Off the Cuff - Carson Kressley [27]
Nothing makes you feel as good, important, and powerful; and nothing makes a guy look more handsome than a good suit. Just look at Donald Trump, from the forehead down. And nothing makes a guy look more pathetic than a bad one.
As much as we’ve become a casual society, I still believe that every man absolutely needs to have a suit in his closet. Not everyone goes to fancy coming out cotillions and needs a tuxedo (shocker, I know), and not every man wears a suit to work every day anymore. But weddings, funerals, and divorce court are just part of our lives, people. And for those occasions, you’re going to have to buy a suit.
The great thing about suits is that they hardly ever change. If you buy a good quality suit with a classic silhouette and you take proper care of it, you can have that suit for a lifetime. It’s going to take a lot of cleaning and a lot of wear and tear, but you could put that suit on thirty years from now and you’ll still look great—provided you have not also put on thirty pounds. Lay off the Ring Dings, would you?
Suits Are Like Meat, There Are a Lot of Different Cuts
The American cut. This is also known as the traditional American sack suit. Giggle. I love a sack suit because it’s clean and simple, and much like a postcoital smile, it looks great on almost everyone. It’s a traditional cut, with a notched lapel and two or three buttons. The jacket has a center vent, and the overall silhouette is lean, with a narrow leg.
The American suit is the Ivy League suit—perfected by makers like Brooks Brothers, J. Press, and Ralph Lauren. It’s the suit the Kennedys went to college in. It’s also the suit the Kennedys went to traffic court in! Because of its collegiate heritage, a sack suit is considered a casual cut. It looks best with a lot of student debt. Keep it traditional by pairing it with an oxford shirt and a rep tie. It’s also great with a T-shirt and sneakers, but that’s not for amateurs.
The British cut is similar to the sack suit, with two or three buttons and notched lapels. But whereas a sack suit traditionally comes with a flat-front pant and a center vent, a British suit usually comes with a pleated pant and side vents. Yes, I said pleated pants. Don’t be afraid. With this kind of suit, they’re allowed.
The Italian and/or double-breasted suit. Traditionally, most Italian suits were double-breasted, hence the name. Just to confuse you, though, Italian suits aren’t always double-breasted anymore. These days, designers mix and match influences, so you could get an Italian-designed suit in a British silhouette. You could get an American-made suit with an Italian silhouette. The world of fashion is becoming like a Benetton ad. Everybody’s mixing it up. Our diversity is making us stronger. And yet, more confused. I feel like the whole world is spinning out of control. What next, are they going to bring back the gaucho?
Anyway, the Italian suit generally has a pleated pant and a wider lapel than the others. The jacket has military origins, and a certain Merrill Stubing elegance about it. In all honesty, this is my least favorite suit. It’s just a lot of suit, with a lot of excess material, which is not good for sitting down. If the reason you’re wearing a suit is for business meetings at which you’ll be seated, it’s just not flattering.
This is the suit David Letterman always wears, and the one that always tends to hang open, making the wearer look like he has batwings. Or like he’s wearing a cape.
Oh yeah. This is one of the few “you really should be’s” you’ll ever hear from me, but you really should be tall and slim to wear an Italian suit. One false move and you could look like an extra from The Sopranos. A dead extra.
My favorite suit is a charcoal gray pinstriped Etro two-button. What I love about it is that it’s very subversive. It looks very calm and cool and safe, but that’s just a decoy. Still waters run deep, my friends. Because on this suit, the faint pinstripe that would normally be a chalky white is a luscious