When it comes to buying a suit with distinction, it's all about the finer details. Chris Dobbs, director of Working Style, shares his tips on what to look for.
1. Working buttons
In days gone by, professional men, particularly doctors, had a real problem. After each patient they would be faced with having to take their jacket off to enable them to wash their hands. The tailors of Saville Row responded with a novel idea. Why not put proper working buttons on the cuff so they could simply roll their sleeves up in-between appointments for a gentle scrub?
To this day the top tailors of the world prefer to create their garments with full working buttonholes - in fact anything else is a just a fake version of the real thing.
People watching on the Via Spiga, Milan's famous fashion street, will reveal beautiful men's suits being worn with the bottom button of the cuff undone on one sleeve - maybe two. Or two undone on both. A subtle mark of style, by the most fashionable men in the world to show off one of the hallmarks of their latest handmade suit.
2. Handbasting on a suit
Handbasting - the ultimate sign of a handmade suit. Handbasting is a dimple effect achieved by a line of hand-sewing on the leading parts of a suit: the lapel, the rear of the sleeve, and the vents etc. Only those in the know will actually notice such detail, but in the annals of style it's not about everyone knowing what is going on, rather just a very important few.
3. Natural shoulder line
Here at Working Style, our suit design team has been heavily influenced by the shoulder line finishing at the most natural point relative to the arm of a customer. Too often garments have a shoulder that finishes too wide of the arm so you are left looking like David Byrne in his Talking Heads days, when the alternative is a shoulder line that just looks extremely stylish and brings out any biceps you might have lurking beneath the fabric.
4. High armhole, slimmer sleeve diameter
This is probably the biggest international trend in men's suits at present. By drawing the armhole to a smaller aperture (effectively lifting the armhole into the shoulder) you achieve a radically different fashion look. This look is athletic and incredibly tailored in fit. Combine it again with a sleeve diameter which is narrower and your suit could not be more different to the iconic big shoulders of the 80s. Don't be fooled into thinking that nobody notices this subtle detailing - they absolutely do.
5. Signature lining
It's what's under the bonnet that counts. What is it with blokes? The constant fascination with cubic capacity, twin carbs, or whatever it is that makes you go fast. For instance, the internal detailing on our winter collection includes Liberty of London piped detailing, a veritable array of colour and textures that all work together to give the wearer a unique identity and mode of expression.
6. Slim pants
Baggy pants are not quite de rigueur, so the last thing we want you to have is too much air in there. Getting the cut of your pants just so, can be quite tricky but we pride ourselves on getting it right.
7. Shorter leg length
You gotta show that shoe. It's our belief that the modern cut pant, which is slimmer overall, is best cut just a little short, whether finished plain or with a cuff, so you can see the detail in the shoe. Beware - don't try it at home, as getting it wrong can kill the line of the most beautifully made suit.
* Working Style has six stores nationwide in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Visit workingstyle.co.nz for more information.
