Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion

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Main ideas about permanent fashion

Learning how to dress well is much like trying to build a classically beautiful place to live. No amount of professional decoration or priceless furnishings will ultimately make much of a difference if the floors or walls that they are to adorn rest on a shaky foundation.

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Developing a flattering mode of dress is no different: without a working knowledge of the basics, a man cannot achieve true stylishness

Dressing well rests on two pillars - colour and proportion

The answer lies not in the world of fashion but in the realm of personal architecture.

Moving orward to such a state requires the creation of a classically stylish wardrobe and the knowlege of how to wear it to the best personal advantage.

For a wearable to qualify as fashionable year in and year out, it must possess inherent merit, usefulness, and all-around good taste.

Colour Strategy of Clothes

Two principles:

1. The colours of any given ensemble should exhibit the sme degree of contrast as that manifested by one's skin and hair tones, a person's two primary colour signposts
2. Highlighting faces by repeating one or more of its natural pigments in the colours worn below.

On matching contrast

Encasing a low-intensity complexion within a higher-contrast setting dilutes the face's natural pigmentation in addition to distracting the viewer's eye.

Example: a light-complexioned man in pursut of the classic navy blazer:

• The blacker the blazer, the more it will contrast with and thus weaken his lighter complexion
• Thus, he should concern himself only with brighter, richer-hued blues

On repeating natural pigmentation

Consider the following pigmentation in order:

1. Hair and skin colour, which determines overall shades of the clothes
2. Eye colour
3. Special pgiment such as rosy cheeks or suntanned skin

Examples:

• A man with brown hair and slight ruddiness to his face should choose suit shades that repeat his hair colour to draw observer's attention to his face.
• A man with ashen skin and hair tone can sport a scalf with the same hue

On Patterns

The good news is that in order to dress well one does not have to brandish a tapestry of pattern; the bad news is that if one wants to develop a unique and enduring dressing style, familiarity with the prerogatives of pattern is a must.

A dexterity for harmonizing patterned clothes can lend versatility to a wardrobe of modest means as well as increase the number of combinations when traveling with limited luggage.

In general, consider the interplay between the jacket, the shirt, and the necktie.

Principles of mixing patterns

Two patterns of the same design

When combining two patterns of the same design, the size of each should be as different from the other as possible, otherwise the similarity will produce an optical illusion of movement or vibration.

This applies to stripes as well as checks

Two different patterns

Coordinating two different patterns, such as a striped suit and a check dress shirt, or a plaid jacket and a figured necktie, necessitates keeping them close in size.

Exception: when two patterns are small

Exception: placing two small patterns near each other, whether similar or not, will wreak havoc on the eye of the beholder.

When in doubt about coordinating a second prominent pattern with a first, choose a larger rather than a smaller design.

Three different patterns

The safest route to the happy rendezvous of three patterns within one ensemble is where each design differs from the others.

These different patterns should be kept close in size.

Three patterns when two are the same

Safe passage can be assured only by separating the two like designs in size while selecting an unlike pattern that is visually compatible with both.

When sporting a triumvirate of patterns in which two share the same design, the odd one out (in this case the necktie) must take its cue from the more prominent of the two patterns.

Mixing three same patterns

Following the technique for dealing with two like patterns, scale must now work overtime to impose a similar discipline on three. Sometimes these creations go easier when graduating in size from small out to large, begin at the base with the smallest step and proceed on up.

On Proportion

The first step in evolving a distinct yet long-term dressing style is for each man to master the standard scheme of tailored suit, white dress shirt, solid necktie, white pocket square, dark socks, and shoes.

Five major intersections that must be considered:

1. Neck
2. Shoulder
3. Waist
4. Wrist
5. Ankle

Proportion of Suit Jacket

Shoulders

As its widest dimension, the shower sets the mood for the rest of the jacket.

Since the jacket's shoulders frame the head, if they are too narrow, the head will appear larger than actual size; conversely, if cut too wide, the head will apear disproportionately small.

Jacket Length

The principal criterion governing a jacket's length is that it be long enough to cover the curvature of the buttocks while given the leg as long a line as possible.

Two methods for determining the correct jacket length:

1. When your hand is dropped at your side, the bottom of the jacket is supposed to line up with the outstretched thumb
2. Measure the distance from the jacket's back collar to the floor, then devide it in half.

Waist Button

When the waist button of a coat is fastened, it should divide the body so that the torso and legs appear at maximum length.

The correct placement of this critical detail occurs 1/2 inch below the natural waist.

The Gorge and Lapel Width

The gorge is the point where collar and lapel meet to form either a steplike notch of a pointed peak effect.

If he is short, a man's lapel notches should sit higher up on his chest, the longer lapel line emphasising verticality.

Conversely, if a man is tall, the lapel notches should be lowered

The jacket's lapels and the necktie's width should harmonize.

Jacket Sleeve

Full at the top and tapering down to the wrist bone

Sleeves that flap around the wrist not only lack smartness but give the illusion of heft.

Proportion of the suit trousers

Fuller-chested jackets require fuller-cut trousers, just as more fitted jackets mandate slimmer-fitting trousers.

Proportion of the dress shirt

The choice of a dress shirt should be guided first and foremost by the appropriateness of its collar shape to that of the wearer's face.

A small picture requires a like-scaled frame, just as a smaller man with delicate features requires a collar of restrained dimensions. Conversely, when the content is more expansive, the frame must corerspondingly enlarge.

The collars should also counter balance the facial structure by either softening its dominant lines of strengthening its weak ones.

A full face that sags around the chin or cheeks demands a stiffer collar to coutneract the effects of age and gravity.

The straight-point collar

The straight-point collar has long been the foundation of the modern man's dress shirt wardrobe.

Its collar points should finish between 2 3/4 inches and 3 3/8 inches in length.

The narrow opening between its points favours a rounder, oval-shaped face, rather than a narrow one.

The spread collar

Because of the spread's inherently dressy and elegant bearing, it has become today's most important dress shirt collar. As spread collars vary greatly in height, point length, and openness, there are usually several models that will flatter any man's head shape or profile.

Proportion of the necktie

The necktie's correct width has always been deteremined by the jacket's lapel.

As the average single-breasted notch lapel ranges in width from 3 3/8 inch to 4 1/4 inches, an equivalent range of bottom widths will immunize most neckties from the vagaries of high fashion.

The secret of tie aesthetics lies in compressing the knot so that it can dovetail high up into the inverted "V" of the collar's converging sides.

A dimple or inverted pleat should emerge from under the middle of the knot.

Proportion of the Ankle

The trouser bottom should cover about two-thirds of the shoes

the round- or slightly-square toe oxford, or blucher lace-up with a welt-constructed sole, ranks as the ideally proportioned shoe for suit-driven attire.

Proportion for different body types

The principal goal has been to affect a tall, broad-shouldered, slim-waisted apperance

Tips for short, heavy men

Avoid close-fitting clothes:

Close-fitting clothes reveal more than they conceal. There is nothing like the look of a stuffed sausage to call attention to a man's heft.

Lengthening the legs:

In general, short men are short, physioligically speaking, because their legs are proportionally short in relation to their torso. Therefore, a jacket to endow such a physique with the illusion of greater height, it must create the impression that the leg line is actually long than it really is.

Jacket's length must be kept on the short side... must remain as short as possible and yet cover the seat of his pants.

Use higher shoulder line

The torso can be optically elevated by raising its soulder line.

Use single-breasted, two-button jacket

The single-breasted, two-button jacket with a medium V that opens down to the waist is more flattering to the short figure than the higher, closed fronts of the three-button coat.

Lapel notches should rest high on the upper chest for a longer lapel line

Peaked lapels with their upswept, pointed ends accentuate verticality more than notched variety

How to buy clothes

Suits

Since a man's suit is made to fit a standard form and no two people are built exactly alike, only one man in a hundred is likely to step into a ready-made suit and find that it needs no alterations. Once again, the more knowledgeable you can become about how your clothes should fit in relation to your unique architecture, the more likely you are to walk out with an elegantly tailored result.

Preparation for fitting

Make sure you have wallet in your pocket and your keys or cellphone wherever you normally keep them.

Wear or bring along a representative dress shirt with the correct sleeve length and collar height to help in the fitting process.

Dress shoes with the proper heel height can aid in establishing the correct trouser length and bottom width

After slipping on the trousers and jacket, stand naturally in front of the mirror, and not as if you had just graduated West Point or are anticipating losing ten pounds.

Fitting process for suit jacket

Starting from the top: considering the shoulder's relationship to the head:

• The shoulder width needs to be generous enough to permit the jacket's fabric to fall from the shoulder in an unbroken line all the way down the sleeve
• The width needs to provide enough fullness across the back and cest for the lapels to lie flat without gapping open

Next, consider the collar:

• Ensure that the collar does not stand away or have horizontal ridges below the base of the next, a sign that the collar must be lowered by cutting away the excess fabric under the collar
• Ensure that there should always be at least half an inch of shirt collar showing above the jacket collar

Next, consider the waist:

• The fit is too tight if there is an X-shaped line froming on either side of the fastened waist button
• When button, there should be enough room for you to sit down comfortably

Next, consider the jacket sleeves:

• The sleeves should also hang straight with no horizontal wrinkles or breaks forming on the upper arm
• The jacket's sleeve should taper to the wrist bone, with a bottom opening measuring around six inches in diameter, or no larger than to frame the shirt's cuff
• The jacket's sleeve should extend to where the wrist breaks with the hand. There should be 1/2 to 1 inch of shirt cuff peeping out below the coat sleeves.

Fitting process for waistcoat

The fitting of any tailored waistcoat should be done with its back strap fastened.

The vest must be long enough to cover the trousers' waistband, stopping in front before its points extend below the hipbone. Shirt and belt buckle should not be seen.

Fitting process for trousers

The cardinal rule is to wear them as high on the waist as comfortable.

With pleated trousers, the hip and thigh must be cut full enough so that the pleats lie flat and do not pull open when standing.

If it is to be worn on occasion with suspenders, make sure the trouser is fitted with them.

The proper width of trouser cuffs should be 1 5/8 inches for a man under 5 feet, 10 inches, and 1 3/4 inches if taller.

Dress shirt

Most men wear theirs too tight in the neck, too short in the sleeve, and too full around the wrist.

Fitting process

First, consider the collar

Unless its collar fits comfortably, the best dress shirt is useless.

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With the top button closed, two finders should be able to slide comfortably between the neck and the collar of a new shirt.

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Should the collar of a new dress shirt fit to perfection when first tried on, return it or risk being strangled before too long.

When a necktie is worn, the collar's point ought to be able to remain in touch with the shirt's body, no matter how the wearer turns his head.

Semi-spread to cutaway collars should haev no tie space above the tie's knot, with points long enough to be covered by the jacket's neckline.

Second, consider the torso:

It should be cut full enough to allow the wearer to sit without concern for whether its front will gape open. Even normal shrinkage or weight gain should not create tension across the chest or waist

The shirt's overall length should be such that you can raise your arms without it pulling out of the trouser top.

Next, consider the wrist:

The shirt must fit snugly around the wrist so that the additional length required to keep the cuff from pulling back when the arm is extended does not force it down the hand.

On formality of shirts

A shirt's formality begins at the collar, its most prominent and defining feature.

The stiffer the collar, the more formal its intentions.

The more open the collar's points, the dressier the presentation

A contrasting white collar automatically adds ceremony

The cuff also contributes to the overall effect:

The formal shirt's stiff single cuff presents the most formal arrangement

The double-button cuff outranks the single-button (including french cuff)

Fabric also serves as an indicator of formality

Smoother or more lustrous materials are dressier

On Colour of Shirts

medium blue actually flatters more men's faces than white.

Any colour or texture placed on or near a fine-quailty medium blue dress shirt automatically appears warmer and richer.

A man with strong contrast in his complexion can enjoy a larger range of colours, including deep-tone blues like the cambridge or Wedgwood shades found in fine two-ply broadcloth, royal oxford, or darker end-on-end cottons.

Neckties

The necktie's motif, or pattern, expresses the poetry, the sense of whimsy, the psychology of the individual wearer

Two great design familites divide the patterned necktie kingdom: yarn-dye wovens and prints.

Types of neckties

Regimental: horizontal stripes

• British: right to left, when looking at it (meaning left shoulder to right shoulder)
• Amerian: left to right when looking at it (meaning right shoulder to left shoulder)
• Help slimming the body

Solid necktie:

but the more sophisticated a man's tastes in clothes, the more solid neckties he's likely to own.

• Useful for applying patterns

Paisley

Due to its origins, which date back to Babylonian civilisation, and its association with English taste, paisley enjoys a special status in the world of male neckwear.

Pocketsquares

White linen square needs to be irregularly arranged, with its points neither mathematically exact nor flattened as if pressed with a rolling iron.

One way to encourage this lack of contrivance is to angle the hank slightly outward toward the shoulder

The tie's colour and pattern usually determine its choice.