Finally cool enough to break out the double-breasted suits and navy blazer. Yes!
Today's number is my first such suit, which was purchased a dozen or more years ago after I decided to try DB navy blazer and liked the look. Now, I am well-aware that there are many people out there who are, for a variety of reasons, uncomfortable (physical or otherwise) with the double-breasted look, but I am not one of them.
While such attire without doubt sets one apart in our age of lowest common denominator clothing, so to do single-breasted suits, jackets, and blazers with a necktie (much less a self-tie bow tie). It just goes with the territory given the sartorial depths to which most of society has sunk in recent decades. Heck, the simple act of tucking in your shirt makes you stand out from the crowd almost anywhere these days.
But let's resist the peer pressure all around us, comrades!
Rather than worry too much about standing out when "dressed up," it seems far more productive to continue dressing presentably and go about the day with a smile on our faces. After all, why allow others' petty anxieties to prevent us from enjoying our attire?
Let us then lead by quiet example and aspire to present ourselves in a favorable and pleasant way. There are enough blots of one kind or another on the literal and metaphoric landscape(s) already.
We should instead do our small part to create a more pleasant environment for those with whom we interact. The mindful cultivation of a more pulled together appearance is but one way to do so.
-- Heinz-Ulrich
After a long absence, I popped in to read your blog, and from there, your most recent post, and found it, as always the case, to be quite the delightful read. Could you please expand on your thoughts as to why some men may be uncomfortable with a double-breasted jacket, particularly the physical aspect? Over the years, I have toyed with the idea of purchasing a double-breasted, but what scared me off is my rail thin physique, simply curious on what you left unsaid. Thank you so much for all the hard work and effort you put into your writings...
ReplyDeleteThank you for your ongoing interest and question(s) GF!
ReplyDeleteI have read that some feel a double-breasted jacket or suit coat makes a large man look even more barrel chested and, well, LARGE. Conversely, I have also read the opposite that thinner men risk getting lost in all of the extra fabric. I stand 5'11" and weight just shy of 150lbs, which is to say skinny. With minor alterations, my own DB jackets and suits fit very nicely without making me look like I'm swimming in my father's suit.
Now, DB jackets and suits, unless they are linen or very lightweight wool, might be uncomfortably warm for some during the summer months. But they are perfect for cooler weather like we have now in Michigan, USA.
These are also very dressy items, which, given our now impossibly informal era, might be too much for many situations. For instance, unless one is in a supervisory or executive position, turning up to the office in a DB suit might raise eyebrows in a time when even CEOs seem to take pride in wearing pilled fleeces and grubby hoodies to work.. It all depends on company culture and the type of business. More traditionally conservative white collar occupations might allow a bit more leeway here, but it's not looking good, at least not within the United States.
All that said, however, give it a whirl with a double-breasted blazer or even a full suit if you like. It's fun to pull one out of the closet for those special occasions when a more formal and pulled together appearance is called for. Just spend the time and bit of money to have an alterations tailor take in the sides and or back to fit your frame a bit more closely, and you should be fine.
Kind Regards,
Heinz-Ulrich