The well dressed gentleman or lady needs to remember but a few basic rules when choosing the right garments to add to their wardrobe, and what to wear on a given day. Firstly, wear clothes that reflect both how you are feeling, and what you want to communicate. That said, here are some ideas to consider.
You know many other benefits to wearing customized business shirts and suits - that's probably why you are here. Some of the popular reasons include:
Give shape, form, and customizations that most flatter your physique and facial features,
Create an image to reflect the mood/atmosphere of any occasion,
Develop versatility to integrate with the rest of your wardrobe,
Personalize the finer details to design your own signature finishes.
In all, your clothing magnifies your personality, so that people listen even before you open your mouth, while the freedom, ease and comfort facilitate your self expression at the highest level.
Being a well-dressed woman or gentleman is more than just having a great shirt and well tailored suits – it’s about personal style. While we don’t claim to be the world’s authority on style and class, we offer you a few ideas here that we hope will be interesting and useful for you.
And remember that 93% of all communciation is actually nonverbal – that means that most of what people think of you doesn’t come from what you say, but how you present yourself. And a big part of that is, of course, the clothes that you wear. Choosing clothes that compliment your style will tend to complement your words, amplify your impact and make you more more persuasive, charismatic and powerful. Your clothes – like your car and the way that you speak – make a big difference.
Your impression is our business… We believe that top quality clothing maketh the man (and woman).
What’s the big deal about custom tailoring? Custom tailored clothing are far superior to off-the-rack garments – when you think about it, you know it already. Bill Clinton and Prince William don’t shop at a store – they have their clothes made for them. The trouble has been that only those gentlemen willing to pay US$300 per shirt and US$5000 per suit have been able to afford to enter that league.
We can make your suits with as many buttons as you would like. At the moment, four buttons seems to be the way to go around the world, and I would particularly encourage you to consider taking our working button option – I love it!
I have never been one for fanciness for its own sake, but rather for the sake of enhancing functionality or aesthetic quality. Having working buttons will not only make your suit something special and allow you to more easily adjust your cuffs – and give you something that you can talk about with others – but will also allow you to embody the unity of form and function.
Reading through the Italian edition of Millionaire Magazine in Shanghai, I was reading how the Italian Consul General, Massimo Roscigno, regards the Italian lifestyle as being one that incorporates things like:
Beauty,
Elegance,
Good taste, and
Great experiences.
Great quality and excellence are values that many of us aspire towards. Rather than being the only values of the modern developed world, they are almost taken as “assumed” by many of our clients. Today, we are seeing other values build upon these – values like:
Personalisation,
Sustainability, and
Global integration and awareness.
What is important for you? What message are you communicating through your wardrobe?
In the same magazine, I noticed Domenico and Stefano together on a modelling runway, but they weren’t actually wearing clothes that you could buy from them normally – naturally, they were wearing clothes that fit them. It is nice to be reminded that the greatest style icons always demand custom-made garments – clothes that fit.
In our quest to dress right, I’ve found that TV presenters are often a good guide for what’s fashionable though still reasonably conservative. Last night, I saw Bruce Page presenting the Brisbane television news wearing a great stylish suit, and was impressed that it was a variably pinstriped, black, single-breasted suit with peaked lapels and angled pockets.
This is one of the most elegant styles around, and while it has been increasingly popular in Britain and Europe for some time, we are only now seeing it penetrate the mainstream Australian market.
It is challenging to find the right balance for the peak: Too small and it’s skimpy, though too large and it’s clumsy. Having the peak extend about 1cm beyond the collar seems about right at the moment – as opposed to the much larger peaks you might see in double breasted jackets.
We have them ready for you to order now – in your size, and in just the right fabric for you.
I’m also wondering when we might see pin collars making more of an appearance… I think they’re on their way, but we’ll just have to see.
In his announcement today, you may have noticed Jacques Chirac wearing one of the newest variations for suits: The angled notch. This is a very fashionable variation, at the leading edge through most of the world, though is gradually being more broadly adopted. Peaked lapels on single breasted jackets – with the peaks slightly smaller than what you would you see on a double breasted jacket – are another fashionable look that we’ll expect to see more of in the coming months.
Of course, Chirac, has been wearing such fashionable items for some time – this photo was taken in mid-2006!
Long sidelined as the least lovable part of a three-piece suit, the vest is emerging as a solo star. Be thankful that style arbiters have put their stamp of approval on something truly wearable (unlike, say, formal shorts) and memorise the following guidelines:
Modesty: It’s a vest, not a tank top. You can layer it over a short sleeved tee or a printed shirt (if your aim is to look casual) or a starched button-down shirt and a tie (if your goal is polish).
Fit: Baggy, unbuttoned vests were abolished in the late eighties. Rather than channel Corey Haim, make sure yours is snug but doesn’t fit so tight that you can’t button it.
Subtlety: The vest makes a statement on its own – it doesn’t need loud prints. Stick with something low-key like a gray, black or dark plaid wool.
So with summer here in Australia, vests can add style without necessitating a full jacket; for those facing the cool winter, the vest can give warmth as well. Either way, you’re on a winner.
According to our stylish cousins at Lorenzini, the “Farfalla” or Butterfly is a small triangular piece of cloth, sewn to the finished shirt at the bottom of the body side seams, strengthening the bond between the front and back panels. If you are familiar with Thomas Pink, you might have noticed that they sometimes have these in their trademark pink fabric! Of course, with ShirtsandSuits.com, you can have your shirt made any way that you want, and not only get the great style, but also get a shirt that fits…
Wearing a starched collared shirt with jeans is like pairing a sloppy joe or hooded pull-over jacket with suit pants – it’s just not natural. Weekends call for slightly-rumpled, washed-and-worn versions with pale stripes (no bankers blue). Tuck them into chinos (or “khakis”) or dungarees and feel free to leave the top two buttons undone – you’re off duty.
There is a middle ground between a tuxedo and boardroom attire. It is the solid-coloured tie with sheen. When confronted with an evening event, put on a silk one in a warm colour with a white shirt and a shine-free suit. Regular and spread collars are the look you are after; the button behind can work too though the button down does not. The darker the tie, the more formal the look. This will give you the formality that you need without the need to resort to a tuxedo. And unless your office is the VIP table in an old-school Italian restaurant, don’t wear it to work.
This looks much better than those men trying to get away with button down collars with a tuxedo – it’s all a question of choosing where to reduce your formality.
Coming up to three weeks in Shanghai after spending three weeks in London before that, I am even more amazed at the sort of things that people get away with wearing!
While the top fashion labels correctly point out that they do business suits – and very good quality ones at that – they simply won’t fit you! Speaking with my friends at the Dormeuil store in Shanghai just last night, they can make me a suit for RMB43,000 (about AU$7,000, though less than half the price of the RMB100,000 Zegna), and I’m sure that it will be a very nice suit. But I know that our suits can match them in near every regard… and you will too.
Current fashion trends as I see them:
Suits
Two-button single breasted suits are very much the current style, and probably will be and increasingly for the next two years. These, of course, show more of your tie and shirt front.
Double-breasted suits are likely to be on their way back in vogue, possibly even with all three buttons working.
Single-button single breasted suits are likely to be increasingly acceptable. They are available for the very fashionable already, though will become more mainstream in the coming months, especially the notched lapel variant. I expect that the peaked lapel will remain the domain of the very fashionable – well away from the bulk of my lawyer friends.
Pickstitching and working buttons are becoming standard on the top quality suits; leaving the bottom button undone is particularly popular to ’show’ the world that it does work – like Zegna.
Angled pockets are great – with or without the ticket pocket. Personally, I like it, but many don’t. Some like to tuck their flap inside their pocket – that works too, though is a little more stylish than standard at the moment.
Shirts
French cuffs – square, rounded and bevelled – are very much in demand.
As cuff links remain one of the few pieces of jewellery a gentleman is inclined to wear, these are becoming more desirable and popular.
In his announcement today, you may have noticed Jacques Chirac wearing one of the newest variations for suits: The angled notch. This is a very fashionable variation, at the leading edge through most of the world, though is gradually being more broadly adopted. Peaked lapels on single breasted jackets – with the peaks slightly smaller than what you would you see on a double breasted jacket – are another fashionable look that we’ll expect to see more of in the coming months.