By Sonya Glyn Nicholson.

Opening image © Andrew Fox / Corbis

Tom Wolfe has a vice. As one of the most culturally significant figures of the sixties whose work has been met with critical acclaim for books such as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and The Bonfire of the Vanities, Wolfe confesses in his essay in the NY Herald Times Tribune (1966)  that he has an obsession with the buttonholes on his suits.

Here, from The Secret Vice:

“Real buttonholes. That’s it! A man can take his thumb and forefinger and unbutton his sleeve at the wrist because this kind of suit has real buttonholes there. Tom, boy, it’s terrible. Once you know about it, you start seeing it. All the time!”

True to Wolfe’s form, men who find themselves immersed in the tailoring culture may one day, be taken by this “vice” of a severe appreciation for a handworked buttonhole on a suit, as if the buttonhole could, on its own, signal craftsman quality, just by a single coup d’oeil.  And, it seems that these men don’t want to talk about their fixation, since the entire experience feels like a lingering initiation into a select fraternity of “men in the know”.

If you have had the occasion to speak with a tailor or two, and you happened to be wearing a suit at the time, you may notice that most tailors seem to immediately direct their eyes to the lapel buttonhole on the suit you are wearing. Why? The answer may lie in the perception that it’s the fine details, like the buttonhole, that speak to the overall quality of a suit; or perhaps the reason lies within the overlooked notion that the way a buttonhole is sewn can be a form of a tailor’s signature, and serves as a means to unveil the identity of the tailor who prepared the suit. It is difficult to dispute that, although a well done buttonhole is subtle and simply stated, the buttonhole itself acts as one type of radar that can indicate the level of overall garment quality to others who know the craft.

Approach to Elegance

We can through observation, surmise that there may be two opposite “schools of thought” regarding how to embellish the fine details of a suit. One motto is “if you have it, don’t hesitate to (albeit lightly) flaunt it”. With this way of thinking, the full experience of the handmade suit includes leaving a working buttonhole open on the cuff (a practice said to originate with surgeons who at times, needed to unbutton their cuffs and “roll-up their sleeves” in order to work). These like-minded men may also prefer a fully visible label inside the coat which states the name of the tailor’s house and the full name of the suit owner. Strong pick-stitching and a single contrasting buttonhole thread color may be preferred. And, if taken to great lengths, fabric threads may be interlaid with gold or even with their full name (like the “famous” Scabal Private Line. No comment) and sewn into fabric derived from exotic animals to signify stately opulence.

We all enjoy a bit of flash and glory at times, and this approach to bespoke suiting is neither bad nor good, but just an indicator of how a person chooses to indulge in his suiting. This school of thinking would tell us that you will not see terra-cotta roofing on a starter home, nor a personalized sill plaque on a Ford Pinto.

Another approach when acquiring a handmade suit, is to embrace discretion and understatement while not compromising on quality. It is the difference between choosing an Aston Martin painted high gloss candy apple red or a customized lacquered steel grey color. Both choices produce an incredible result, yet the personality of these two car owners are likely, very different.

The discreet handmade suit owner derives pleasure from an inner knowingness of quality that is not obvious. Others may see this man of discretion as having an immaculate appearance with no clue as to why or how he carries off such a magnificent countenance. Milanese buttonholes, shoulder shirring, careful placement of the lapel notch, and hidden labels are things of pleasure to this man, and may only be understood among other comrades looking to earn their stripes in the world of understated elegance.

We all find pleasure in the feeling of belonging and a “sense of knowing”. Being discreet feels like being part of a respectable and exclusive club whose members savor the flavors of craftsmanship taken to a higher plain, and seek to understand the turn of a hand required to make a buttonhole stitch and even the personal story of the cutter in the house of their tailor.

Celebrated Buttonholes

The buttonhole inspires these reflections of the meanings and stories behind the finer points of tailoring. In taking the journey towards understanding the buttonhole, we must keep in mind that the buttonhole itself may also serve as a “thumbprint” to identify individual tailors.

To some, it may seem like there is too much fuss around the handmade buttonhole. Yet, making the buttonhole by hand can be a paramount task on a bespoke suit. In comparing buttonholes made by machine versus made by hand, machine-made buttonholes are first stitched, and then cut. Alternatively, hand worked buttonholes are first cut and then stitched. This leaves no room for error, since the buttonholes are cut after most of the work on the suit is complete, raising the bar to requiring perfect cutting and stitching of the buttonhole.

The Asolsa Lucida glossy buttonhole most likely originated in the Abruzzi region of Italy is also preferred in Paris, whose tailors (typically originating from Italy) refer to this style of buttonhole as the Milanese buttonhole.  The silk gimp, key to the overall look, is usually from Guterman and is known as Agreman. For those who would really like to deep dive in the subject, please follow Jeffery’s blog (Made by Hand – The Great Sartorial Debate), which is, in any sartorial matter, second to none.

Now take a look as some buttonhole constructions of some well-known or more obscure houses. These pictures principally feature the Milanese lapel buttonhole. But as you can see on the Kiton’s examples, handmade buttonholes can also have different shapes and a more flat surface. Question of taste.

Paul Grassart :

Cifonelli :

Tom Ford :

Chittleborough & Morgan – Savile Row

Mariano Rubinacci :

Francesco Smalto Couture :

Kiton :

Brioni (wonderful front button hole) :

Cifonelli “Yack” wool sport jacket : milanese porn !

As an additional check for quality, and as explained in this interesting piece of   The Economist: Intelligent Life, buttonholes should be slightly ragged at the back—little imperfections are the stamps of bespoke.

Huntsman & Sons :

Considering the hours of work put into creating the handworked buttonhole, this sole work of craftsmanship definitely deserves its moment of glory.

Sonya Glyn Nicholson – Senior Editor

as you know, we were in Dubai and Hong Kong this last week for the screening events of La Beauté du Geste with Maison Corthay.

As these events were, one more time, nothing short of wonderful, we will of course be delighted to share with you a full picture report in the coming days.

During the Dubai’s trip, we also had the pleasure to visit a very special camel leather tannery literally located in the desert close to Abou Dabi, with which Maison Corthay just set up a partnership in order to produce high-end shoes with this widely overlooked exotic skin.

During this mesmerizing  visit, we were in very good company with, among others, Nick Scott, editor-in-chief at The Rake Magazine, and Eric Musgrave, a worldwide acclaimed columnist and writer on men’s style (Financial Times, Bespoken for Scabal).

Eric just published a very nice and detailed report on this visit  and granted us the honor to allow us to publish it on Parisian Gentleman.

As you know it’s always a joy for us to open our columns to writers we find talented and inspiring. Eric Musgrave is indisputably a preeminent voice in the field of menswear and we are more than happy to introduce his wonderful work to our readers.

Corthay’s camel leather creations

by Eric Musgrave (http://www.ericmusgrave.co.uk)

The grainy leather of these handsome men’s shoes is camel skin. The French luxury bootmaker Maison Corthay this week took me to the United Arab Emirates to see where it sources this interesting and unusual leather. It was a fascinating trip.

It takes very little time to escape the futuristic concentration of downtown Dubai and find yourself in the desert. We drove south-east into Abu Dhabi for about two hours, where very occasionally we’d spot a few wandering dromedary camels. The legendary “ship of the desert” has been domesticated for about 5,000 years and most of the locals here – it is true Bedouin country – keep at least a few camels. As well as being raised as a means of transport or for racing, the camel provides dairy products (you can buy camel milk chocolate in the UAE) and meat.

The Al Khaznah Tannery, which is surrounded by sand dunes in what appears to be the middle of nowhere, was set up by the Abu Dhabi government in 2003 to process the by-products of the camel meat trade. It is a compact processing unit of about 75,000sq ft (7,000sq m) that employs 84 people to produce about 5.3m sq ft of leather each year. Some 80% of the production is of camel skin, with the rest being shared between cow, goat and sheep. The plant is extremely eco-friendly, with a fully integrated system for re-cycling the many gallons of water that are used in the tanning process. It is one of only four tanneries in the world to recycle its water.

Most importantly, the tanning process at the plant is claimed to be unique, being free of the chrome and aluminium commonly used in tanneries. The technically advanced leather produced here is also biodegradable, which is not the case with conventionally-tanned skins.The tannery general manager is Jean-Marie Gigante, a Frenchman who used to work for Hèrmes, and the operations manager is Wolfgang Schmälzle, a German with three decades of experience in tanneries around the world. For the detailed story of the tannery, I recommend a visit to its website. Monsieur Gigante, who clearly knows his stuff, describes camel skin as “a leather and a half”.

The skins arrive from a nearby slaughterhouse and are wet and salted to begin the process of removing the outer hair. These are goat skins (sadly no raw camel skins were on show the day we visited).

The entire tanning process takes about 10 weeks and it takes three to four days just to dissolve the hair and prepare the material for the tanning process. The bare skins look and feel like dirty versions of a wash leather. Despite the sophisticated mechanisation of the process, tanning is still a labour-intensive industry as every skin has to be handled and arranged at various stages in the process.

The natural and sustainable extracts used in the eco-friendly tanning process are added in these drums or “reactors”. The skins have to be of a similar size or the larger ones will absorb more of the extracts than the smaller ones. Camel skins tanned here can vary from about 2sq ft to 20sq ft in size, depending on the age of the animal and how the hide has been cut, so sorting them is another labour-intensive task.

The tanned skin can be left in a pile on a pallet to “pickle” or “age” for a time to give it more character. Many subtleties can be applied to the whole process. Camel hide is typically 2-3mm thick, which is too much for most end-uses, so it is sliced horizontally or “split”. The skin that was nearest the carcass is called a “split” and is commonly used to produce a cost-effective alternative to real suede leathers. The outer level is the more valuable and goes into Corthay’s high-quality shoes. These images show the skins before and after splitting.

The uneven split hides are then shaved to a uniform thickness to a tolerance of only 1/10th of a mm – a gauge is used to check that the thickness is consistent.

As mentioned above, water is a constant ingredient of the tanning process and before the leather is finished, most of the moisture has to be removed. Gently pressing the hides through a heated roller is the first stage and then the skins are hung up for a leisurely tour of part of the plant on an overhead conveyor system to dry naturally. It is essential that the skins retain around 8-10% moisture – we all know the horrible damage caused when shoes are dried out too aggressively after a soaking in the rain.

One of the distinct attributes of camel leather is its natural grain, as seen here, before the skin is finished. The older the animal, the more pronounced the grain.

Among the many and varied finishing stages is the application of colour. The skins are dyed in bulk in drums, while individual finishes, like a high-gloss or patent coating, are done individually. There is no shortage of options at Al Khaznah.

The tannery was conceived under the instructions of the BLC Leather Technology Centre in Northampton England, which is one of the arbiters of leather standards worldwide. Its camel skins are widely used in the aviation industry, which is particularly demanding on the quality and performance of leather for aircraft seats. The lab at the tannery performs constant quality control tests for qualities such as resistance to abrasion, water-resistance and tensile strength. Camel hide has about 10 times more fibres in its construction than bovine hide, making it appreciably stronger, despite it being very soft and supple. In the standard test tearing test for respective leathers, cow hide ripped under a force of 240 newtons (the amount needed to accelerate 1kg of mass at the rate of 1m per second squared), while a comparable sample of camel hide finally ripped under a force of 725 newtons, making it three times as strong as cow leather.

Our short visit to Al Khaznah was a fascinating eye-opener for me to all the work and expertise that is needed to prepare leather even before it is used in any finished goods. I suspect that very few consumers know much about shoe construction; even fewer would have a clue about what had gone into getting camel skin from the animal’s back to the luscious soft, strong and seductive skin that goes into Maison Corthay’s shoes.

The French brand has used the camel skin in its best-selling Arca style, which is a signature design by company founder Pierre Corthay. The camel style comes in four colours – black, white, cognac (a reddish brown) and light brown. It was launched in Corthay’s Dubai store last October as a salute to the region’s heritage, but this season it will be available at all Corthay stores worldwide, including the branch at 24A Motcomb Street, London SW1 8JU, close to Harvey Nichols. The camel leather shoes retail for around £1,000 – £1,100, at only a small premium to the standard Arca in calf leather, which starts at £940.

Some things are difficult to explain.

I know a lawyer who shut down his law business one day and became a ranger in the army. I know a neighbor who sold most of her belongings one weekend, and left on Monday to live on an Indian reservation. I know a sales rep who left the United States to herd sheep in Israel. There are men who sew. There are women who race cars.

I’ve never been the type to “push” women’s rights because to me, people are who they are. Why complicate things? And, I’m led to wonder if maybe there are times when we need to think less globally and more individually. After all, if women are going to go on a rally to advocate women’s rights, then it’s only correct that men are free to rally for men’s rights.

But, men aren’t complaining about the disadvantages of being male. Consider the issue of most universities having a clearly higher ratio of women versus men in their institutions. I don’t hear many complaints from guys on this point. And, consider that a huge number of men have the monumental responsibility of being the sole financial supporter for the women and children that they hold dear. Of course, some women do the same, as I was the sole supporter of my family for a few years.

It is true that many women are victims in different situations of life and that they do need help. These instances are not the examples referred to here. These reflections are about the stuff dreams are made of and about the freedom to create the dynamics of our own world.

Women who are different face most of the same challenges as men who are different confront. In their earlier years, it probably wasn’t easy for the great tailors in the world to explain to their teenage friends that they like to sew. And I can relate to these men. When I worked for a well-known corporation, I had to infiltrate a sect of mostly male engineers.  In starting out, naturally I didn’t expect it to be easy to be accepted by these highly skilled and technically-minded men and generally understood how upbringing, past experiences and customs influence our perceptions. The challenge to be respected in my field made me work harder, think faster, push further, and know more. I was humbled by my task. I learned to listen. I learned to apologize when I was wrong and act fast to correct my errors. I learned to respect my teachers, but also respect my own abilities. And I will always remember the men who saw my potential and the men that didn’t judge me but saw a light in me that told them that I had something to contribute.

In this place of men’s style, it makes sense that some men may wince a little when women embrace this oasis where men play dress-up in a very serious way. After all, to speak well on a subject and understand the topic fully, many times we need to live the subject for real in our lives.

I remember a very serious Jewish accountant who discovered one day that he had a clear passion for jazz music. Unbelievably, he took up guitar and happened to have a supernatural talent for the instrument. Today, the field of accounting is part of his past, and he performs in respected venues all over the southeast U.S.  He hadn’t lived the subject of jazz music, but on what may have been the most important day of his life, he discovered and acted on his passion for jazz music.

I am also reminded that women have “dressed” an inordinate amount of men to the point that these men were treated more like sons than partners. And, when this group of men one day discover their own power in creating their specific persona through the avenue of men’s style, there is a shift in their thinking, and they even find a sacred camaraderie among other men who understand their discovery. These men seem to cherish this camaraderie. And when a woman enters their realm again and lends her thoughts and intrigue with men’s style, it can happen that past experiences with women may sometimes raise issues of, albeit kindhearted–control and slight manipulation within their lives, even if the help was appreciated in the past. It’s not a fault for men to feel this way, but it is an advantage for women  to try to understand the potential dynamics of the male mind if women want to be involved in a male industry.

I’ve come to realize that this place of men’s elegance can be a place of acceptance for men and women alike, along with the very old and the very young and all ages in-between, representing all continents across the planet. And a large number of authorities in the area of male elegance  have made it clear that elegance is a place where a combination of watercolors and oils, sartorial chalks and leaded pencils are more interesting than a place of strictly Monet productions, although the study of solely Monet has its rightful place:

Talking about attitudes and perceptions can feel uncomfortable. Even while writing this, I shift around in my chair a bit, because I know that I can’t  really speak for others nor tell them how they feel or why they may act as they do. I’m not trained in psychology or sociology; yet still, I observe, listen, read, and attempt to understand the dynamics of the field that I feel closest to right now.

There is a tribute due particularly to men who keep their eyes and hearts open to the contributions, emotions, and expressions by people from different cultures, upbringing, ages, personalities, and genders. These people inspire me to develop my own peripheral vision in thinking outside of myself. So, if you are one of these people, we send you a heartfelt “thank you”.

We at PG would like to pay tribute to some of the great craftswomen, designers, leaders, and voices who have made a difference in the realm of men’s elegance. If you are able to contribute to this standing list, we would like to hear from you.

Olga Berluti, who reinvented the contemporary men’s shoe in the 1980s and to whom many men today owe their passion for shoes.

Youn Chong Bak : Artistic director at Smalto, who managed with great inspiration to be faithful to the eponymous founder’s cutting-edge style while discreetly matching with the contemporary air du temps.

Rose Callahan : Photographer, curator and creator of “The Dandy Portraits, the Lives of Exquisite Gentlemen Today“, a global project which includes a blog, a book, photographies and films.

Yoshimi Hasegawa : Author of “Savile Row, A Glimpse into the World of English Tailoring” and one of the greatest commentators of men’s bespoke in Japan.

Anda Rowland : Director at Anderson & Sheppard and one of the preeminent faces of Savile Row. Very active in the Savile Row Bespoke Association. Here with Audie Charles, who is running Anderson & Sheppard’s new Haberdashery venue  in Clifford Street.

Emma Willis : One of the rising stars of men’s bespoke shirt making in Jermyn Street.

Saskia Wittmer : a female German men’s bootmaker working…in Florence Italy.

Deborah Carre : half of Carreducker, bespoke bootmaker at Gieves & Hawkes with James Ducker.

Kirsty McDougall : half of Dashing Tweeds, a very creative textile and men’s attires company co-created with Guy Hills.

Sonya Glyn Nicholson.

It’s surprising to notice that so many people with exquisite taste fail to notice the importance of a good collar fit with no “collar gap”. In my own experience, I have been slow to pay attention to collar gaps on suits, especially when mesmerized by an otherwise incredible look of an ensemble.

Compared to many readers, I am fairly new to the world of tailoring, with only about two years of suit-making self-study. Yet I have noticed, after spending many years in surgical wear and fabric design (with patents on a major surgical fabric product) that I have gained a real fascination with the dynamics of garment appearance, fit and function. Out of all the components of suit making that I’ve learned to date, it is particularly interesting to watch how collar fit affects the front and back fit of a coat.

Collar fit is such a strong component to the overall look of the suit, and if we start paying attention to different collar presentations, then we can quickly spot examples of a properly sewn suit collar and a poorly constructed suit collar. Here is a prime example of a poorly constructed suit collar that may be “fault elusive” to many. It is a pinterest sensation that is hard not to like, with a real problem–a shouting collar gap:

Even our dear Prince Charles, in his earlier years, made the mistake of wearing a suit with the dreaded collar gap in one of his portraits. Here we see a photo of the Prince years ago, with a text book example of how a collar gap contributes to the front V-Tug of the suit coat. But, not to worry since in the years that followed, prominent Savile Row houses such as Anderson & Sheppard promptly corrected the problem with technical precision. Take a look at the Prince’s before and after photos.

In this photo, we see:

1. an obvious coat collar gap with the jacket pulling away from the shirt,

2. the shirt collar is showing fully underneath the coat collar on the back of the neck, instead of less than 3/4″ (or less than 2 cm) of shirt collar fabric that should extend from the coat collar.

3. the classic front panel V-tug, and “fabric collapsing” in the chest area,

4. a secondary collapsing gap created between one of the lapels on the coat and the shirt itself, causing the lapel to lose its intended straight line.

Of course, the prince does have his hand in his pocket, which can affect the overall look, but since he is doing so carefully while choreographing his pose, we can conclude that his pose probably has minimal affect on the front drape of his coat.

And now, notice the corrections in this suit:

In this photo, we see the following corrections:

1. the suit collar follows the shirt collar closely, with what appears to be around less than 3/4″ (less than 2 cm) of shirt collar showing,

2. there is the correct amount of tugging of fabric around the chest and waist area of the coat, and

3. the overlapping lapel does not rise and curve against the shirt, but lies flat at a straight angle.

THE PHYSICS OF A SUIT COLLAR

To understand the physics of fabric draping that occurs when there is a collar gap, perform a simple exercise:

First, take hold of the back of the collar of the shirt or coat that you are wearing now and pull the collar backwards. You will notice two things that happen:

1.The front panel of your shirt or coat will pull up upwards, creating a “V-Tug” appearance with some fabric collapsing around the chest area.

2. The back of your shirt or coat will “bunch”, creating fabric folds.

When the collar is working in the opposite direction of the neck, an opposing upward pull occurs on the front of the jacket, and fabric is pulled up and “bunches” around the upper back.

Yet, when the collar is sewn properly and hugs the neck, these problems are eliminated.

To illustrate the point, pull your collar downwards, towards your neck, and notice the dynamics that occur in correcting the chest and upper back fit.

In this situation, the fabric on the back of the jacket is secured flush against the body and the fabric in front works with gravity to create a nice drape with the correct amount of tugging around the chest and the waist of a well-sewn suit.

Compare the different upper back results in the following two suits:

Upper back “Bunching”

Smooth upper back

Here, the close fit of the collar is vital in helping the fabric across the upper back lie smoothly against the body.

HOW UNEVEN SHOULDERS CAN CAUSE A COLLAR GAP

Most of us are not exactly evenly proportioned. And, it’s not unusual for one shoulder to be lower than the other shoulder. When wearing a ready-to-wear suit, the person with uneven shoulders can see a few problems occur:

If the left shoulder is higher, as seen below, in a ready-to-wear suit that is uniformly sewn,

* a collar gap will form, usually around the shoulder that is set lower, and

* fabric bunching will occur that moves in the direction the higher shoulder (as seen above)

In the photos of Prince Charles above, his right shoulder appears lower than his left shoulder, and the collar gap is showing against his weaker shoulder. In the photo that follows, it appears that his tailor has made the corrections necessary to even out the appearance of his shoulders.

Other than slightly adjusting the coat button positions (moving the buttons a fraction higher or lower) on these problem-suits which are pulling either to the left of the right, or a valiant attempt to slightly pad the lower shoulder, there is little that one can do to correct this type collar gap problem on a ready-to-wear suit. A person with offset shoulders should whenever possible, have his or her suits handmade.

IT’S ABOUT AWARENESS

As we take notice of how the collar fits around the neck, we develop an eye for fine tailoring.

Here are some contrasting examples of the bad and the good:

Collar gap with classic V-Tug with collapsing fabric and a curved (instead of straight) left lapel.

And now for the good:

PG Director Greg Jacomet in Cifonelli (who worked with an uneven shoulder). Here there is no collar-gap, around 2 cm of shirt collar showing in back, a straight lapel angle, and the correct amount of front tugging.

Stefan Bernard in a Zegna jacket. Notice the close collar fit on both sides of the neck, and the correct front panel tugging. The lapel angle is intentionally curved instead of straight, with both lapels curved and angled evenly.

Pal Zileri. A nice RTW specimen on all counts.

There are a few things you can do to improve the situation of dealing with a collar gap, ranging from wearing wide-spread shirt collars to mitigate the appearance of the collar opening to looking at having a tailor build up a weak shoulder on the coat, to making a subtle shift in button placement to improve a pull of the coat to the left or to the right (again, usually indicted by uneven shoulders). But, of course, having the collar correctly made to form to your neck from the beginning will save a lot of trouble in the end.

Any fool can know, the point is to understand- Albert Einstein

Sonya Glyn Nicholson

sources:

Dress Like a Grown Up

The Garment Doctor: The Collar Gap

Garment Doctor Series

Bespoke Suits in Singapore: Kevin Seah

Kempt: How a Spread Collar Can Improve a Collar Gap

Lately, more men are expanding their knowledge beyond the subjects of cars, watches, scotch and cigars, and entering into a whole new realm of knowing the pleasure of owning a handmade suit. In this series of The Signals of a Handmade Suit, we jump headfirst into a technical swimming pool of tailoring aspects…to seek what it is about tailoring that gives pleasure to the eyes of men and women when we see a handmade suit. In a way, many of us are becoming aesthetes who simply appreciate beauty. And this penchant for what is beautiful, naturally leads us into the world of tailoring.

While the shoulder area of the suit is one of the easiest places for the tailor to measure, delivering the desired aesthetic look of the shoulder is, in itself…an art .  And, if you recall that the lapel roll can be the first signal of a handmade suit (as discussed in the first article of the series), then perhaps you will agree that quality shoulder expression is next (if not tied for first) as the second signal of a suit made by hand.

Shoulders are the most defining element of the silhouette of a jacket. They can be natural,  soft, convex, concave, lightly padded, padded or built up or knocked-down. Shoulder expression is simply the shape and appearance of the shoulder area of a coat. The shoulder area sets the parameters for the silhouette and drape of the suit,and so a technically correct cut is vital, of course. But just as importantly, is the “feeling” the shoulder expression evokes, creating real messages ranging from tones of professional to regal and from sporty to scholarly. A man who knows and understands himself, and is armed with some bare fundamentals on tailoring, should instinctively know which shoulder expression he prefers.

The construction of the shoulder should complement the build of the body. Sloping shoulders may need padding to lift the area. Narrow shoulders with a gut may want to slightly extend the horizontal shoulder area to offset things a bit. A body with a strong V shape, may shun strong shoulders in favor of more balance. But, a good shoulder construction is not too big (no sagging shoulder crown over the shoulder line) and not too small (provides relative ease in moving arms from front to back). All the rest is a matter of personal taste.

The old way of classifying shoulders types has been through describing where a suit is made. It seems silly these days to do this, since there are so many expats living in different places that we now have access to rich cross-cultural talent in various locations aound the world. And face it, the Italian tailors can’t really be classified because they will do almost anything (and usually do it well). At any rate, since these categories are often referred to, then it is worth a quick look at these designated “shoulder styles”:

1. American

Natural shoulder, very minimal padding, follows the shape of the body. The sack suit, the perennial “preppy look”

2. British

Stiffer suiting with a lightly padded shoulder. which compliments a nipped waist.

3. Italian

Versatile shoulders ranging from a strong and defined shoulder area, either with a “roped” look or with shirring (pleats) that makes the shoulders appear broader, to a natural shoulder made with tailoring precision. Note: Italian expertise in shoulder construction is so varied, that it often overlaps with British and American norms of shoulder expression.

EXPRESSING THE SHOULDER

Notice below how by simply altering the shoulder construction of three similar coats, a completely different look for each piece results. Let’s name the shoulder expressions below as:

1. Pagoda Concave “Rope” Shoulder (Italian)

2. Straight Shoulder (British)

3. Sloping Shoulder (American)

Also demonstrated nicely in this photograph, are the main two components that make up the top of the shoulder sleeve: the crown, which is either lifted, left flat or knocked down (as demonstrated above), and the area that connects the sleeve to the coat, the shoulder ridge, which can range from a deep ridge, to a light ridge, to a knocked down ridge, as also shown above.

ITALIAN/FRENCH TAILORING – Expressive and structured shoulders

The Cifonelli Shoulder worn by Alexander Kraft

Higher armholes, cut slightly larger than the norm will give the appearance of an improved posture and broader shoulders. Many Italian tailors pride themselves on the fact that they prefer to eschew shoulder padding in favor of working with canvas and fabric to get the shoulder look they want. A wider shoulder cut allows room to move around (except perhaps not to raise your hands above your head because of the high-cut armholes. But not to worry, since Hugo tells me that whoever wears Cifonelli suits never surrenders anyway).

ITALIAN TAILORING – No padding please

Here are two Italian Neapolitan unpadded shoulder constructions: Left: Pagado, or Con Rollino, which means “with roll” (a very narrow and slightly puckered sleevehead, normally unpadded, where excess fabric bulk pushes up the sleevehead, creating an elegant rope effect). RIGHT: spalla / manica camicia (knocked-down shirt-sleeve tailoring, usually with shirring, which follows the shape of the body and falls naturally and is usually prepared by a high-level RTW house, or a Neapolitan Tailor).

The Neapolitan Touch — Shirring

A notable feature on some Italian shoulder constructions is the process of shirring, or pleat-like folds at the seam where the sleeve connects to the shoulder. In this process, the upper sleeve is cut significantly larger than the armscye (arm cut-out on the coat itself), and since there is more cloth on the outer cut than on the inner cut, the fabric puckers and gathers around the shoulder area, when the sleeve is sewn onto the coat.

One of the best commentaries I’ve seen on the perceptions created by shirring the shoulders is taken from the “London Lounge”:

This is not done for aesthetics, although the devotees of the style certainly claim it is beautiful. To the unknowing eye, it looks sloppy, like a sign of inferior tailoring. But it most definitely is not. It is not to everyone’s taste, however, and de gustibus, as the saying goes. Anyway, it is done for comfort and freedom of movement. Classic Neapolitan coats have very small armholes, very close shoulders, and relatively lean bodies—more roomy than a Roman or Continental coat, but less than traditional Savile Row, and much less than what is typically made in America. The large upper sleeve combined with the tight armhole, draped chest, fullness over the blades, and soft front canvas give the arms a most free range of movement. The coat can be worn all day, in almost any circumstance. The heat might get to you, but you will be able to do whatever it is that you need to do without having to take off your coat. (Within reason.) Source: BespokenN 

 The Roman Shoulder — Yet Another Italian Option

The Roman Shoulder, Brioni

The Roman Shoulder is more structured and, unlike the puckered con rollino shoulder, is unpleated and slightly padded. This construction emphasizes the “V” shape of a man and results in a “masculine look”.

The general rule is that if you have strong shoulders, you may opt for less padding; but if your shoulders are more weak, then it is best to choose padding in the shoulder area, in order to give the illusion of broadening the shoulder area.

BRITISH TAILORING — Straight to the Point

The shoulder line is key on a bespoke suit. Once you have a strong understanding of that, the rest flows from there. ~Ozwald Boateng

According to AW London / Savile Row, there are three British shoulder construction standards:

A Classic British Suit – The Shoulder

1. The shoulders should neither be too narrow or to wide, but slightly hug the shoulder

2. Shoulders should be padded to add structure, rather than bulk

3. There should be a sharp 90 degree right angle between the shoulder and the sleeve of the suit

British tailors have historically used just enough padding to follow the natural shoulder line, with a precision fit that could be suited for the military. Some tailors will barely extend the natural shoulder line so that the sleeve will hang straighter.

AMERICAN TAILORING — No Strange Shoulders, Please

Iconic tailor Martin Greenfield. A great man.

Neapolitan tailors are known for their unpadded shoulders, and traditional American tailoring is known for the same. This can be a confusing point when trying to differentiate the two international styles.

The 1980s left pictures in our heads of Americans dressed like MC Hammer in oversized coats that gave the appearance that men everywhere had borrowed an oversized Marlon Brando jacket for the evening. With this image difficult to shake, many American men are finally discovering the elation that a properly fitted suit brings. Fine tailors like Nino Corvato and Leonard Logsdail of NYC are getting the look right. And American men seem to trust Anderson & Sheppard in London to make a well-tailored suit that they don’t feel strange wearing.

And also, not everyone wants to emphasize their shoulders. Some shoulders are so broad, that broadening them out more with a wide shoulder design would result in looking like a carnival Strongman. Others just want a balanced shoulder that doesn’t draw attention to itself. Instead, a more sporty or toned-down look is wanted with soft shoulders that have a natural and continuous line running from the top of the shoulder towards the arm. Hence, the sloping shoulder construction comes to the rescue.

How Much Knowledge is Enough?

There is much more detail that can be given about how the shoulder of a handmade suit is constructed, but hopefully for those not already familiar with shoulder construction options for a suit, with a simple familiarization about which shoulder options are out there, we are able to make informed choices, instead of simply “hoping for the best” when investing in a handmade suit.

Sonya Glyn Nicholson

sources:

Valet Handbook

Shoulder Expression, Style Forum, Jeffery D.

The London Cut, James Sherwood

Cuffs, Ruffs & Contours: dressing men’s necks

by Dr Benjamin Wild

(http://linleywild.com/)

Charley: The young ones have no manners. The other day at the carwash, a young man looked me up and down and asked me if I was a natural blonde.

George: What did you say?

Charley: I looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘well let’s just say, if I stood on my head, I’d be a natural brunette with lovely breath.

George: You didn’t?

Charley: I did.

The ribald exchange between the despondent Charley and the depressive George Falconer in Tom Ford’s movie adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man is an impertinent, if wickedly funny, addition. The dialogue is Ford’s. It does not feature in Isherwood’s original novel, and nor can we imagine it doing so. The pun works in the movie because it pierces the enveloping darkness and distracts, if momentarily, from the apparent inevitably of George’s suicide when the dinner party with Charley ends. For me, the pun also works on another level. In choosing to use a gag that references the sexual innuendo about matching ‘collar and cuffs’, Ford could not have been oblivious to the obvious sartorial allusion and the fact that his personal dress is often remarked upon for the sharpness of his actual collar and cuffs. I like to think Ford is having a bit of fun, finding another way to put his subtle mark on the movie. To his credit, he does this without compromising the integrity of Isherwood’s deeply moving story. Fundamentally, and for my purposes most pressingly, Charley’s ripe rhetoric reveals how sartorially – and culturally – significant the collar and cuffs are.

STUFF & NONSENSE?

According to Alan Flusser, a doyen of modern men’s dress, 1827 was a particularly significant year for the collar. This is when a certain Mrs Montague, of Troy, New York, no less, cut the collars from her husband’s shirts, because they were a nuisance to iron. ‘Thus was born the detachable collar.’[i] Flusser is right, but his no-nonsense guide to fine dress overlooks the fact that Mrs Montague’s act of sartorial vandalism – even if her husband’s shirts were ‘filthy’ – was to revive a style, rather than create one.

Since the sixteenth century aristocratic men (and women) had been wearing detachable collars or ruffs, as the starched and frilled variants are invariably termed, to denote their membership of an early modern Leisure Class. Like their American successors, whom Thorstein Veblen theorised about in the nineteenth century, the early adopters of the ruff, whose head was literally ‘held high in an attitude of disdain’, indicated to all that they were unable to undertake practical labours, and did not need to.[ii] The ruff had an avowedly sociological purpose, as portraits of Ançien Régime aristocrats reveal. It was also delicate. If the intricately cut and embroidered starched lace got wet, it would instantly droop, which would have been a fitting, if frustrating, reminder that facades can slip.

The powerful portraiture also shows that the silhouette of men’s dress between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries was generally tubular, although toward the end of this period shoulders were narrower.[iii] So long as the sun shone, the ruff increased the man’s physical size and, simultaneously, drew attention to the terminus between the body and head.

SEXUALLY CHARGED

More so than the ankles and waist, the neck has always been an alluring erogenous zone. This point is possibly more apparent for women, whose garments occasionally feature plunging necklines revealing, and crucially also concealing, their chest. That said, an increasing number of men (including Tom Ford) seem keen to flash their ‘man cleavage’ or ‘he-vage’, as the practice is derogatively referred to. For men, a delicate balance needs to be struck. Revealing a lot of neck and chest seems to work if you have a carpet of chest hair à la Tom Jones. A time machine to transport you back to the Seventies would also be a boon. To reveal too much neck and lack the chest hair can bring on the charge of effeminacy. There is another issue. For a man to wear an open neck or loose collar is, and always has been, to signify that he is casual in mode and ‘off duty’. Serious men wear their collars fastened and tight. Too tight for some. The Men’s Dress Reform Party, active in England between 1929 and 1940, declared:

…the time has come when, for instance, the young neck of boys, as well as those of girls, should have their share light of air and not least for the sake of the precious thyroid gland which so largely controls the proper development of body and mind.[iv]

The Party went on to suggest that unless boys’ necks were released from their sartorial shackles, their future as leaders of the country would be jeopardised. This is not to say that they would have necessarily approved of the billowing cravat, the bulk of which reduced the size of the collar during the seventeenth century.[v] This ephemeral flowering around the neck was to be the last time the collar played second fiddle to the neckwear. Ever since, men’s neckwear has been subordinate to – quite literally under – the collar. The collar has been adapted and cutaway to accommodate certain types of neckwear, notably during the mid-eighteenth century, but the stiff and vertical fabric that frames the neck and shirt has survived through to today.[vi] The collar is generally less ostentatious, but the fact that it is no longer detachable means it has acquired an important role in men’s shaping dress and aspects of their masculinity.

WHICH COLLAR?

According to fashion consultant Tim Gunn, The Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion mentions 194 different necklines and collars and 19 different types of cuff.[vii] Alan Flusser’s list is more restrained, but still includes seven styles of collar (buttoned down, point, pin, Windsor, English spread, tab, rounded).[viii] For certain types of collar, there are various names. Flusser’s rounded collar is sometimes referred to as a club or penny collar, for example. The Windsor collar is probably now more conventionally referred to as a cutaway collar; the English spread as a semi cutaway. But the names are a secondary concern. More important is how the collar is worn. And here many men struggle. Despite wearing a suit – and I’ll focus on ‘business’ wear – that determines the silhouette of his dress, and envelops everything else that he wears, there is a tendency among men to view elements of their outfit – shirts, ties, socks, cufflinks – as entirely separate. For example, younger men in England have long had a preference to wear their tie with a bulky Windsor knot à la Premiere League footballers. The confidence and assertion that is proclaimed through this woeful sartorial choice is often lost, however, because the knot is frequently squeezed to fit a point or ‘conventional’ collar. A cutaway collar would be the better choice here. That said, rules can be broken, or at least bent a little bit. Occasionally, I like to wear a cutaway collar with a four in hand knot. The wide collar opening, which exposes more of the tie fabric as it passes around the neck, looks at once traditional and modern. The visual drama – if that doesn’t sound too hyperbolic – can be enhanced if the collar and cuffs are white and the shirt fabric has a light colour or pattern. Gordon Gekko, protagonist in the 1987 film Wall Street, did much to blacken the sartorial reputation of shirts with contrasting collars and cuffs, but this style of shirt, generally with less dramatic colour extremes, is becoming popular again.

Another collar-related style is also becoming more prevalent, albeit in a geographically specific area. In a recent book Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom have drawn attention to the ubiquity of (generally) young men in the London Borough of Hackney who wear their shirts with all of the buttons done up, and without a tie.[ix] The authors rightly assert that:

The simple act of fastening a shirt’s highest button and the plainness of the look it creates belies a variety of intricate and complex intentions.[x]

The look is neat, but odd because of the conspicuous absence of a tie. It is rebellious and, perhaps, ever-so-slightly aggressive, associated as it is with the Mods. The decision to button-up also makes a statement about masculinity. In the same volume, Alexander Fury observes that:

A woman is buttoned into her clothes; a man buttons himself into his. At least, that’s what convention has told us since the mid-19th century, the last time the true gentleman didn’t dress, but was ‘dressed’ by his valet.[xi]

Men’s collars are no longer as strident as the ruff worn by their sixteenth-century forbears, but this does not prevent them from being a significant element in the fashioning of their image. A short collar can indicate conformity and rebellion. It can enhance or compromise perception about men’s masculinity. That said, modern men’s collars will remain as effective as a ruff on a damp day if it is not first understood that this is one area where size most definitely does not fit all.

For PG, as well as for the benefit of several magazines to which I now regularly contribute, I have taken it upon myself to dedicate several hours every Sunday purely to seeking out “gems” of the art of shoemaking from around the world. And even if I can, I believe, claim to be an astute observer of this art, it is currently so dynamic that every Sunday I discover an astounding array of little-known craftsmen, tiny and tucked-away workshops and, occasionally, astonishing creations…

This new dynamism in the men’s footwear market, seen in ready-to-wear but also in the undeniable renewed interest in bespoke services, inspired me today to broach a subject that has troubled me for quite some time and which I have decided to introduce (though not exhaustively) for the first time here: the image and “status” of these craftsmen-artists who, despite the obvious attention and admiration they have been getting lately, remain largely overlooked if we compare them to other “artistic-craft” trades, such as designers of contemporary furnishings who are, for the most part, worshiped and adored by the media.

On the surface, the comparison might seem surprising, as there is without a doubt a world of difference between Philippe Starck, Ron Arad or Pierre Paulin, and Pierre Corthay, Tony Gaziano, Stefano Bemer (R.I.P) or László Vass. Nevertheless, these two disciplines share certain fundamentals, such as molding the form (the aesthetic) to fit the function (comfort, durability); the object acting as a medium for both physical and emotional experiences; and the creation of original designs which, once they become classics, are reworked into ready-to-wear models.

Why, then, do these shoemakers − these sculptors of complex and sophisticated forms, some of which would not be out of place next to the immaculate designs of a Fronzoni or a Paulin − remain in the shadows around the globe, even as they have recently been enjoying a steady growth in interest?

When every month a new important men’s shoemaker emerges onto the scene of this rapidly expanding craft, has the time not come to right this wrong and to celebrate these unsung craftsmen-artists who quietly go about their work each day producing pairs of shoes (some of which could easily be described as masterpieces)?

Pictures : Bestetti, Gaziano & Girling, Dimitri Gomez, Bestetti, Corthay

Looking at these wonderful pictures and seeing the skill required to do this work, we know right away that the challenge behind the needed image overhaul for this exceptional craft is not just a “simple” matter of getting the word out, and even less a matter of an unseemly “cult of personality.” Not at all.

When we look at these pictures, some of which are sure to appeal to a much wider audience than just the “shoe porn” addicts, we see that distributing them far and wide is the key to reawakening men’s interest in quality shoes. In other words, it is thanks to the dissemination of such stunning examples of craftsmanship that many men are finally becoming interested in (or rediscovering their interest in) a handsome shoe, even if these iconic, custom-made designs remain out of reach for most of them.

The way we get there is thus always the same: it is with images of the Aston Martin that we create a new generation of car enthusiasts, even if the majority will never have the means to purchase what many consider to be the epitome of car design and quality.

The challenge is therefore a market one, before being a matter of brand or star designers. We must focus on the new and well-deserved reputation of these artists in order to ensure that the general public again becomes interested not only in the products, but also in the skill and craftsmanship put into their creation.

It is in this way − and only in this way − of drawing attention to the beauty in traditional methods that we will help men to better appreciate the quality of traditional products and, as such, accept to pay a fair price for them. This new generation of consumers of exceptional footwear will thereby enable the workshops to continue to produce shoes using traditional methods (and there is no reason why this should not be so). Likewise, with an updated image, these workshops could finally offer rewarding jobs to younger generations, and real careers in a noble craft that is currently undergoing a revival.

Yes, this ideal scenario is today only in its infancy, and there are, without a doubt, several years to go before it produces the effects described above. But the way forward is clear.

And when we see, for example, Andy Julia’s fantastic shots taken for PG below, with several bespoke creation from Maison Corthay, we cannot help but say that with such beautiful specimens, high-end men’s footwear has a bright future ahead…

Let there be light!

Author James Sherwood puts it well when he says that in order for a suit to be considered bespoke (amidst the battering of the word “bespoke” with commercially-driven euphemisms): To earn the label bespoke a garment must be measured, cut and sewn by hand; the pattern must also be hand-cut.

Considering that a bespoke suit is able to serve a person for a lifetime (and may even be re-tailored and passed down to someone else), we notice that most people who opt for the bespoke tailored suit do not seem interested in returning to the world of ready-to-wear suits, and it becomes clear that one bespoke-tailored suit can be valued more by its owner, than four or five of ready- to-wear suits.

What is it about the bespoke tailored suit that spoils our taste for all the others?  Of course, the answer is a long list of impressive reasons ranging from the subtle but precise shoulder construction to a smooth back with no gape at the collar, to the ineffably charming ragged-at-the-back buttonholes, to working horn-buttons on the cuff, to those magical floating canvasses. Yet, one of foremost indicators to the eye that signals a bespoke suit is…the lapel roll.

In choosing your preferred lapel roll:

1) know the two main components of the lapel roll (belly and roll line) in order to choose the correct aesthetics,  and angle/dimensions to enhance your frame, and

2) compare the results of different tailors and settle on your favorite craftsmanship work.

THE LAPEL ROLL

Lapel Roll: The fall and curl of the lapel downwards from the break (fold) of the collar to the designated button.  The term ‘roll’ applies to a softer lapel finish.

Cifonelli Bespoke (http://www.cifonelli.com)

Francesco Smalto Couture (http://smalto.com)

Manolo Costa Bespoke (http://manolocosta.com)

Ripense Bespoke (http://www.sartoriaripense.com)

Norton & Sons Bespoke (http://www.nortonandsons.co.uk)

COMPONENTS OF THE LAPEL ROLL

The main components of the lapel roll include the belly and the roll line. We also notice the result of the “hollow” on a finished lapel.

THE BELLY

The belly describes the lowest part of the turn of the lapel curve as seen below. Some tailors believe that a lot of belly is required to give the lapels the desired degree of upward angle.

As described by Sator (Sydney, Australia) on Style Forum, this is a British button-two/show-one coat (or the American version of a 3 roll 2, where only the middle button is buttoned), which has a fullness of lapel around the buttoning point because, as you can see, the belly begins at the middle button.

The 3 roll 2 is a favorite among gentlemen of substantial height (as a gentleman who is not tall should avoid too many buttons and pockets on a coat in order to avoid breaking the continuous vertical line of the suit) mainly for the reason that the third button plays a part in assisting the tailor to shape an elegant lapel belly roll. Such a roll is a clear signal of a hand-stitched lapel, for no machine-made or fused lapel is able to exhibit roll with this button in place (« Bespoke Tailoring » by Luxury Insider.)

The top button can be buttoned if an unsightly kink is present in the fabric caused by the top button remaining unbuttoned. Otherwise, to preserve a nice roll line of the lapel, leaving the top button unbuttoned is preferred to enhance the flow of the lapel roll from top to bottom.

THE ROLL LINE

The roll line is the imaginary line measured from the point that the lapel begins (collar section) to the point where the lapel ends (button area).

THE HOLLOW

The hollow of the lapel refers to the depth of the area underneath the fold curve.

The depth of the hollow of the lapel is a matter of personal taste and may vary according to the method of construction preferred by the customer and/or tailor.

HOW THE LAPEL ROLL IS MADE

Take a close look at this nice video on the making of a lapel roll, including preparing the padding and building the roll, by Raj Singh : Rolling the Lapel

CARE OF THE ROLLED LAPEL

As it is preferred that the tailor will provide cleaning and care of your custom suits, at times this option is not available. It is not uncommon for suit owners to be mortified to find that some dry cleaners have pressed custom lapels on coats “flat”,  after they come off the commercial press, literally obliterating the roll. If your tailor cannot care for your suit and you opt for a cleaning service, it is best to find a professional cleaner that provides a “sponge & press” service, which requires hand-pressing the garment according to it’s original shape. But, to play it safe, maintain your lapel roll at home. 

The following excerpt from the web series: Put This On goes into nice detail on the finer points of caring for the rolled lapel on a coat:

To regain the shape of the lapel, StyleForum veteran Sator recommends the following procedure (which can, in my experience, also be roughly replicated with a steamer):

Try lying the coat down with the lapel lying flat, wrong side (the underside of the lapels) upwards.

The collar should be standing up – as when you “pop” your collar.

Place a press cloth over the roll of the lapel, near the buttoning point. A tea towel might do the trick.

Lightly dampen the roll of the lapel.

Press over the roll line near the buttoning point, ensuring you always iron with the press cloth under the iron.

You may need to put a bit of downward force on it. In the tailoring workshop you would use a heavy iron but you might just have to use a strong arm.

You may need to repeat this again the next day, especially if a heavy duty laundry press has been used on your lapel roll line.

A MATTER OF TASTE

Brioni, an example of a hand-made lapel roll success from The Rake

Each tailor has his or her own method and preferences when making the lapel roll. The roll of the lapel is an aesthetic feature that is chosen based on the pleasure it gives to the eye : Smooth and precise lapel rolled curves of different lengths and depths are offered by some of the finest tailors in the world.

And it is up to the client to decide what looks good with his own eyes.

The point is, as Albert Einstein once said “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”

Sonya Glyn Nicholson

The words “woman’s suit” sounds a bit banal compared to the words “men’s suit”.  After all, women began wearing suits based on the frame of reference given to them by men in suits. Because of this, there is at times, an automatic association with a woman in a suit having a certain “masculine flair” about her. And while we can admit that it may sound more interesting to think of a woman in a dress and heels than to think of a women in a suit; recently, there is something fresh and new occurring  in the female sartorial world.

It may be too early to know if this more recent interest in women’s tailoring is here to stay. But, we take notice of the stir that is occurring among women who (like their great-grandmothers, albeit often out of necessity) are discovering the joy of wearing items that are hand-sewn. And we wonder if–after skipping two generations of wearing hand-sewn items in favor of the slew of ready-to-wear clothing–perhaps this appreciation of tailoring is resting in our DNA and now is being reawakened?

In the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s, women relished wearing well-fitted suits. During next 30 years following the 50s, the female suit practically dropped off the style radar. Then, in the 1980s, we witnessed  women beginning to enter management positions at an accelerating rate, while relying on suits to wear to work. These suits were usually not that notable, and knowing about the finer points of tailoring would have sounded slightly ridiculous to the typical woman. At this time, for the discerning executive woman (in the U.S), “buying a suit” usually meant a trip to Brooks Brothers.

But now, women are noticing how the art of tailoring can amp up a wardrobe, and work for them in ways professionally and personally that they previously didn’t understand. In fact, it’s almost impossible not to notice something special about a bespoke tailored suit or a well done made-to-measure item. Even ready-to-wear houses are attempting more precise cuts in coats and trousers, as a direct result of a population with a penchant for bespoke tailoring.

Decades before  the 1980s…before the suit was so directly related to something worn mainly for work and church,we are able to find some real examples of women who dressed in suits to communicate elegance and sophistication.

Marlene Dietrich, who’s preferred tailor was Anderson & Sheppard, pulls off feminine charm with her ensemble.

1940s “Skirt Suits”

As women begin to understand that wearing a suit doesn’t have to be based on the prototypes offered by her elegant male counterparts, a new world of possibilities open to her, and a woman’s style begins to take on a life of it’s own. It is no longer a “woman’s suit”…it’s simply a creation that expresses her personality.

A suit to remember, by Roubi of Huntsman, straight from Savile Row

Fully Bespoke – Eva Herzigova in a double-breasted suit by Edward Sexton

Yasmin le Bon in a magnificent wool suit by Edward Sexton

Rock-n-roll sex appeal. Cindy Crawford in waistcoat and trousers, again by Edward Sexton

Gangster Charm, Made-to-Measure,  Hemingway Tailors, UK

Sophisticated ready-to-wear, Armani 2013

As more women become aware of their option to own a bespoke suit, we can only wonder if the industry of bespoke tailoring and made-to-measure women’s apparel will secure a real presence among fine tailors worldwide. We think that the key point will be the extent of awareness that is created among women.

This is why we are seriously considering giving some regular interest to the subject…

Sonya Glyn Nicholson

By Sonya Glyn Nicholson.

A small joy in life — matching socks with no holes.

A bigger joy in life — all of the above with socks made from quality materials, design and fit.

Socks have come to be seen as much as an accessory as a functional piece. Not so long ago, a man attempted to make his sock color blend with his suit and shoes with either blue, black or gray shades. But that’s the past. Socks today are seen as an accessory instead of a necessity–and a shift has occurred to attempt to make the socks (even if subconsciously) noticeable.

Many men are welcoming this style advantage of elevating the sock to a higher place of sartorial importance. And put simply: socks can serve to make an aesthetic transition between the trousers and the shoes, including pulling together other coordinates like the tie, the pocketsquare and the boutonniere.

AHH…THOSE SOCK RULES

1. Match your socks with your trousers, not your shoes (numerous sources). Disagree

2. Match your socks with your shoes, not your trousers (numerous sources). Disagree

3. Wear over-the-calf stretch socks so the leg will not ever show (AskMen). Agree.

4. Match one’s socks with one’s tie (Suit Society). Neutral

5. Wear black socks with black suits and navy socks with navy suits (GQ) Disagree

6. It’s OK to have “No Socks” with a suit during the summer months (Men’s Health) Agree if Seersucker

7. Wear solid socks with patterned suits (Fashion Design Scope) Agree

8. When wearing patterned socks, wear solid suits (Fashion Design Scope) OK

9. Socks can be matched to something worn above the waist such as a man’s shirt, tie, pocket square or suspenders (The Fine Young Gentleman, Rule #6 ) Agree

10. Dress socks should be a shade darker than your suit pants (Socksoutlet .com) Neutral

11. Socks one shade lighter than the suit is a nice vintage touch (ASuitableWardrobe). Agree

“I have been in meetings where people look down and notice my socks, and there is this universal sign, almost like a gang sign, where they nod and pull up their pant leg a little to show off their socks,” said Hunter Walk, 38, a director of product management at YouTube, whose favorite pair is yellow, aqua and orange striped.“ NY Times, February, 2012

CONQUER YOUR SOCK STOCK — A TWO-STEP APPROACH

1.  Choose Your Sock Fabric

First, rank the following in order of importance: LOOK – FEEL – DURABILITY – ELASTICITY.

Next, examine each of the four fabric groups and discover your primary fabric of choice based on the above ranking.

Here are the main four sock fiber choices available:

Wool - Early yarns were almost always wool, which is considered luxurious today, and a necessity for the more active man in a suit to wick tomoisture from the skin and release it outside the sock, with the added benefit of keep feet warm in winter and cool in summer.

Cotton - An inexpensive and durable fabric. that may be blended with lycra or man-made fibers. Holds shape well and is easy to launder.

Lisle : A fabric made from fine, smooth, tightly twisted threads spun from long-stapled quality cotton. A luxury choice.

Silk & Cashmere - A luxury blend that goes well with textured suits.  Lighter than wool with less bulk.

Note: other fibers include nylon, acrylic, olefins, spandex, linen, bamboo, cashmere, mohair.

2. Go Shopping

Avoid short socks like the devil and choose high-knee ones making sure that when crossing your legs, the bare leg will never show. And stock up on these five sock groups:

1. Solid color socks — including red and pink.

2. Socks with deep shades of burgundy, dark green, purple-black, deep burnt orange, and rich cornflower blue (to replace your boring blacks, navy, and grays)

3. Socks one shade lighter than your suits like ash gray and a muted blue (the Astaire / Grant approach)

4. Socks with appealing plaid, subtle dots, and vintage patterns

5. A few pairs of solid “ribbed” socks, that give the appearance of having tone-on-tone vertical stripes.

Caution:

* Avoid looking like a circus attendant with neon and psychedelic fare.

* Avoid looking like an elementary school teacher, with dolphins and christmas trees and such on socks (although we like the idea of an umbrella pattern)

* Noticing the socks before noticing the man (except for parties and casual wear) is a symbol of questionable judgement.

* Don’t have “secret holes” in your socks — you’ll know the holes are there, even if no one else does.

* Discreet Contrast is the gold standard

* Still, don’t be too cautious : The greater the risk, the greater the potential reward.

OUR FAVORITES:

Solid Socks

For solids, we recommend Mes Chaussettes Rouges, a very dynamic e-store with a nice selection from high end makers like Gallo, Doré-Doré, Mazarin, Bresciani and, of course, Gammarelli, official supplier of the Pope and the Vatican’s dignitaries. The quality and value of these straight-forward products are hard to beat.

Patterned Socks

Keep a strong eye on Pantherella Fine English Socks. Their website will soon be open. Wonderful high end products.

SOCKS PORN  (all pictures from Style Forum Rock your Socks) :

Sonya Glyn Nicholson.