A Suitable Wardrobe

In Memoriam

2009-11-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

The photo shows the late President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, on the day of his assassination, November 22, 1963.Kennedy was wearing one of his typical two button suits. Like the also deceased Duke of Windsor, JFK's single breasted jackets had buttons 2" above and 2" below the waist rather than the more common button on the waistline. This style looks best when both buttons

Cool Weather Staples

2009-11-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

Keep cool air at bay with a classic printed silk scarf with hand knotted fringed ends. In dark red with antique white dots, it measures a generous 12" wide by 67" long (30 CM wide by 170 cm long) so it can be tied in any of the classic scarf knots under an overcoat or worn with a jacket instead of a necktie. $335 from A Suitable Wardrobe including sales tax and shipping in the continental United

History On Sale

2009-11-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

A number of items from the wardrobe of the late Duke of Windsor will be auctioned this coming December 8 at Kerry Taylor Auctions in London. Lots 120-123 include shirts, ties, shoes, a cream silk dinner jacket by Metzel and a cream linen suit by H. Harris. Everything on offer was apparently in the original 1997 Sotheby's sale of the late Duke's effects.Special buttons graced much of the Duke's

Henry Poole & Co

2009-11-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Simon Cundey and Alex Cooke (that is he in the background) of Henry Poole & Co. visited San Francisco's Huntington Hotel this week. In the second half of the nineteenth century Poole was perhaps the greatest society tailor that ever has been, and it remains a pillar of Savile Row. Cundey's suit in the photo exemplifies Poole's middle of the road house style that lies mid-way between London's soft

Fancy Shirts

2009-11-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Joe Hemrajani of MyTailor.com is in the City this week and we spent a pleasant afternoon talking about fabrics and shirts, particularly David and John Anderson's Zephir 170 Lino. The Lino is a 50/50 cotton and linen mix with a great hand and an open weave for warm weather. Joe has been wearing the Lino these past spring and summer, and was enthusiastic about how well it does all the warm weather

The House of Elliot Lives On

2009-11-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Near the end of several enjoyable months spent viewing thirty-some episodes of the BBC television series The House of Eliott, about a London couture house in the 1920's, I was sent publicity materials for Stowers Bespoke. Stowers is a Savile Row tailor presenting couture for ladies.Now, the English tailors of my acquaintance will all make clothing for ladies. Unfortunately, most of that looks

High Gloss Was Hard Work

2009-11-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

Polishing shoes was a considerably more arduous task before the Second World War and the development of modern tanning processes. The standard leather used for bespoke men's shoes pre-war was waxed calf, which is the rough reversed side of the hide that is now used for suede.Waxed calf can be brought to a high gloss similar to that of patent leather but the cost is literally weeks of polishing

Take Care With Accessories

2009-11-15T17:30:00.000-08:00

Accessories are perhaps the most important part of a wardrobe, and to the extent possible should always be of the highest quality. For not only do they vary the look of a jacket from wearing to wearing, great neckties, squares and scarves improve the look of the tailored clothing they accompany. The opposite may be even more true.Scarves in particular offer opportunities to add variety to one's

Red, White and Blue

2009-11-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Red, white and blue felt appropriate a few days ago for Veterans Day (Remembrance Day or Armistice Day outside the United States). As I dressed, the combination felt like it might be too common, but I saw no-one else wearing anything similar. Chestnut Edward Green semi-brogues, cream flannel trousers by Salvatore Ambrosi and a University of Pennsylvania necktie that is awfully similar to that of

Après Ski

2009-11-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

An antique white on dark navy silk scarf printed with skiers to wear tongue in cheek, or, less likely, after skiing. Constructed as a tube of thirty ounce silk with hand knotted fringe, 30 cm by 170 cm (12 inches wide by 67 inches long). $325 from A Suitable Wardrobe (email will at dynend dot com), including sales tax and shipping in the continental United States. There are only three of these

Tuck in Your Scarf

2009-11-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

When a man wears a silk scarf with a jacket instead of a necktie, tucking the ends into a sleeveless vee necked sweater vest reduces the flamboyance of the combination considerably.When when one chooses to eschew a necktie this look is probably a less risky choice than an ascot (yes, there are those in the United States who continue to believe that they would be pummeled within an inch of their

The Temperature Gap

2009-11-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

Temperate climates may have four seasons but wardrobes benefit from three, despite the clothing business's division of the year into two. Clothing's autumn/winter and spring/summer seasons do not quite do the trick when it comes to tailored clothing, for jackets wear comfortably within a range of perhaps 25 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees C).Men's jackets are worn without additional outerwear

Modelling the Day's Clothes

2009-11-10T10:30:00.000-08:00

Whether done the night before or first thing in the morning, modelling the day's clothing can help a man visualize how his ensemble will look to others before he gets dressed. A doorknob and a suit hanger are all that is required.It may be easiest to put the suit or jacket and trousers out first. This can also be a good time to place the trousers in a press while choosing shoes, shirt, tie and

Gray, Black and White

2009-11-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

Since gray cloth as you know is woven from a combination of black and white threads, a reliable way to complement a gray city suit is with the same colors. Or, technically, the same color and lack of color. In the photograph, a gray herringbone suit combined with a light blue Chambray shirt, white dots on black knit necktie, and a gray-blue silk square with black dots. The hidden button down

Blazer Buddies

2009-11-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

On occasions when a necktie might be too much, accompany a navy blue blazer with a Pacific blue ascot with navy dots and a paisley silk pocket square in gold, navy and green on a burgundy ground. A blue royal oxford shirt, gray flannel trousers and brogued brown bluchers complete a perfect picture.

Tasty

2009-11-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Jesse Thorne at Put This On for introducing me to INVENTORY, perhaps the tastiest contemporary clothing scene I have so far encountered on the Web. Inventory has been working with a few smaller manufacturers, such as American tie maker Alexander Olch, to produce an edited selection of items for sale. My personal favorite is a brilliantly conceived pair of blue suede shoes with red brick

New Pents

2009-11-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

The mail brought a new pair of mid-weight worsted flannel trousers the other day. Or pents, if you will. That is what the Neapolitan maker, Salvatore Ambrosi, calls them and, since his English is much better than my Italian, I am happy with that name. Dormeuil's worsted flannel is usually for spring and fall but our cool Bay temperatures should permit wear during much of the summer as well. Cream

If This Is JFK It Must Be Tuesday

2009-11-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

The public face of tailoring is the thirty minutes that client and cutter spend together once or twice for each jacket or suit order. The rest of the year may be mostly introvert's work, but part of the cost of bespoke clothing is the measurement and fitting time, when the external face of the tailoring firm has the job of imparting confidence that the client will be getting the professional

Buttoning Up

2009-11-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

The 6x2 overcoat, by which we mean a coat that has six buttons on the front with two of them functional like the camel colored version worn in the photo by HRH Prince Charles, is probably the most common double breasted style. Compared to coats with three or four working buttons it exposes more shirt front, so, despite the example set by the Prince, a scarf is desireable lest a stream of cold air

The Brown Glen Check

2009-11-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

Heavy tweed takes a few wearings for the shoulders and collar to settle in and until it does the jacket to this 15 ounce/450 gram suit will keep coming off the back of my neck. The weather is a little too warm for the full regalia, so here is the jacket during the break-in process. Brown glen check jacket with red overcheck worn with brown bluchers, gray flannel trousers, a blue royal oxford

The Least Formal DJ

2009-11-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

The least formal but still correct dinner jacket that a man can own is the double breasted shawl collar. Colored black, midnight blue or even dark brown like the one Noel Coward wore with matching brown trousers, the shawl DB is one small step up from a smoking jacket, and two big steps down from white tie and tails. That is because the shawl comes directly from the smoking, which took it from

Standing Out Without Shocking

2009-10-31T07:00:00.001-07:00

Men in the public eye sometimes have reason to dress so that they stand out, and that does not mean they have to dress to shock. Consider, for example, the late French actor Philippe Noiret at the Cannes Film Festival for a photocall for the film Les Cotelettes in 2003. Brilliant, isn't he?Noiret's father was in the clothing trade and that may have given him an advantage over most of us. But

The Practical Tweed Topcoat

2009-10-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, the tweed topcoat should get more respect. Single breasted, with raglan sleeves like the coat on the right in the Esquire illustration, a ghillie collar, slash pockets and turnback sleeve cuffs, it is good looking, hard wearing, warm and rain resistant. It is cost effective as well, since the simple construction of the raglan sleeves means made to measure versions are effectively

Beautiful Shoes, Terrible Photo

2009-10-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Emma Lakin of shoemakers W. S. Foster & Son is visiting the City this week, bringing with her for fitting the first iteration of some slip-on shoes commissioned last summer.Lacking the support of laced shoes around the top of the foot, bespoke slip-ons are usually made on a separate last. Most makers want to check the first pair from any last on the client's feet before attaching the upper to the

A Sunny Day Suit

2009-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

A package arrived from Cumbria the other day containing the suit Thomas Mahon fitted this past July, just in time for the end of the season. Intended for our San Francisco "summers" where temperatures rarely reach 75f (24c), the suit is made from Smiths' 11 ounce/330 gram Finmeresco. Finmeresco is smoother than other high twist fabrics of my experience, but that comes with a price as it does not