that catches his eye but a certain detail.
Looking only at that detail the inspiration is there. AS for the rest, it’s like in the real world most people are not dressed well. Why should this be any different in the Blogosphere?
As to dressing well does not have to be expensive. I agree with that as well. Provided you know what fits you and you are willing to rework the items you buy by making an alteration here or there.
Last but not least, the Sartorialist is not the one I gain most of my inspiration from. This blog actually beats it by miles. Both in terms of style and in terms of inspiration.
Best regards, Philipp
Comment by Philipp — May 13, 2008 #
*Ahem* (got cut short there)
…I’ve identified 3 go-to guys on Style Forum who I think are consistently well-dressed and elegant and I quite enjoy noting details in their ensembles that will hopefully inspire further down the line. But they’re not necessarily conservative and lacking flair in their looks, which at the end of the day, I believe, makes the difference between being admirable and merely appropriately dressed. This is obviously without touching on fit - you’ll get no disagreements from me on that issue, especially the variable aspect - but the gents I have in mind take note of that factor also
On the subject of caricatures, I think a true test of style is working out how to make a past style your own without looking like you’re required on stage at some point in your evening. I can actually picture how your example in the cream suit failed where an individual like Tom Wolfe succeeded
Comment by Barima — May 13, 2008 #
Hello Mr. Crompton,
Please join http://www.styleforum.net and post pictures of yourself.
Many are interested in discussing such issues with you there.
In fact some like to think that “callouts without specific examples are flacid and weak.”
Comment by Many A Forum Goer — May 13, 2008 #
Simon, I was browsing the Burberry FW08/09 collection and happened to notice some issues regarding fit and habit.
I wonder why designers such as Cristopher Bailey might advocate the habit of cutting the sleeves on top coats to such length that it would then be necessary to fold them to uncover the hands. Doesn’t that appear as sloppiness? Is it intended to show “nonchalance”? What about the shirts worn untucked?
Comment by Alessandro — May 14, 2008 #