Not for amateurs, the double-breasted jacket is a tricky item to wear successfully. Done wrong, it can make a young man look fuddy-duddyish, or the thin man look corpulent. This number from Valentino is an excellent example of a double-breasted jacket pulled off with panache. The secret lies in the jacket’s fittedness, including its waist-suppression, thin lapels at the correct angle, and an all-around proportionality.
I’ve always like the double-breasted, but it is one of those suit styles that comes and goes. I used to wear it well (back in the 90s when they were last fashionable), so I’m anxious to see it come again. We’ll see if the older fatter me can pull it off.
But you have to wear the jacket buttoned! David Letterman used to wear double breasted suits all the time, and the first thing he did on his show was to unbutton the jacket for his monologue. Perhaps he though looking like a clown would make him twice as funny?
Comment by Jeff the Baptist — February 2, 2007 @ 12:07 pm
I like the pattern of the fabric, but I’m not at all crazy about how tight that jacket looks, nor the angled hacking pockets, nor the one line of buttons. (I much prefer the verticality of six button DB jackets myself.)
But hey, other than those details…
Comment by Ed Driscoll — February 2, 2007 @ 3:34 pm
Panache? Though a young man, he looks awful squeezed into that jacket. He’d be dreadfully uncomfortable sitting down, working at a desk, or driving.
Add another 12″ of material and with that shaping it would be a striking dress for a woman.
Comment by Lastango — February 3, 2007 @ 9:52 pm