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derek guy

@dieworkwear

Apr 5 • 13 tweets • 7 min read • Read on X

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https://twitter.com/Waller7J/status/1775670061597896881

Let's talk about some of the tailoring and choices in this photo, and how you can avoid making the same mistakes. 🧵

https://twitter.com/Waller7J/status/1775670061597896881

A lot of guys have a hard time accepting that good tailoring is not about making things as slim as possible. When clothes are this tight, they will restrict movement. I suspect this is why a lot of guys say that tailoring is uncomfortable.

A lot of guys should first get it out of their head that slimmer is better. Some outfits can be slim! But the point of tailoring is not always to make things as slim as possible. It's about flattering your body's shape, not recreating it.

The shoulders and sleeves on the purple suit are too small, making the person look like he's about to burst out of his coat. The second coat doesn't even look like it can be fastened. Both men are wearing trousers that are too narrow and tapered.

A lot of athletic men assume they look better in this type of tailoring. They do not. Look at these athletic men who are wearing more classic proportions. A fuller coat with higher-rise trousers. The clothes have *drape and shape.* This is both comfortable and elegant.

Some may feel those outfits are too boring. But check out Domingo, who has a similar build. His clothes follow the same principles (drape and shape). Lines are clean. There is room for comfortable movement. The creativity comes from cut, silhouette, and fabric.

Although you don't always have to choose classic footwear, doing so will provide you with the guardrails against falling into stuff like this. Two-toned, tasseled driving mocs and double-monks look like five open browser tabs set to various menswear blogs.

A safer, more tasteful choice would be brown or black oxfords (pic 1) or conservative tassel loafers (pic 2). If you want to be dandy, then Prince Albert or Belgian loafers (pics 3 and 4).

Patrick's outfit here is pretty good, except for a critical part: the jacket's collar should always hug your neck.

It's difficult to judge why a jacket isn't hugging a person's neck online without seeing the outfit in person.

But you can see this in any example of quality tailoring. Here's Fayard & Harold Nicholas (The Nicholas Brothers) dancing in the 1943 film Stormy Weather. Notice that even in such extreme movements, the collar hugs the neck.

Finally, jacket and trousers should always work together to form a harmonious whole. When trousers are too low rise and tapered like this, they look at odds with the coat.

The trousers should hang clean and the jacket should flow into the trousers. Jeans should not be cut like dress trousers, but even when wearing something like chinos or jeans with a tailored jacket, you can see how the two parts need to form a coherent whole.

IMO, we should take our country back from made-to-measure clothiers run by marketing people instead of tailors; from bad-taste shoes; and from the idea that everyone needs to squeeze into slim-fit tailoring instead of dressing for their body type

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More from @dieworkwear

derek guy

@dieworkwear

May 16

The producer of Ben Shapiro's show reached out to me to see if I'd like to discuss Ben's attire on his show. Like with Piers Morgan, since Ben invited feedback, I will do a thread comparing him to a menswear icon—this time, Ralph Lauren's Polo Bear. 🧵

Unlike his colleagues, Ben's tailoring is not bad. Jackets have shape and fit him well. Compare his jacket to Peterson's, which looks like it was dunked in water (the small collar gap on Ben would be filled if he wore a dress shirt). Tonal seersucker in the second pic is cool

Unfortunately, a tailor can only do so much. They only make your clothes, not put them on you. For men of a certain social class, this task would have been historically performed by a valet. Such a relationship was hilariously depicted in the British TV show Jeeves and Wooster

Read 25 tweets

derek guy

@dieworkwear

May 14

For a brief moment in 2018, J. Crew offered these "canoeist smocks" inspired by something elite British naval officers wore during WWII. The design was so cool—the kind of thing you'd typically only see from specialty Japanese brands.

The brand is in a much better position now than it was in 2020 (when it filed for bankruptcy). For a moment, it almost became like Old Navy. But the company's outerwear designs now are less risky, less exciting, and less complex. They use simple patterns and seams.

When people talk about quality, they often talk about the garment's fabric or durability. I often think of quality in terms of the garment's complexity. This smock was available in ripstop cotton ($298) or Ventile ($450). Not cheap, but well-made and tons of details for money.

Read 4 tweets

derek guy

@dieworkwear

May 13

Who dresses better? Alpha males or aristocratic babies? Let's explore. 🧵

Tristan Tate's trousers are too slim to achieve proper drape. His jacket is also too short.

Andrea Casiraghi—who's fourth in line to the Monegasque throne—wears fuller-cut white trousers. His blazer ends halfway from his collar to the floor when he's in heeled shoes.

Justin Waller's sleeve is too tight, which causes the sleeve to ride up his arm. This reveals a gauche cuff monogram.

Young Charles, the future King of England, wears a sleeve fit for his arm. He does not monogram his shirt cuffs, as this is bad taste.

Read 8 tweets

derek guy

@dieworkwear

May 12

https://twitter.com/awilkinson/status/1786906253333287056

I've been toying with different AI programs to see if they can suggest good outfits. They can't. They all fail because they don't understand the cultural language of clothing, so their suggestions are generic. Outfits are no better than clothing subscription boxes; maybe worse.

https://twitter.com/awilkinson/status/1786906253333287056

IMO, AI will replace fashion writers who generate generic advice like this. And just as there's a market for this now, there will be a market for this sort of AI-generated advice. I just don't think it leads to good outfits or improves people's relationships with clothes.

People suggesting that this can be improved miss an important point. For this to work, AI has to be able to read your heart (your personality, interests, cultural background, identity, emotions, etc). It has to figure out how you see yourself positioned in culture.

Read 8 tweets

derek guy

@dieworkwear

May 10

It's a misconception that wool is necessarily uncomfortable in the summer. Or that linen is necessarily better than wool. Let me show you. 🧵

Linen's main property is that it wicks moisture from your skin, bringing it to the other side and then allowing the moisture to quickly dissipate. You can test this by washing two shirts—one cotton, the other linen—and letting them hang dry. See which dries faster.

Linen shirts are comfy in the summer because they keep you dry. But the same property doesn't really apply to pants or jackets, as you're less likely to get those soaking wet (unless you are prone to pissing your pants). For these items, you want to think about breathability.

Read 8 tweets

derek guy

@dieworkwear

May 7

I feel that there's a misunderstanding of the Met Gala and its purpose. 🧵

The Met Gala is, first and foremost, an annual fundraising event to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. Tickets to the gala are extremely expensive: $75,000.

The money goes towards the Costume Institute, which works to preserve fashion history. They have thousands of historical garments, such as this 1898 ball gown from House of Worth, founded by Charles Worth, who is widely considered the father of haute couture (high dressmaking)