Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! In
today's video, we discuss three iconic suit styles and silhouettes; the Italian one,
the English one, and how they compare to the American one. Honestly, there are many
other tailoring schools including the French, the Austrian, and the German
schools but the video would just be too long if we cover them all. So why did we
choose these three? Well, we're in America and if you asked John Doe on the street
where a proper suit should be made chances are they'll say Italy or England.
So how do the Italian, the English, and the American school of tailoring compare?
Well, there's certain broad strokes but a suit from the Milan is different from a
suit from Rome and it is from let's say, Sicily or Naples. The same is true for
English suits, maybe in a less extreme version. A suit from Savile Row is very
distinctly British, a suit from Manchester or Dover is probably not as
refined and just a little different in the way it looks.
While the tailoring industry in the US is nowadays limited to a few centers where
they're still made, you can still have the classic sack suit style as
popularized by Brooks Brothers. Of course, suits often contain hybrid elements and
different varieties but we'll try to shed some light on them so you can
clearly see if a suit is Italian, English, or American. Of course, let's not forget
that the suit by Giorgio Armani from the 80s or 90s looks very different from an
Italian suit today. In order to really understand the differences between the
suit style silhouettes, it's important to understand the history of the suit so
let's take a quick look at that. Western suit tailoring, as we know it today, has its
origins in Great Britain, more specifically, 19th century London.
Also, the Japanese word for suit is Sabiro which is their pronunciation
of Savile Row. If we had to bring back the suit to just one person, it would likely
be Beau Brummell who was a dandy in 19th century London. Before him, men wore very
colorful outfits but he wanted to remove excess
and volume and brought down the color spectrum to black. So that meant no more
powdered wigs, frills, brocade silks, and heels. Yes, before Beau Brummel, men wore
pretty much high heels. While Beau Brummel was a big proponent of black for evening
wear, for daywear, his uniform looks slightly different. Often, he would be seen
wearing a dark blue coat, a white shirt paired with a buff vest, odd trousers
and black boots. To top it all off, he took a lot of time to tie his bowtie in
a way that it looked very effortless. Literally, he spent hours to make it look like it was just put on in less than a minute. He was the one advocating for a
close-fitting cut which would eventually transition into the so-called lounge
suit. Obviously, when we think of a lounge today, we have something casual in mind.
Back then, what we now know as a regular suit was a quite informal casual garment
hence the word lounge suit. To learn more about the dress code and the back story,
check out this video here. How did Beau Brummel come up with his
clothes' designs? Basically, they date back to the uniforms he wore at Eton and as
a cavalry officer. By the late 1800s, famous Savile Row tailor Henry Poole
removed the tails from an evening tailcoat thus making it into a tuxedo
jacket. To learn all you ever wanted to know about black tie history please check
out our in-depth black tie guide here. Once the lounge suit had been
established as a garment men could wear, it took on a different characteristic
and development in each of different countries which is why we have those
distinctly different suit styles we know today. A classic British suit accentuates
the physique of the wearer and communicates Authority.
It basically is a cavalry officer's outfit made for civilians. I'd say a
strong structure with stiff interlining that is more military uniform inspired
is the hallmark of a British suit. That means padded shoulder, a stiffer canvas,
as well as some waist suppression. Everything is properly fitting without
looking too tight. Now that being said, not all famous English tailors are alike.
Companies like Anderson and Sheppard or Steven Hitchcock specialize in the
soft cut drape style which is characterized by no or very minimal
shoulder padding, a very soft sweater like canvas feel, and a drape cut that
leaves more fullness of your shoulders and your chest. to learn more about drape
and what it means check out this guide here. Even though is an island and
thus they have more moderate temperatures, it can be quite cool
because of all the rain they experience. Because of that, the traditional English
suit uses heavier fabrics. Now, with the weight of 13 ounces or more, you don't
just get warmth but also a nicer drape that hides any kind of possible flaws.
It's much easier to tailor a heavier fabric than it is to tailor something
that is very lightweight because it wrinkles a lot more easily. So to
this day, English generally tend to have heavier worsteds, flannels, or tweed
fabrics that are still made up into suits. Of course, finishing and weaving technology
has come a long way so overall, the weights have gone down. The look of an
English suit can generally be described as conservative and understated which is in
line with their culture of following the rules. More specifically, that means the
lapels are not particularly wide or have a particularly high Gorge, the buttonhole
is not very visible and you don't see two rows of pick stitching along the
edges of every seam. Another typical element for British suits are flap
pockets which have an equestrian heritage. Of course, for double-breasted
suits, which are traditionally more formal than single breasted suits,
oftentimes, you will not see the flap which makes a suit slightly more casual.
Also, the ticket pocket just located above one of the pockets other than the
right or the left depending on your dominant hand
is a very characteristic British feature. In the thirties, most English
suits would not have featured a vent because a ventless suit jacket was the most closed
fitting and elegant. On the other hand, today, most English suits have side vents
because they have somewhat been established as the norm so you can still
put your hands in your pocket all the while covering your rear. In the 90s, surgeon cuffs or working buttonholes on your cuffs were a distinctly British hallmark. Today,
you can go to H&M and find a suit that has that feature so I wouldn't describe
it as quintessentially British anymore. The gorge of the English suit which is that
little seam between a collar and the lapel is typically lower than on more
modern Italian suits. now to learn more about suit terminology in general please
check out this in-depth guide here. The front quarters of an English suit jacket
are generally more straight cut and less open than let's say, an Italian jacket. Some
people say a British suit looks best on slim men but I would say, if you have it
tailored, you can be a little more portly and it will still look splendid if you
like a more dominant or authoritative look. It's also more refined by its
proportions and the clean lines rather than showy details and as such, it is known as
the perfect suit for a workplace. Of course, these are just broad
generalizations and every tailoring house has their own individual unique style
that is slightly different than what you'd find elsewhere. Rather than trying
to get a tailor to change his house style to your needs, it's best to find
someone who is as close to your ideal style as possible. In the 20s and 30s, the
British drape cut was invented on Savile Row and if you like that style, by
all means, go to Anderson and Sheppard or Steven Hitchcock who specialize in that.
on the other hand wouldn't be the first address for this kind of style.
In some ways, a draped suit is an antithesis to the classic British suit
because there's so much excess fabric. You still have the waist suppression and
it helps to cut out an athletic figure, however, it's almost exaggerated because
you have more excess fabric over the chest and shoulder blades. Next, let us talk about the Italian suit. Italy is one of those countries where a lot of small
towns still have actual bespoke tailors. The craft and the traditions developed
long before the internet and with long distances, communication was more
difficult and so different styles evolved
in different towns in parts of the country. So while the style of a Milanese
suit in northern Italy, where things are more industrial and the economy is
stronger are much closer to the English suit than let's say in Naples where it
gets very hot and everything is a bit more casual. With the general
capitalization of menswear in recent decades paired with an increased
appreciation in craftsmanship, the Neapolitan tailoring school has become
increasingly popular in recent years. It is certainly unique from the other
tailoring schools and it all starts with the shoulder. Today's Neapolitan jackets
all lack shoulder padding. That being said, older Neapolitan jackets had
shoulder padding as well. When you sew on a pair of sleeves, there are basically three
options to fold the fabric ends; you can fold both towards the shoulder, both
towards the sleeve, or you can split them out. With the so-called Spalla Camicia,
the shirt shoulder, both seams are folded towards the shoulder. Typically what
happens in Naples, you also get a wavy like structure where the fabric is sewn
closely together giving you the effect of multiple dimples next to each other.
While that would look out of place on an English suit, that's definitely a
hallmark of a Neapolitan Spalla Camicia. Now, a slightly more formal Italian
shoulder style is the Con Rollino. In that case, both seams are folded towards
the sleeve and you have an additional piece of fabric that makes the whole
sleeve come up more that raises up and falls
down like a waterfall. Some people also call it a rope shoulder with a roping
detail and typically, you can't find any dimple like waves or grinze up there.
Now, sure, if you find the right Neapolitan tailor, there are probably also great
different shoulder constructions for you nevertheless, these are today, the most
characteristic shoulder constructions you can find in southern Italy. Other
Neapolitan suit features include patch pockets
which are a little more casual, they also often come single breasted in a
three roll two configuration meaning the top button is never buttoned and just rolled
into part of the lapel. The chest pocket is typically rounded and called barchetta
which means as much as little boat. The front quarters are more open, the canvas
is very lightweight or sometimes completely absent which makes sense in a
warmer climate where more airflow is desirable.
Of course, the fabrics are also lighter in weight and they're often blended, it's
not just pure wool and the weave is usually also more open so you can feel
the breeze.For vents, it is definitely a double vent. Also, if you
look at the fine pick stitching that typically on an English suit is more
on the lapel can be found throughout all the the seams. Sometimes, you even have a second
row of pick stitching that is tailored in that way so it's clearly visible
sometimes with a slightly contrasting thread. In England, on the other hand, they
would make it so it's hardly visible in a perfectly matching thread. Overall, the
Neapolitan tailoring features show there's a bit more flamboyance in an Italian suit
style. Now in a world that gets increasingly more casual,
I've seen many London businessmen now wear the Neapolitan suits because
wearing a suit still makes you more formal than 90% of the men out there. Of
course, some may argue that the Neapolitan suit is not appropriate for really
formal offices but in this day and age, you can probably still get away with a
Neapolitan navy suit in a rather formal law firm. The physical structure and look
and the details reflects the southern Italian warmer environment of Naples
much better than let's say, a more stiffer upper rainy English
environment. Now if you look at Roman suit styling, it's probably what most
people in the world first recognized as an Italian suit in the 1950s. Designed by
the Roman tailoring house Brioni, they really were a first to scale up
this style and sell it to the world as the classic Italian suit style. You generally
had a slim fit, a bit of shoulder padding, and since Rome is further north from
Naples, it was also a bit more conservative, that
meant no patch pockets but jetted pockets, that meant no rear vent
for a clean silhouette. Also, the lapels were a bit more Milanese in a sense
everything was more conservative and the three roll two wasn't a thing for them.
You would often find a two-button jacket when it was single breasted. A classic
Milanese suit emphasizes the shoulder in a way that doesn't necessarily rely on
padding. In general, the gorge was lower, lapels were maybe a little wider and
overall, it was a perfectly wearable business suit that maybe was a bit more
flamboyant in a fabric choice than a classic British suit. Of course, keep in
mind that with the internet and globalization, you can now very easily
find tailors in Milan that make you a suit that is very Neapolitan and vice
versa. Also, bear in mind, these are just general guidelines that may change over
time because if you look at tailoring or menswear books from the 80s,
Italian style is often characterized as being heavily padded like the ones from
George Romano in the 90s versus American suits are characterized as having no
shoulder pad at all but if you look at it today, it's almost reversed. And when
it comes to the American suit style, they are generally not known as the most sophisticated elegant garments. Even though in the US, many immigrants
including people from Great Britain or Italy, probably the English suit style
was more prevalent and adapted in the 20s
particularly by Brooks Brothers who then introduced the so called sack suit. It
was characterized by a jacket front that was lacking a dart. Because of that, there
was less waist suppression and the whole garment looked more like a sack which is
usually not very flattering. So the sack suit didn't just have
straight cut jacket panels that didn't pay any attention to contours but the
trousers were also really full cut. The term sack was meant to recall the French
saque jacket from the 1840s which was cut from two straight panels. However, most
people associated more the look of a potato sack then it became kind of a
negative observation of a suit that just didn't fit you at all. In typical
American fashion, the sack suit was developed for marketing or business
purposes in the sense that one suit would fit them all thus
bringing the cost per suit way down. Brooks Brothers wanted something that
was cheap to manufacture and cheap to replace. It also featured a single vent
and no working sleeve buttons or other noticeable details. Because of that, the
armholes were also cut rather deep so every man, no matter how big or slim they
were, could fit into it. Ironically, a sack suit became a staple
of the Ivy style look and by the way, you can learn more about that style in
this video here. It basically helped the young men to visually rebel against
their fathers and their suit ideas. So which suit style is best? Obviously, that
is a very subjective question. Personally, I think there are interesting elements in
all of them and I often like to mix them and not just use one of them. I like to
have the typical British pinstripe suit that is businesslike but maybe have a
slightly softer canvas because overall, I like softer canvas suits. Sometimes
though, having a really heavy padded canvas that makes you look like a
Cavalry officer is desirable too. I don't think you have to just pick one
thing and just wear that but you can develop your own style. Let's say for me,
I have bigger thighs so I don't wear skinny pants, I have fuller cut pants
with double pleats, not something that's in style right now. I'm sure it will be
again in a few years from now but for me, it doesn't matter because I've found my
style. That being said, the classic American sack suit is probably the least
favorite because I don't think it flatters me. Now, at the end of the day, the most
important aspect of a suit no matter whether it's English Italian or American
is its fit and to learn how a suit should fit you properly please check out our
series here. Also, take into consideration your personal
circumstances. If you work in an office five or six days a week, then by all
means, maybe start with some British style suits, get the basics in navy, charcoal,
and stripes and then maybe elaborate and get some more
Italian influenced sport coats. On the other hand, if you live in a more casual
environment where it's warm, then you're much better off with a southern Italian
style garment that maybe has linen or silk blended into the fabric
that is more airy and maybe has no lining and just makes you more
comfortable and more fitting although not looking sloppy. If you're on a
shorter side, an Italian style that has a slightly shorter jacket with a higher
Gorge may give you the appearance of a height. by the way you want to know how
to look taller as a shorter man in a suit check out this video here. Let's say
you're a very thin built and very slim, an Italian suit will just accentuate
your slimness. In that case, I suggest you try out a British silhouette which just
makes you look a little more substantial and more balanced. At the end of the day, what a
good suit will always do is take features that are asymmetrical in your
body and balance them out so it looks overall harmonious. If you're interested
in a more youthful casual look, definitely go with an Italian style. If you
want something a little more seasoned and mature, go with a British style. So
what are features that I like? I appreciate different shoulder
constructions for different kinds of jackets. I like a softer jacket, I like
smaller holes that allow me to move very easily.
I like heavier fabrics on suits sometimes but I also like lighter weight
fabrics. I'm 6 foot tall, I have bigger thighs so the typical modern Italian
silhouette is maybe not the best look for me. I'm also a big fan of vintage
garments for things like overcoats or sometimes also for suits. I also live in
a climate with four distinct seasons where summers are really warm, the
winters are really cold, and we have nice fall and spring weather. Because of that,
I can wear a different range of suits. I can have seersucker suits and fresco
ones in the summer, real heavy flannel and worsted suits in the winter, and in
between, I can wear three season weights or all season weights and just allows me
to play more with my wardrobe. So for today's video I
intentionally picked a suit that was British but was not your typical British
suit. for example it has this heavy herringbone fabric which is totally
British but the pattern the color is in a brown that is typically a little more
casual and not so British also it has a three roll two silhouette which is more
casual and probably Neapolitan especially if you look at the patch
pockets and a front dart that goes all the way to the bottom of the seam then
again if you look at the lapels and the gorge it's a much more British lapel
look at the rear there's no vent which again is not something you would find in
a neapolitan jacket but more in a jacket in the 1930s the pants have cuffs or
turn ups are full cut to accommodate my roomy thighs and it is in fact a vintage
English suit that I've found in a store through a trip to London I just like the
mixing and matching of the material with a certain details that is usually not
something you can just find these days so I paired the suit with a white double
cuffed dress shirt and a British wool challis tie that has tones of yellow
green red and blue you can find it in our shop here just like the green and red
pocket square it picks up the color of the ties i pair it with a phlox
boutonniere because it has white like my shirt and yellow like my tie my
cufflinks are Eagle Claw malachite cufflinks that pick up the green colors
in the pocket square as well as a tie because it
matches my belt buckle and the leather color of the belt matches my shoes which
are chocolate brown suede half chukka boots from Loake I transitioned them to my
pants with a pair of shadow striped dark brown and beige socks so everything is
harmonious and works well together again you can find them in our shop here just
like the other accessories
