How to choose and wear a double-breasted suit?

Ermenegildo Zegna

I've been watching the runways in Milan this last week for Spring 13 collections and one of the styles that stood out for me across the board was the double breasted jacket/suit. As expected on the runways, it wasn't shown just as the classic conservative version, but was shown done in bright colors and different fabric and patterns which added a lot of fun to break away from the formal and dressy. So i thought just in case you will get inspired for next spring, here are few style tips to help you get the right double breasted jacket...

Gucci

Ports 1961

1. Fitted and tailored - double breasted jacket is one that MUST be tailored to your waist and torso, otherwise it will look bad. when wearing a one or two button jacket you can get away with a bit of a looser fit but similar to a 3 button jacket the double breasted has to hug your body and be fitted. Generally speaking the double breasted looks best on men of medium or tall build.
2. Picked lapels - this is the classic on a double breast jacket, the peak lapels accentuates the shoulders and work nicer with the natural style of the jacket. you can still mix the classic and new by choosing picked lapel that are just thinner rather than the classic wide ones.
3. Four buttons or more - to highlight the fit of the jacket choose a jacket that has at least a four-button closure, meaning two rows of two buttons (make sure to have one additional closure button on the inside of the jacket). This way the neck opening of the jacket is smaller which will make the it more fitted and trimmer. keep in mind that even when you have a six button jacket keep the to two unbuttoned otherwise it will look outdated. stay away from two buttons jacket, it will look too 80's and more like a robe than a tailored jacket.

Spring 2012 - The shorts suit

The shorts suit is a very sophisticated, summery way to wear a suit, and although i never wore them i did grow to like them over the last few years. I saw a lot of them on the runways (Kenzo especially showed a bunch of them) but the only issue i do have with them is  - what to wear on your feet??? i personally is not a fan of sandals for men (and that is an understatement, I'm planing a whole separate post on that issue...), and wearing shoes (especially the bulky looking ones) with socks looks hideous to me as well...i can live with boat shoes with no socks or any other loafers (especially in fun colors) even if they are more dressy looking ..... or even sneakers...and dont even think about Flip flops.....what do you all think?
Here are some of my favorite shorts suits...(unfortunately i had to ignore the shoes part in most of them....).

Below: Kenzo

 Below: Yves Saint Laurent

Below: Kenzo

Milan Menswear Fall 2011 - Gucci

Luxury and elegance for the metropolitan dandy = GUCCI.
For Fall 2011 creative director Frida Giannini Stayed true to the Gucci brand and what it stands for, working with rich materials such as crocodile skins and Mongolian lamb and keeping the signature  Equestrian details and the incredible crafted bags (which i found to be a bit too feminine this time around) as its main focus....  some will call it vanity while others will afford to buy it...
Her form-fitted sharp suits (my favorite) offered single or double breasted jackets with peaked lapels and trousers with a leg shaped that got slightly flared at the bottom.  The overcoats were long, double breasted with 70's inspired lapels and were paired with long chunky scarves creating a voluminous look inspired by the likes of Rod Stewart and Mick Jagger. The color palate offered shades of browns and powdery pinks with shots of intense purples and blues.

Is Boardwalk Empire the next show to inspire men's fashion?

Boardwalk Empire is a new show from Terence Winter (The Sopranos) on HBO about a political figure - Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, who rose to prominence and controlled Atlantic City, New Jersey during the Prohibition period of the 1920s and 1930s and his expensive and lavish lifestyle.
I actually haven't followed the show as much but from the little I've watched and after reading an interview with the costume designer of the show John Dunn on Style Blog, I'm quite certain that men's designers are taking notes while enjoying the show and it's just a meter of time before Boardwalk Empire will make its mark as an inspiring trend for next season's fashion shows!

"Nucky"

The amount of craftsmanship and details that's been pored into styling the guys on the show are incredible and can by themselves hold a reason to watch the show. Everything from the rich woolen fabrics (which apparently some were specifically manufactured for the show) through the immaculate tailoring (all done by Martin Greenfield ) and all the way to the small details such as the collar bars (Nucky's was specifically designed for him), the color stories and how they all work so well together in a every look, will make you drull!
Great deal was also put into the different cities that are being represented in the show and thier difrenet styles, the Atlantic City men are flashy, colorful and daring in their wardrobe choices where New York city guys are more elegant and seriuos while the Chicago crew carry more of a European/Italian influences in their style. Even the working guys who are clearly not in a high financial or social status are inspiring, their clothes might not be as luxurious but over all they are very well put together.

Jimmy Darmondy

Style icon of the week - Bryan Ferry

Growing up Bryan Ferry was one of my favorite musicians (as the front man of Roxy Music partnering with likes of Bryan Eno or in his own solo career), but on top of that his glamorous dandy sense of style was instrumental in the development of my personal style (i can't tell you how many times as a teenager i tried to straiten my hair in trying to copy his hair style....it never really worked for more than 10 minutes....) and quite honestly i still wish that at his age (he celebrated 65 on September 26th) i would look and dress like him... Bryan Ferry can teach us a lot about style and how to dress, especially on how to wear suits and still look young, edgy and always... elegant! So for all of you out there who are required to wear suits in your daily life watch and learn....can you imagine bankers, lawyers and alike dress like Bryan Ferry? sporting suits in bright colors like red, fuchsia, lime green and gold.....what a stylish and beautiful world would that be....

Whether in his lyrics or his stage presence Bryan Ferry always had a unique majestic finesse, somewhat imperial and more than once melancholic in the way he sings, moves and dresses yet it all seems very natural for him which makes him very inspiring (i guess the fact that he is still dating girls half his age is probably as inspiring (if not more) for guys out  there...).
A big contributor to his style was the British designer Antony Price who is known for his glamorous evening wear and suits and was actually the architect behind the Roxy Music pop retro-futurism style, for both the band members and the Roxy girls. A style that was inspired by 1950’s glamour and his own futuristic vision of part human part mannequin, making Roxy Music into an aesthetic experiment rather than just a musical one. Price also dressed other musicians such as David Bowie and Duran Duran but Brian Ferry was definitely the perfect match for his designs.
Nicky Haslam described Brian Ferry's sense of style the best "He was more likely to redecorate a hotel room than to trash it"

Style icon of the week - Pep (Joseph) Gaurdiola

This week's style icon comes from the sports word, not even 40 years old Pep Gaurdiola considered to be one of the best football (soccer) mangers in the world today coaching for the first time a pro team and not just another team but probably the best team out there -  Barcelona.
Following his career as a player for Barcelona's dream team in the early 90's ((that was when i fell in love with Barcelona) 2 years ago he took over the top job and in his first year they won every title (6 of them) they were competing for, his team includes star players such as Messi, Xavi, David Villa,  Iniesta and much more but on the side lines there is only one style star and its Pep Guardiloa. Under his management Barcelona plays the most entertaining, attacking and inspiring football out there or what we call "Sexy Football" ...Just like his personal style!
On the field  he usually sporting  sleek fitted suits in either black or Grey with a  fine European touch in the form of  white fitted shirts with skinny collar and skinny ties, and for colder times an addition of a thin V neck sweaters or a cardigan under the suit... always with either one hand in his side pant pocket or scratching his bold head...

Spring 2011 NY Fashion week - Simon Spurr

A couple days ago I have posted Simon Spurr's inspiration for the spring  season which in his words sounded like that: "exploring the boundaries between art and fashion, the collection mixes Lucio Fontana - inspired prints and sweaters with British military undertones and YSL elegance.” The result on the runway was Great! I thought the collection had a lot of great pieces, I loved the suits especially the three piece ones in either slicky fabrics, solid colors or in the plaids (loved the 2 piece plaid suit above which reminded me a lot of my new suit.....i wonder if he reads this blog????), 
also thought the sophisticated mustard trench coat and  the light and clean sweaters in army colors were great. I wasn't as crazy about his casual items like the denim pants and didn't care for the scarfs (it's too much of Brooklyn hipsters style... and we had enough of that). As far as the inspiration goes you can definitely see a strong YSL elegance and the color story was clearly inspired by  Lucio Fontana prints and British military undertones.
Over all I really loved the collection, it has a great European touch but with American influences all executed in high quality.
More photos after the jump.

Style icon of the week - David Bowie

Well this next style icon does not need any introduction and in all honesty any extra word will just get in the way.....For me he is more like the style icon of a generation (or i should say of few generations...) than the week....David Bowie for me is one of the best musicians, artists, style icons and personalities out there (after all he is British......).....for a guy who influenced the world of music and fashion the way he did its kind of hard to decide what to concentrate on, so i decided to post the Bowie that i like which is the tailored Bowie, the cleaner and sharper one who is in suits, jackets and coats rather than the earlier avant-garde /theatrical outfits he sported back in the day....although i do like some of the suits and jackets with the big shoulders and big lapels he wore back than as well so i included some of these as well.... scroll and enjoy! much more photos after the jump.....

Designer of the week - Simon Spurr

Simon Spurr is a NY based men's designer who mixes the traditional English tailoring of Savile row's fit and quality, the European style slim suits, and the American street wear of selvage denim and bomber jackets all together in a fun, sleek sophisticated way . .....sounds interesting? well.... it also looks good! The result is a style that perfectly captures the mind set of the contemporary man who is looking for new ways of wearing traditional pieces to fit his more casual life style but still do it in a luxurious and sophisticated way. With a design philosophy of Style before Fashion i thought that Simon Spurr is a perfect fit for this blog therefore introducing the man and the brand seemed to be in order!

"when a man walks into the room you should notice him before the clothes. Style rather than Fashion always has greater longevity" Simon Spurr

New York fashion week - Fall 2010-2011

New York fashion week proved once again its power as the capital of the sophisticated casual sportswear....... showing straight forward, commercial and wearable clothes!
The general inspiration board includes British tailoring influenced by 50's flair (someone said Mad man???), worn by a hipster from Williamsburg (Brooklyn), who caught in a moody day wearing Doc Martens-like lace-ups boots (with the pants tucked in), and sporting a pompadour hairstyle a la Morrissey. The color palette was mostly dark in basic shades of black, gray and earth tones...
Standout items included overcoats (were the highlights of almost every designer) and vests.

3.1 PHILLIP LIM