LOOKING GOOD FOR LOTS LESS

— Dress Like A Fortune 500 CEO On A Mailroom Budget!

            Last week, I discussed the American suit. Next week, I’ll finish up with the Italian suit. In this column, I’ll talk about the British suit.

            Today’s British — or “drape” — suit originated in the 1930s and was developed by the world famous tailors of London’s Savile Row. These include long-established and venerable firms such as Anderson & Sheppard, J. Dege & Sons, Tobias Tailors, H. Huntsman & Sons, Kilgour, French & Stanbury, Gieves & Hawkes, Henry Poole & Company, Billings & Edmonds, Hawes & Curtis and Chester Barrie. More recently, newcomer Ozwald Boateng has become known for his contemporary and elegant offerings.

Although each Savile Row tailor has a unique “house style,” the British suit (or silhouette) has a number of common style elements. The shoulders are lightly padded and slightly sloped. But unlike the American “sack” suit, the coat’s waist is very nipped in and conforms to the body for a noticeable hourglass cut. Typically, two side vents are cut into the coat, resulting in a back flap. This enables hands to be comfortably inserted into the pants pockets without bunching up the coat and altering its clean lines. These side vents are said to be a carryover from the days when gentlemen rode horses, with the back flap lifting up and resting on the rear of the saddle instead of getting caught under the rider’s arse.

Often, the front pockets on the British suit are not cut horizontally, but are angled up with flaps. These are called "hacking” pockets and are, again, a remnant of bygone horse riding days. Armholes are typically cut higher than the classic American suit, but this is less so today, as American suit armholes are now cut higher than in the 1950s. Almost all double-breasted suits today are cut in the British silhouette.

British suit pants have a medium to high rise, with the top fly button directly in front of the navel. They are also usually pleated (but not always), and can be cuffed or un-cuffed. A common hallmark of British suit pants are brace (suspender) buttons sewn into the inside waist. The use of suspenders instead of belts is much more common in the UK than in the U.S. Two advantages are that pants “hang” better and are more comfortable, especially for men with larger waistlines.

American men adopted the British suit when style exemplars such as Fred Astaire, the Duke of Windsor, and Cary Grant popularized them prior to World War II. It has remained a staple wardrobe choice ever since, especially since it looks so much better on many men than the old American sack suit.

James F. Brown is a business consultant, writer, and expert on professional attire. Copyright 2008 James F. Brown, all rights reserved.