HOF: What Are You Wearing Right Now - Part IV (starting May 2014)

[DonCologne]

I think Don's patterns and colors are nicely combined. Excellent harmonizing of the tie's ground and secondary colors with the jacket's ground and secondaries, as well as the shirt colors. I agree that that shirt pattern and color feels more appropriate with a suit than with such a countryish odd jacket. But I like the ensemble.

@DonCologne , do you have straight shoulders? If not, I think it might be worth looking for jackets with more sloped shoulders when they have such a prominent check. Something like jcmeyer's shoulders above, although those are quite sloped. The check plus your coat's straight shoulders make you look boxy and rectangular, even though the jacket seems to fit you quite well. If you do have straight shoulders, like I do, I guess one just does the best one can. I never thought my straight shoulders would be a problem until I got into classic menswear...

I have straight shoulder, so not much I can do against the boxy look.

 

[gonz67]

Perfect length on the pants.

 

[Caustic Man]

I have straight shoulder, so not much I can do against the boxy look.

Unstructured jackets.

Or unpadded shoulders at least.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]



I have straight shoulder, so not much I can do against the boxy look.

I feel your pain. Maybe we should start a "What Should I Do about My Straight Shoulders?" thread.

 

[jcmeyer]



@jcmeyer
 , this is a pretty good effort from your Osaka MTM guy.

You have a very long neck and I think you could benefit from higher shirt collars, which I suspect may (paradoxically) reduce the perception of shoulder slope. Having the jacket collar sit high is a good strategy for the same reason (i.e. long neck), but can exacerbate the slope issue. I therefore suggest that you ask for a tad more shoulder extension next time, and ceratinly, you should avoid spalla camicia shoulder expression. Roped shoulders might work particularly well for your frame.

Just pretty good? I'd say this is at least full-strength good.

I'm wearing an older one here but all of my recent shirts, since about a year ago, have a taller collar. I have no burning desire for spalla camica and do like a more roped shoulder stylistically speaking, so that and slightly more extension are noted from you and CM.

@jcmeyer
, I agree with Cox in extending the shoulders a bit more. Also, a slightly shorter jacket would do you some good. Excellent choice on the besom pockets. Lose the cuffs.

I'm roughly 96% sure I won't be going any shorter than this on jacket length. It's ~0.75 shorter than the SuSu jacket you referenced in GNAT, putting it at the edge of what I think is reasonable in terms of rear coverage. I think the open quarters help to alleviate some of the "makes you look shorter" issue but for the moment this is where that compromise feels best, at the tip of my thumb. Unless the balance of the jacket can be made to be substantially longer in the back than front, anyway - I could ask a tailor about that in the future.

Glad you like the pockets (they're tucked in flaps but same difference); I think it makes all the sense in the world to do this on a business suit. I'm still not entirely convinced it has an appreciable impact on the perception of height to have patch pockets in real life, but for those and cuffs I'm currently willing to take a hit to height for the sake of stylistic preference. Right now an absence of cuffs looks unfinished to me. It's not wrong, of course, not in the slightest - it's only a personal preference and I know others, like Andy, feel exactly the opposite.

Appreciate the comments, fellas.

 

[Caustic Man]

I'm roughly 96% sure I won't be going any shorter than this on jacket length.

Obey the 4%. The usual guidelines on jacket length don't apply to you. You need to be a blade runner in this respect.

FWIW, I think cuffs do you much more harm than patch pockets. If you had to lose only one, I'd say lose the cuffs.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]



Unstructured jackets.

Or unpadded shoulders at least.

I think it depends. Whether and what kind of padding a coat shoulder has is just one factor that goes into creating what we see as the coat's shoulder line. I think almost everybody looks better with some shoulder padding, and that includes guys with straight or square shoulders. As a rough generalization, square-shouldered guys probably look better with padding that is minimal and soft. But there are all kinds of other variables--how the shoulder's slope is cut, how extended the shoulder is, how high or low the shoulder is--that also make a big difference to the appearance of the shoulder line. And these have to be calibrated to things like the length of the guy's neck, the depth and breadth of his chest, the shape of his abdomen, whether the cloth has a prominent check, etc.

 

[Caustic Man]

@Testudo_Aubreii , may I ask where you are from?

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]



The Northeastern U. S.

 

[pravda]

@Don Cologne very nice textures and colors.

 

[Caustic Man]

Ok, I was wondering if maybe you had an English background based on your shoulder padding comment. Anyway, doesn't matter. I think that some people definitely need padded shoulders, take @blekit for example. However, dudes with very boxy physiques almost need soft canvas and no shoulder padding as a matter of course. To counter-point what you said, there are some people who almost never look good with shoulder padding.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]



Ok, I was wondering if maybe you had an English background based on your shoulder padding comment. Anyway, doesn't matter. I think that some people definitely need padded shoulders, take @blekit
 for example. However, dudes with very boxy physiques almost need soft canvas and no shoulder padding as a matter of course. To counter-point what you said, there are some people who almost never look good with shoulder padding.

Well, I admit that I do like a straighter-looking shoulder line on SB city suits. Shoulders that are rounded AND extended just look off to me on SB city coats, like the below from Cutter and Tailor. So you have me there.

Myself, though, I distinguish sharply between whether a shoulder has padding and whether it appears natural/round/soft. I think of padding as more like the clay that can be used to give a coat's shoulder any shape the tailor likes.

 

[JHT652]

Just pretty good? I'd say this is at least full-strength good.

I'm wearing an older one here but all of my recent shirts, since about a year ago, have a taller collar. I have no burning desire for spalla camica and do like a more roped shoulder stylistically speaking, so that and slightly more extension are noted from you and CM.
I'm roughly 96% sure I won't be going any shorter than this on jacket length. It's ~0.75 shorter than the SuSu jacket you referenced in GNAT, putting it at the edge of what I think is reasonable in terms of rear coverage. I think the open quarters help to alleviate some of the "makes you look shorter" issue but for the moment this is where that compromise feels best, at the tip of my thumb. Unless the balance of the jacket can be made to be substantially longer in the back than front, anyway - I could ask a tailor about that in the future.

Glad you like the pockets (they're tucked in flaps but same difference); I think it makes all the sense in the world to do this on a business suit. I'm still not entirely convinced it has an appreciable impact on the perception of height to have patch pockets in real life, but for those and cuffs I'm currently willing to take a hit to height for the sake of stylistic preference. Right now an absence of cuffs looks unfinished to me. It's not wrong, of course, not in the slightest - it's only a personal preference and I know others, like Andy, feel exactly the opposite.

Appreciate the comments, fellas.

FWIW I like the cuffs on you & thinks these pants look like your best fitting. Usually your pants seem to taper a little bit too much below the knee, but these look very good

 

[Caustic Man]

Shoulder padding is meant to convey the appearance of strong shoulders where non naturally exists (or to correct certain proportional deficiencies). So too, canvas is mean to provide the appearance of a full, broad, chest. If you already have these things then piling on can be negative. Check out this badass pic of Winston Churchill. His naturally broad shoulders do the jacket's work for it. Nothing but the most minimal shoulder padding would work on him, and preferably none at all. Even his round gut doesn't disturb the proportions. This is the type of jacket @DonCologne should go for IMO.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]

Well, Solito are known for cutting some pretty soft and sloped shoulders, which I wouldn't say convey the appearance of strong shoulders (see below). Yet this coat of theirs has a shoulder pad.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I'd say maybe on Churchill. His shoulders do look broad here, but I wouldn't call them especially square or straight.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!