A Reader’s Question: Retro or Fashion

“I notice you often wear very different cuts of suit. Some of them seem to be homage to 1920s/30s – the tailored ones with pleated trousers and turn-ups – and some of them are of a more fashion forward cut; slimmer trousers, shorter jackets. I think most of these are from cheaper stores. I was just curious to understand what you think I should go for; a retro look or a current one?”
- Bruce, Chicago

The above question was sent to my blog recently and instead of returning a simple answer email to the sender alone, I thought I would construct a more formal, discursive response for the column. Apologies to Bruce, but I cannot confine my opinion to a private communication; this is a good question and something which needs airing.

Firstly, I would not say that the ‘homage’ suits I own are particularly that retro; my wool flannel chalk stripe with a wide peak-lapel, double-pleated trousers, turn-ups and virtually no break does, admittedly, have a slight inter-war aesthetic and such thoughts were not absent from my mind when I was choosing it, but I didn’t decide on it because of some desire to affect a period costume, however beautiful.

There are those of considerable confidence who reject the modern fashion of suit. They may purchase vintage suits or have bespoke suits made in a particular style. As the fashionistas laugh at their wide trouser legs and large lapels, they chuckle back at the modern fondness for cheap materials and transient aesthetics, espousing advice about style trumping fashion which, for what it is worth, is not incorrect. After all, style is about self-assurance and identity; when you know what you want to do with clothing, you just do it.

If you are more susceptible to the opinions and concerns of others, fashion may lend a helping hand. If you shop with the tide, a suit of fashion is something that is chosen for you; for ‘fashionable’ is simply another word for ‘popular’. However, it is not only on the high street that fashion dictates. Incorrectly, many people believe that considerations of fashion do not occur in the tailor’s shop. In fact, many tailors are asked for advice on what is popular, what is fashionable; “Can I have a thinner lapel?”, “Can I have slimmer legs on the trousers?” Though admired artisans and arbiters - to a certain degree - of sartorial taste, tailors are not in a fashion-free vacuum.

My initial reaction to the question was that if you have to ask whether you should follow current cuts of suit or adopt a retro style, you should probably choose the former as you probably haven’t got the self-assurance for the latter. However, this is not only about aesthetic preference but also guidance; it says a lot about the growing disillusionment with fashion and the interest in breaking out as an individual, and some people welcome the advice to make the step.

Therefore, my opinion is this: if you are neither a determined fashionista, nor a confident retroista – much like myself – take what you like from both. This doesn’t have to be field warfare; there is no need to enlist to join the ranks of either army. If you are undecided, this probably means you are torn. If so, just ensure you are comfortable with the untidy inconsistency of being a sartorial magpie.

The Burgundy Suit

There is a brief scene in War of The Roses when Kathleen Turner wanders through her carefully and expensively assembled home, tweaking pillow cushions and rearranging ornaments, finding things to amend. She had the disconsolate demeanour of a person who has completed an enormous task and yet can find nothing better to do than survey the finished product.

Perfection is such a dissatisfying state. When we are without need of occupation we function poorly and indulge in self-gratification, hobbies to pass the time and excessive self-contemplation. It sounds pleasant to some, but I think the secret of a happier existence is realising the need to continually evolve; a perfectly decorated home will bring much smaller satisfaction than the memories that are shared in the process.

Three or four years ago, I doubt I would have considered a burgundy suit. I restricted myself to a conservative wardrobe of blues, greys and maybe the odd brown; supplying the strength of colour through shirts, ties and squares. However, after a recent conversation with a close friend and an examination of my collection – which is not small, but by no means is it large – I saw a sea of grey and blue which, much like Barbara Rose, caused me little satisfaction. However, instead of resorting to frustrated destruction, I decided to do the healthy thing and ‘evolve.’

Burgundy suits are closely connected with the 1960s and 1970s, when young men broke away from the sober and sensible colours of their fathers’ generations and decided to adopt colours and styles that better represented a rejection of the social codes and expectations of a post-war world. The Beatles wore them with skinny ties, floppy hair and Chelsea boots, providing the world with a legendary aesthetic that has been rehashed and redone many times since. However, though it was in the age of the television that such sartorial extravagance first reached the masses, colourful suits were not unheard of in the decades before the war, particularly the 1930s and 40s.

It is this aesthetic of the suit that I decided to explore. The skinny suit is a trend and though acceptable for tween-idols like Robert Pattinson, for a man in my stage of life, it is just a little too rock star, a little too young: TopMan, I will not need your services in this regard. As the colour of the suit is the star, it is likely that I would not plump for unusual details or ornamental buttons; a peak lapel single breasted two-button jacket with a single breasted waistcoat seemed the right sort of solution. The partnerships I pictured with such a suit sent my imagination into overdrive; I saw a French blue shirt with an orange and navy tartan tie; a pink shirt with a white polka dot navy knit; I saw chestnut shoes and green squares, yellow socks and brown gloves. An orgy of colour.

Sartorial Love/Hate: Men’s Uggs

Everyone I know, and possibly everyone I have met, is aware that comfort is not my priority in clothing. It is certainly something I consider; I wouldn’t inflict pain or unease on my body no matter how stylish an item of clothing or footwear might be, but it is an ‘also ran’ of my considerations. To begin with, living in the city precludes the need to base clothing choices on waging a permanent battle with the elements; secondly, comfort has a great deal to do with familiarity rather than an instantaneous feeling – I feel comfortable in clothing that I am used to that is also used to me. Thirdly, physical comfort is no more important than the psychological comfort of wearing something you feel good in; a down-filled puffa jacket would make me feel ridiculous, nullifying any physical effect it has on me.

It should come as no surprise then that I heartily disapprove of a certain menswear craze; Ugg boots. The aptly named boots are a boil of fashion that requires an immediate lance-and-drain. They are inelegant, impractical and irritating. However, for every detractor there appears to be an advocate; “They’re SO comfortable though!” a friend said, with a hint of embarrassment in their quiet voice.

Comfortable they probably are; sensible they are not. These iconic sheepskin boots, though a unisex item, were always seen as a female fashion trend, catalysed by celebrities such as Kate Hudson, Cameron Diaz and Paris Hilton who were pictured stumbling around Los Angeles boulevards, Starbucks in hand, bug-eyed sunglasses-on-head going from boutique to Bentley in unsightly, unstructured Australian farm-hand footwear.

Since those days, they have been adopted by the slummy-Sloane set, street-corner teenagers and haggard, harsh-voiced pram-pushers; and now they are being worn by men.

In one way I am rather glad; without men adopting the fashion, it would scarcely have been relevant to devote column space on this site to something worn exclusively by women. However, it is also distressing that more of the humans that prowl this planet have latched on to this preposterous footwear. One of the major problems I have with them is that they are worn as though they are proper shoes; the wearer strides around in them with the self-confidence of a well-dressed boulevardier and yet the reason they supply for tarnishing the scene in such a manner is guilty comfort; they are fully aware that they are not the most attractive shoe, they know they are not practical in the rain and they know they are actually better suited to a ski chalet or a particularly cold bedroom but they cannot resist the warm and squishy lambswool between their toes. They have to have it; “…it’s, like, a drug.”

Something Different: Coats and Boots

As winter draws near, it is said we turn to the familiar and simple for reassurance and comfort; our beaten-up overcoat, a standard pair of stout boots. These are the things we uncovered and de-mothballed in September as the leaves began to fall. We brush them off, steam them through and touch them with the affection of an old friend. We remember the nights which they shared; the harsh winds, snowfall, sneezing fits and icy tumbles and we thank them for it. But then, through the dimness, something glitters; distracted from these ‘old favourites’ we catch sight of something new, something unexpected.

This is the beginning of another new series. Unlike the Old Favourite series, which lauded the familiar and faithful ‘friends’ of the wardrobe, this one focuses on the unexpected, the different; it celebrates the possibility of trying something a little unusual, attempting a more recherché aesthetic.

There could not be anything more ordinary or familiar than an overcoat. While it is true that not all overcoats are alike, or equal, they are often the most mundane aspect of a gentleman’s winter dress; so much so that the dandies of winter feel the need to ‘spice’ them up with a velvet collar or patterned scarf.

I once http://www.mensflair.com/style-advice/aristocratic-overcoat.php wrote on the subject of the fur-collared overcoat, the aristocrat of coats, and was only able to suggest a handful of high-priced designer examples for readers to pursue. This was unfortunately due to the lack of cheaper, high-street chains or outfitters offering anything similar. No mistake in this, one might think, as such a gloriously grand coat is the product of a creator who has envisioned something romantically, with abandon: cost be damned. A mass-produced high street version would hardly be expected.

Indeed, finding any real fur on the high street is near impossible, not only for manufacturing-cost reasons but for public relations; no one wants a group placard-waving of animal-rights protestors clogging the entrance to their emporiums. Zara, ever the engine of exploration and design, have produced their own version with a material politely referred to as ‘fur-effect.’ With a double-breasted design reminiscent of those worn by Napoleonic soldiers’ on their Russian misadventure, this coat is a well-crafted piece of nostalgia; as well as its undoubted military heritage, it also reminded me of the elegant hunting outfits of the early twentieth century, an excellent example of which was worn by Rufus Sewell as the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary in ‘The Illusionist.’

And there’s no need to stop at overcoats. As a reader of my blog once commented, “boots are one of winter’s rare pleasures.” The unfortunate thing about them is that you are rather limited to two colours. Black boots are as common as muck; brown boots are fairly popular, but when did you see a pair of burgundy Chelsea boots? A deep, berry-stain burgundy that warms the eyes as well as the toes.

I was browsing through ASOS’ vast collection of shoes when I noticed a pair of ASOS own brand ALIBI boots in a rich burgundy; ideal for wearing with mossy green cords for a delicious forest-floor contrast. While certainly not the standard of a shoemaker like Crockett & Jones, they represent excellent value.

There’s More to Gloves than Black

Gloves are an inconvenience in the modern world. Anyone who has felt their touchscreen phone buzzing in their coat pocket as they hurry to work, carrying a latte in one hand, will know the awful feeling of awkwardness as they chew off their gloves in an attempt to answer the call; gloved hands can not an iPhone answer.

However, there is something glorious about a pair of warm gloved hands, something protective and reassuring. For all the irritation they cause when their removal is necessitated, there is simply nothing to beat wandering into the unforgiving chill in a substantial overcoat and soft-lined leather gloves; you feel cosseted but dignified, cosy but elegant.

I used to regard gloves as a utilitarian wardrobe item, something only to be used when the weather is “like…really cold” and contented myself with some black woollen mitts, bought for an insignificant sum in one of the many stores on the high street. Now, I not only view gloves as an essential winter accessory to keep away the cold and the lingering germs on cash machines, handrails and door handles but also as an accessory to be celebrated and collected; the world does not begin and end with black leather gloves.

The grey gloves

Grey is one of the most elegant tones in the spectrum sartorium and grey gloves are an elegant and dandyish alternative to black: grey gloves are the correct colour for formal morning dress and Boldini’s famous portrait of Robert de Montesquiou feature the subject in an elegant pair. Whilst still masculine enough for everyday wear, they are a pleasant contrast to the dark blues, blacks and charcoal, in which the humble black glove so often goes unnoticed.

The tan gloves

Tan is not exactly the first colour associated with winter; peanut-buttery clothing is not precipitation friendly. However, the camel coat has no better partner than a pair of tan gloves. Black gloves look rather too stark and flipper-ish poking from a camel sleeve. They also look rather striking with navy blue, light and dark grey. Pair with brown or tan shoes.

The yellow gloves

Yellow leather is unusual thing; yellow leather gloves are even more peculiar. However, for all those that do not think of washing and cleaning in the kitchen, yellow gloves can add a floral punch to a dull winter outfit. They are unexpected, eyecatching and act as a point of interest. There is not much that they ‘match’ with -  yellow overcoats belong to the cartoons of Dick Tracy – but they contrast splendidly with coats of any description.