Wardrobe Guide | Personal Style Guide | CustomShirt1
Caveat Emptor: Wardrobe Basics
Your Wardrobe and Personal Style Guide
Putting It All Together
by Jon Green |
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Editor's Note: Jon Green (better known as The Maestro ... as ordained by Departures Magazine in an article about the finest men's tailoring) is not just a friend but also our tailor. In contrast to most of the old-world tailoring school who tend to stay rooted to their benches, Jon has an insatiable appetite for knowing all about the upper echelons of fine clothing. He has spent countless hours both here and on the Continent checking the attributes ... and detriments ... of virtually every well-known "upscale" brand of clothing. While still a high school student, Jon talked his way into an after-school job in the finest men's store in Texas. He moved rapidly up the ladder. Jon became supervisor of the store's entire tailoring department until he left to attend Juilliard. Jon's interest in clothing never waned. He has remained a strong force in tailoring and risen to the top of the minuscule group of New York tailoring firms largely regarded as among the finest in the world. |
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Dressing well can be fun at any level of interest, taste, experience, and budget. Learn the basics and experiment. As Charlie Parker, the great jazz saxophonist of the ‘40s and ‘50s, put it, “First I learn the notes ... and then I just wail!” The generally accepted "rules" of dressing well can be improvised upon only once you understand them. Learn those rules, with thought and care selectively make your personal changes, and then proudly own them. The result will be your visual persona. As overarchingly important as this is, many men ignore it. Do so at your peril. As strongly as the cliche advises otherwise, judging books by their covers is wired into our DNA. It is how the human animal survives. When building your wardrobe, keep the major items - suits, sports jackets, coats, and trousers - simple and classic. Add personal flourishes with ... in descending order of visual impact ... shirts, ties, socks, pocket squares, shoes, braces, eyeglasses, belts, watch, and any other furnishings or accessories which fit your style. |
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LEARN TO DISTINGUISH QUALITY Oscar Wilde defined a cynic as “Someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” Don't be a cynic. It takes time and education to develop price/value distinctions. For example, which has greater value? A $79 shirt which lasts 12 laundering cycles or a $500 shirt which you've worn 100 times? The less expensive shirt set you back $6.50 each time you wore it vs. the more expensive shirt just $5. In short, buy less ... but buy the best. DEVELOP YOUR EYE Shop, look, read, and listen. This will save you more money and provide you with more value than a lifetime of off-price merchandise that you do not need, which really does not work for you, and which hasn't the more refined, tasteful appearance of higher value clothing. And when you don't know ... |
Click to Enlarge A Very Well Fitted Bespoke Suit |
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Click to Enlarge Hand-Padded Lapels indicate the Best Quality
Click to Enlarge A Jon Green Collection of Sartorial Excellence Seminar |
FIND A CLOTHING COACH YOU LIKE AND WHO WANTS TO HELP YOU First and foremost, select an online or local shop that has the merchandise you like. Develop an ongoing communication relationship with a person there who will work with you and guide you. You're not trying to get adopted; you are trying to make intelligent purchases. A good salesperson will be someone you like and who enjoys developing you into a good client. This relationship will be invaluable to both of you. In most cases, you'll fare better with smaller shops. Your business means more to them than it does to the Amazons, Brooks Brothers, and big-box department stores of the world.
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A WARDROBE OF CLASSICS HAS THE GREATEST VALUE Develop your own style instead of buying "designer fashion" or succumbing to the ever-changing taste of a department store buyer. Why? It's quite basic: A designer's continued profit completely depends upon convincing you to change styles with every new season. Similarly, a department store's buyer must sell-out each season's newest "fashion" before the next iteration arrives. |
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Click to Enlarge Basic Blues are Second Only to Whites Click to Enlarge Even a Novice Can be Creativite with Braces |
Classic Style hints:
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LET'S GET ON TO SPECIFICS Single Breasted/Double Breasted: Single Breasted with either 2 or 3 buttons have been the classic standards for over a hundred years. Decide which looks best on you and go with it or include both in your wardrobe. You can’t make a mistake. Both are winners. Double Breasted is a more specialized cut. It is harder to find one off the rack which will fit you properly but a good tailor can make you one. |
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The Style of the Trousers Pleats or Flat Fronts: Again, it’s your choice. Go for the comfort and the look you want. The clean look of a flat front, so popular today, may not be comfortable or may look skimpy on you. Pleats on a larger man may be more appropriate and more comfortable. Don’t forget to allow for all the things you carry in your pockets. Belt loops: are necessary if you wear a belt. Side Straps with Buckles: are more comfortable than belts and easier to adjust to variations in waist size. Suit trousers with an extended front waistband and side straps blend into the ensemble discretely. Belt buckles pull the eye to the waist. Cuffs or Plain Bottoms: In the 19th century, all trousers were worn without cuffs because most dress for men was more formal than it is today. Plain bottoms should be used only when the garment is dressy, e.g., Full Dress or Dinner Jacket and Trousers, or a dressy, perhaps peaked lapel suit with a very narrow pant leg. Otherwise, go with cuffs. Large men look in better if their suit trousers and sport trousers are always cuffed. Most importantly, trouser cuffs add weight and help the leg drape better. |
Click to Enlarge Jon explains Trouser Construction to Andy Gilchrist, Founder of the AskAndyAboutClothes forum |
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The Style of the Shirt
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Click to Enlarge Kabbaz touts the virtues of the Single Link cuff |
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Neckwear Ties today are wide or narrow, thick or slim, and send the most personal signals about the wearer. A skinny suit and skinny tie looks inappropriate on a large man. If you are under 6’ and weigh less than 150 lbs you can probably pull it off. Most men should wear wider ties that are in proportion to their size and the width of the lapels on their jackets ... and the lapel width which should be compatible with proportions of the shirt collar ... and the lapel width which should be proportional with the width of your and your jacket’s shoulders ...etc. See how this works? Today, there are three basic knots used by men: Four-in-hand, Windsor, and Half Windsor. The F-in-H knot will work with all collar styles. The W and ½W knots, because they create a larger knot, are better with wider spread collars. The Four-in-Hand knot, so called because it was adopted as the signature way for 19th century London carriage drivers skilled enough to handle four horses to tie their cravats, is my personal choice. It has been the preferred knot for men of discerning taste for decades. The F-in-H knot has an asymmetry so it looks less than perfect and more relaxed than either of the Windsor variants. After all, a tie is just a piece of silk wrapped around the neck and tied to hold it in place. There is not a perfect symmetry to the human face, so why put that asymmetry into sharp contrast with a symmetrical knot? Take the time to master tying a tie and a bow tie for this self-expression, according to Oscar Wilde, is “The first serious step in becoming a man.” |
Click to Enlarge Classic Neckties by RVR |
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Patterns Mixing patterns is an art form which can be cultivated, if you are interested. If the tie has a large pattern, wear it with a shirt with a smaller pattern, but a large enough pattern to balance the boldness of the tie. Solid jackets are easy to mix with patterns in shirts, ties, and socks. Patterned jackets mixed with patterned shirts and ties and pocket squares should be attempted only after plenty of practice. |
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Click to Enlarge Bespoke Shoemaker Perry Ercolino explaining shoe construction |
Shoes If you ask anyone whose ability to do their job depends on being able to “read” people which item of a man’s attire tells the most about the wearer, they will quickly respond, “the shoes.” Splurge on shoes because the payoff is definitely there. Comfort and support, as well as good looks, appropriateness, and value, are what you are paying for. Lace-ups are both comfortable and give better support than slip-ons. They also convey substance and authority, not as in discipline, but as in expertise and respect. Plain toes, cap toes, and wingtips are the classic styles. Slip-ons for casual wear give you a chance be relaxed during off hours and in business social settings. |
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Click to Enlarge Braces can make a statement ... as can Shirts! |
Socks When wearing a jacket (suit or sports) wear over-the-calf socks. A man’s hairy leg showing between the top of an ankle length sock and the bottom of his trousers will attract more attention than his face or his message. Don’t go there. Fine socks in natural fibers of cotton or wool, sometimes mixed with nylon for strength, are the way to go. An expensive, great looking outfit will be ruined by cheap or inappropriate socks, which attract attention when they shouldn’t. The same goes for shoes. Fewer men are wearing braces (suspenders) today, but they are still the best way to hold up your trousers and allow them to drape and look their best. large buckles on belts call attention to your waistline. Keep the focus up, on your face, by selecting belts with small or thin buckles. Straps with discrete adjustable buckles allow you to adjust to the nth degree instead of the inch increments of a belt with holes and a tang buckle. |
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COLORS – Yours and what you wear In determining which colors you should wear and which colors you should avoid, consider the following: If your coloring is neither of the above – you can use parts of both. Experiment and trust your eye. Do not imitate others who have different coloring than yours. Create your own look. |
Click to Enlarge The Perfect White Suit - This One is Silk & Wool |
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BODY TYPE Your body type has a major impact on appropriate styling and fit of tailored clothing. In broad strokes the three physiological body types, along with what have often been observed as personality characteristics, are: |
Click to Enlarge A Beautiful Summer Linen |
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How Body Type Influences Dressing Ectomorph – These men have great flexibility in being able to wear different styles. They can wear tailored clothing well. Think Neat: Their suits should be trim, well fitted and sophisticated, and worn with dressy ties and solid or small patterned shirts. Patterns of all kinds are easy to wear and there will be no bulges around the waist with this body type. Lucky guys! Endomorph – This “round” body type must be carefully clothed or else these men can be made to look ridiculous. Think Balance: Jacket shoulder should be sloped and not strongly padded or extended. Flat front trousers are often the best fitting, held up with braces, because of a large waist in relation to the hips. Slim trouser legs finished with cuffs help keep a proper balance. Simple shirts and ties coordinate well with this reserved presentation. Mesomorph – Muscular men dress to best advantage when they are not too dressy. Think Sporty: It is easy and disastrous to over-dress this body type. Avoid looking too serious by wearing patterns, textures, and colors which are consistent with the athleticism of an often engaging personality. |
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Having said all of the above, most men are a combination of all body types, but one will predominate. Authenticity in personal presentation is what we are after. Accept yourself and be yourself. You can’t hide.
Editor's Note: This is the second of a Caveat Emptor Guest Series by Jon Green, Bespoke Tailor. Future articles will include topics such as Properly Fitting Your Jacket, The Difference Between Bespoke and Made-to-Measure, and much More. Like to Comment or Ask Jon a Question? Click Here. Thank you for your time. |
Click To Enlarge Jon Green Gets Down :-) And Explains Construction Techniques |
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