Most people would not describe Trump as someone who wears slim-fit clothes. But here, we can see his trousers are quite slim in relationship to his body. You can tell because the hem barely covers the opening of his shoes.
If you're a heavier man who wears a suit with slim-fit trousers, you end up breaking the top and bottom halves into distinct blocks. Notice how much the jacket hangs over the trousers. There's a lot of empty space between the jacket's front edge and his pants.
It's a mistake to think that wearing slim-fit clothes makes you look slimmer. Or that everyone has to conform to some trend. A better approach is to dress for your body type. Look at the relationship between Jackie Gleason's jacket and pants.
The wider trousers here are not the most fashionable, but they are the most flattering (for him). By minimizing the jacket's overhang and reducing the empty space between its front edge and the trousers, you get a streamlined silhouette from top to bottom.
We see the same effect here on France’s President Hollande and Japan’s Emperor Akihito. Hollande's trousers are too slim for his jacket. As a result, he looks like an egg on sticks. Compare his silhouette to Akihito, where the jacket and pants flow and form a harmonious whole.
Such advice is not limited to men with heavier figures. Daniel Craig often wears suits that also don't flow. The top and bottom halves often form distinct blocks. This is partly because his trousers are too slim and his jackets are too short.
When you see beautifully dressed men, consider how the top and bottom halves form a silhouette. They don't always need to flow (in some casual styles, breaking up these parts can be intentional and part of an aesthetic). But in tailoring, it's often best when there is flow.
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This list is terrible. When people say that men should never wear a particular item of clothing, their view is often shaped by fear and prejudice. It's also often an issue of them not knowing how to style something. I will run through some examples on this list. 🧵
Pocket squares add visual interest to tailored jackets, which is especially useful if you don't wear ties. The best ones have complex, nonrepeating patterns because you can twist them to show specific colors. Always stuff; don't fold them like origami birds.
Cargo Shorts
Yes, there are bad cargo shorts, but there are bad versions of everything. Frat boy cargo shorts are bad, but ones inspired by outdoor gear and military designs are great. Pair them with hardcore tees, chambray shirts, and flannels. Even Kermit co-signs.
Interesting article today in The Atlantic about how moths have "evolved into an unbeatable enemy." The points in the article aren't wrong—it's hard to deal with moths—but I will share some tips I learned from a textile conservator. 🧵
I once interviewed Camille Myers Breeze, director of Museum Textile Services in Boston. In her 30-year career working as a textile conservator, she's helped conserve 14th-century tapestries, pre-Columbian textiles, and tiny embroidered baptismal caps worn by former US Presidents.
She tells me that climate change has made the moth problem worse. As seasonal temperatures are becoming warmer, conditions are becoming more favorable for the insects that feed on protein-based fibers (e.g., wool). We're now seeing moths in regions we didn't before.
IMO, this is a very bad way to build a wardrobe. If you build a wardrobe like this, you will be constantly cycling in and out of clothes. Nothing will ever feel like "you." And nothing will look like "you" because you won't wear things for long enough. 🧵
Trends certainly matter. John Malone, the head trouser cutter at Anderson & Sheppard, tells me he makes slimmer trousers now than he did in the 1990s. Even Prince Phillip once sent a 51-year-old pair of pants to his tailor, John Kent, to be slimmed up.
But caring about "where the puck is going" will always leave you chasing trends. There are much better and more sustainable ways to build a wardrobe. Here are three tips:
Happy to answer this question. What is so beautiful about a man wearing a fishnet veil and what appears to be an overcoat woven of shredded garbage bags? 🧵
My interest in men's dress is mostly about culture, visual language, and craft. Where people see identical black or grey suits, I see differences in fit and silhouette. There's a lot of skill that goes into making something look beautiful, such as pattern drafting & pad stitching
If you are seriously interested in craft, you can't help but be impressed by the craftsmanship that goes into these garments. These are all the Thom Browne pieces worn at the last Met Gala. For this thread, I will only talk about the man in the middle, Alton Mason.
Few men nowadays have to wear suits. If they do, it's more often because they choose to. However, this also puts a lot of pressure on men to try to find ways to dress things down. Often, people approach this from the wrong angle: pairing the jacket with some unusual thing.
It would be better to focus first on fit and silhouette. If a garment fits and flatters, it will look beautiful. Then, play with fabrics. Instead of the dark worsted wools in sober colors like grey and navy, as you'd wear for business, try a linen suit (esp good for summer).
This is a very bad and inaccurate reading of my views. Not only do I frequently link aesthetics to politics and culture, but I think things are improving in all these areas. I will explain in this thread. 🧵
What you think is the symbol of respectability was not always seen as such. At the turn of the 20th century, men in high positions—such as finance, law, and government—wore the frock coat. Working-class administrators and clerks wore the suit.
Frock-coat men and those who wanted to appear more upper class looked down on the rough attire of laborers. Polemical writers said the fustian lounge suit—a precursor of the business suit—was evidence of fecklessness, laziness, and the wasted lives of immoral people.