Izzy must admit that he had never previously heard of Rochester-based Adrian Jules, but according to this article in the Robb Report, they and Oxxford Clothes are the only major American suitmakers that do most of their tailoring by hand. Alas, that kind of detail-work doesn’t come cheap, as their custom-made suits start at $1,500.
The New York Times is touting Thom Browne, the notorious proponent of ankle cleavage, as “today the most envied and influential American men’s wear designer.” Though the article contains much of interest, including the observation that Browne’s suits “caught on with an underserved customer: the businessman who wants to look both conservative and cool,” one claim in particular caught Izzy’s attention. The paper reports that to gain attention for his style, Browne “started eating breakfast—black coffee and white toast—every morning …at Pastis, neatly dressed in a Thom Browne suit-slash-sandwich board.”
It just so happens that one day this past summer, Izzy, apeing the idle rich, himself breakfasted at Pastis, a pretentious French bistro in New York’s meatpacking district. And whom did he behold sitting at his regular table just next to the entrance? Thom Browne, clad in extremely short seersucker pants with massive cuffs, and going sockless in black wingtips, just like in the above photo. The sight of his get-up did make an indelible impression. Little did Izzy know at the time that he was witnessing a highly effective self-advertisement. Mr. Browne deserves a belated hat tip.
As a big fan of the bravado of the young Robert Evans, Izzy finds it a great shame that the famed Hollywood producer ultimately became a self-parody (and not in a good way).
Though Izzy tries his best not to notice the bolo and make-up, he does give Evans credit for always covering his neck in his senescence. Hiding a gizzard or neck jowls can make a man look much younger, which is no doubt of the utmost importance for a notorious skirt-chaser like Evans.
Evans is not alone in recognizing the benefits of hiding one’s neck. Other older but famously stylish men who always wear shirts with very high-collars include Tom Wolfe and (former president of the Motion Picture Association of America) Jack Valenti.
Ay caramba! If he’s not careful, Simpsons‘ creator Matt Groening might publicly strangle himself.
With his jacket sleeves extending all the way to his knuckles, Dustin Hoffman not only makes it look like he has nothing but hand-me-downs in his wardrobe, but draws attention to his height, or rather lack thereof.
A reader has kindly informed Izzy that a master tailor has responded to Giorgio Armani’s attack on Savile Row:
If anyone reading this works for Mr. Armani, please pass this message along to your boss:
Thomas Mahon, the Savile Row tailor will gladly meet up anywhere with you, anytime, in front of the press and some bloggers. Then, armed only with basic tools i.e. tape measure, bolt of cloth, shears, needle and thread, chalk etc, you two will both measure and make a suit for a third gentleman, a customer, WITHOUT the assistance of anyone else. Just the tailor, the customer and the tools.
When completed, we will show our results live, to the press and the blogosphere. Then we can all transparently see how much the skills actually match the rhetoric. Easy.
Izzy loves the idea: Iron Chef meets Project Runway.
It’s one thing to be short, another to be skinny. But when the two are combined, as in the case of Elijah Wood, a painted-on “tux” with overly long trousers only makes things worse.
Gnarls Barkley‘s Cee-Lo showed up flamboyantly retro at the MTV Movie Awards this Saturday, kitted out in knit tie, braces, walking stick, and spectator shoes. Izzy would like to note that then wearing suspenders, one’s pants are supposed to be worn at the natural waist, not at the hips, but Cee-Lo seems to enjoy flaunting his belly.
Izzy is not sure whether he should admit this or not, but at a New York hattery on Saturday he actually tried on—just out of curiosity, mind you—an identical straw boater.
The May issue of Travel + Leisure features an article on Naples that highlights the sartoria Napoletana, the meticulous men’s style made possible by the finest tailors in Italy.
Oddly, one of the accompanying photos is of a leggy, high-heeled model with some local taxi drivers who most definitely do not exemplify that style.
As Izzy can attest, it is no shame to be short in stature, but such men run an extra risk of looking like overgrown children. And wearing baggy jeans, sneakers (which are not just childish but add no height), and an untucked shirt only make things worse.
But perhaps Izzy is foolish to think that men today don’t wish to look like overgrown children.
The Sartorialist, a fantastic blog devoted to man-on-the-street photos of fashionably dressed New Yorkers, is featuring pictures of dolled-up Easter worshippers.
Note how the gentleman above successfully successfully pulls off the double-breasted suit, a feat that many of Izzy’s readers find impossible. Izzy is, however, not so keen on the overly short jacket sleeves, which should expose only about a half inch of linen. The pinned collar, boutonniere, straw boater, and pipe are dynamite, though.
Manolo says, the Style.com they have the latest in the long succession of the articles about the “return” of the bespoke tailoring.
Getting exactly what you want is the whole point of bespoke tailoring, which is undergoing a renaissance as younger men realize there is a world of exclusivity beyond designer clothing. Patrons can select a custom dye for monogram stitching, create a hiding place for a Luger pistol, or simply wallow in the tactile pleasure of wearing trousers that really, truly fit. The recent passion for custom items extends to shirts, shoes, fragrances, and even suitcases. (Beretta of Italy, which creates individually tailored luggage, lists among its customers Tom Ford, Andre 3000, Kiefer Sutherland, and Donald Trump Jr.) Naturally, the chance to swan about in a one-of-a-kind outfit appeals to style-setters like Kanye West, Tom Cruise, Jude Law, Tim Roth, and Hugh Grant. But makers of bespoke goods have been struck by the demand among non-famous men in their twenties and thirties.“There’s been a rediscovery that a well-made and -cut suit can improve your look,” says Nick Hart, the 42-year-old founder of Spencer Hart, the London-based tailor of choice for West and David Bowie. “The fact is that you can’t find fitted clothes off-the-rack. All designers design for a particular body shape that suits their aesthetic. At the same time, they want to sell as much as possible, so that means cutting things for the average size. In both cases, their clothes are less likely to fit a given individual.”
Of the course, this it is not the news to the readers of the Manolo’s blogs. On more than one of the occasions the Manolo he has noted that there is nothing like the bespoke suit for the elegance and style.
Likewise, also on more than one of the occasions the Manolo he has linked to The English Cut, the informative blog of his internet friend the Thomas Mahon, who is the very gifted Saville Row tailor. If you wish to experience the best of the best, send the Thomas the email and make the appointment for the fitting.
There is more in this article, this time about the Manolo’s favorite booter, the John Lobb.
But the complications of custom-ordering a shirt or suit are nothing compared with the ordeal of buying handmade shoes. Expect to wait up to a half-year and to pay nearly $5,000 for a pair of wing tips from British cobbler John Lobb. Despite such inconveniences, or perhaps because of them, the venerable London outfit that once shod Winston Churchill is now seeing a record number of clients. Philippe Atienza, who holds the title of maître bottier at Lobb’s Paris outpost, visits America three times a year. After taking five measurements of each foot and tracing them on paper, Atienza makes a last, from which two months later he produces a pair of plastic forms he calls “les try-ons.”
Unless you are ordering the boots, the shoes of the John Lobb, they are not $5,000! They are only $3,500 of the American dollars at the current rate of the exchange. And trust the Manolo, like the bespoke suit, they are worth every one of the pennies.
Manolo says, the Manolo he has been most relaxed of late with regard to the regular posting and the writing in this blog. Mostly this it has to do with the busy-ness of the Manolo, and with the Manolo’s general and well-known uninterest in the clothes for the man.
Of the course, just because the Manolo he is frequently bored by the clothes for the man, it does not mean that they are not important, and occasionally worth the close attention and discussion.
Such is the case with this recent article from the Cathy Horyn in the New York Times about the much welcomed return of the tailored suit. (The Manolo he had almost given up the hope.)
The urge to look corporate – sleek, commanding, prudent, yet with just a touch of hubris on your well-cut sleeve – is an unexpected development in a time of business disgrace. But surprising or not, sales of men’s tailored clothing increased 23.7 percent last year to $4.3 billion, with suit sales alone jumping 34 percent. That halts an eight-year decline.Some of the gain came from men replenishing wardrobes gone stale from casual Fridays. They probably also discovered that a suit, with its clean lines, was a more effective means of transmitting rank to a dull colleague than a golf shirt and a pair of khakis, and a much nicer way to spend one’s bonus. And though “The Apprentice” produced a type that represents to many people in business the worst human qualities, there is no denying the impact of youth on suits, which are now more tapered, with narrower sleeves and flat-front trousers. This can transform seersucker or flannel into a sexy, yet still formal, package.
“Young men are driving this trend, and it’s the guy in his 40′s and 50′s who needs to get moving,” said Bill Downes, the men’s buyer at Wilkes Bashford in San Francisco. “In the business world you want to project youth and vitality. Dockers and a baseball hat, that’s not going to do it.” David Witman, the corporate merchandising manager for men’s wear at Nordstrom, does not agree that young men alone are behind the strong sales, but as he sees it, they now perceive tailored jackets and such accouterments as French-cuff shirts as cool. “It’s a completely new market for us,” Mr. Witman said.
The return of sartorial standards among the young American men it makes the Manolo most happy.
The Manolo he is also happy to see that the Manolo’s internet friend the Ed Driscoll has been picking up the slack by discussing in the intelligent manner the men’s clothing.
The Ed he posted the most excellent ruminations on this article, ones that brings in the Tom Wolfe (whom the Manolo has intended to discuss for many weeks here), and the article that the Ed had written on the aesthetics in American.
You must go read these things now.
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