What's In A Suit? Contrasting different sources.

These days you can purchase a suit almost anywhere, including Wal-Mart. But not all suits are created equal. Below you can compare the different sources of suits, their features, benefits, and prices.

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I believe that the best value is in the third column. Here you get most of all of the benefits of a true bespoke suit at a fraction of the cost. If you're willing to shop around you can probably find a retailer with costs at or near those of upscale off-the-rack stores.

10 Style Tips for the New Year

1. Be sure 1/2 inch of your shirt cuff is visible when wearing a suit and your arms are hanging freely at your sides.

2. All your suits should have double vents (2 side vents) or a single vent in the middle. Reserve no-vent suits for waiters, weddings, and Miami Vice reunions.

3. Remember this: pant pleats are dead. All your pants should be flat front. If you must have a pleat, consider having inward-facing pleats. They tend to balloon less.

4. Try wearing brown shoes with grey suits. The darker the suit, the lighter the shade of brown. This rule applies to navy suits as well. In general, wear black shoes only with black suits.

5. Never button the bottom button on your single-breasted suits. Ever. By now you should only have 2-button or 3-button suits in your closet. Leave the bottom unbuttoned. If you are wearing a double-breasted suit, button all functioning buttons. For all suits - if you are standing, the suit should be buttoned. If sitting, unbuttoned. No exceptions.

6. The width of your jacket lapel should be similar to the width of your necktie. Remember, moderate to narrow ties are the current fashion.

7. Your pants should only have a single break at the shoe. No folds upon folds. The leaner the trouser cut, the less break you should have. But never more than a single break. Cuff or no-cuff? Either is acceptable.

8. Try a vest. They are versatile and hip. They add several new options to your wardrobe. And they are currently fashionable, even with jeans. Tip: always leave the bottom button of your vest undone.

9. Get a fitted dress shirt. Trust me - It's flattering. You'll know why men love them as soon as you get your own.

10. Buy a new suit in 2010. Expand your suit collection and push your personal style a little.

The Proper Suit Fit

For those of you that haven't heard, baggy suits are out and fitted suits are in. Contrast this ill-fitting suit ...


... with these nicely fitted suits ...




Gently reflecting today's more modest sensibilities, it's at once boldly austere and beautifully refined. But with narrower lapels, a trimmer waist, and a closer-cut silhouette, it's a style that has a power all its own - a cool simplicity that is self-assured yet refreshingly unpretentious.

Now is a great time to consider throwing out your old suits and buying new suits that fit your body and today's style.

Why Every Man Should Own A Suit

"All the world is not, of course, a stage, but the crucial ways in which it isn't are not easy to specify." - Erving Goffman

You need one. I don't care if you work in your basement. I don't care if you're an artist. A grown-up man needs at least one suit for special events. And once you have one, a good one which fits you and doesn't make you feel constricted, you will wonder why all your clothes aren't suits. You will want to buy three more.

The standard men's uniform of well-fitting jacket and trousers is a remarkable confidence-giving garment: people will treat you differently when you are in a suit; they will look at you differently, they will ask your opinion, they will expect you to take care of trouble.

To take this one step further, every man should own a custom suit. The first time I purchased a custom suit I knew I would never buy an off-the-peg, ready-to-wear suit from my local department store again. And I haven't. This is one of those things you just won't understand or fully appreciate until you do it. So you'll have to take my word for it until you, too, take the plunge. The way a suit cut for my own measurements - 20 or more - makes me feel is a remarkable thing. The process results in a garment that breeds confidence. I own some very nice off-the-rack suits. A few of them major name brands. But they don't compare. How can they when they only consider 3 measurements? You've got to try it to know what I'm talking about.