What better time to amp up your style than middle age?

Adolphe Menjou
The talkie motion picture brought an end to the silent-film era, as well as the careers of most of its leading men. But Adolphe Menjou, whose name was basically synonymous with style throughout the 1920s, was never like most leading men. The classic plaids, tweeds, pinstripes, and flannels of Menjou's personal collection of over one hundred suits and overcoats—all custom-made, with a pronounced slant toward double-breasted—simply commanded respect. (His formidable physique didn't hurt, either.) "Good taste in dress is important," he stated. "With the importance of simplicity always underscored." He should know. The man had nine tailors.—COLE LOUISON
* What better time to amp up your style than middle age? Find a Good Tailor,Treat yourself to some custom shirts, flash those cuffs links, grab hold of a patterned pocket square!  C'mon, you've earned it.

A perfect fit -- the ultimate bespoke suit

LONDON, England (CNN) -- If you think of the hierarchy of tailoring in terms of Mount Everest, down at the bottom -- somewhere around base camp -- you have your average run-of-the mill, mass-produced, off-the-peg suit.
From that level you climb steadily upwards, the atmosphere becoming ever more rarified as you go, the price-tag ever more exorbitant, past off-the-peg designer suits, made-to-measure suits, bespoke suits, until eventually, right up near the top, you encounter hand-made suits cut and stitched by the master-craftsmen of the world's truly great tailoring houses: H. Huntsman of Savile Row, William Fioravanti, Brioni, Attolini, Caraceni.
Above even those, however, sitting right at the very summit of the tailoring world, are suits made by legendary Italian tailoring company Kiton (named after the ancient Greek "chiton" -- a garment supposedly woven by virgins from only the very finest fabrics).
And of all the suits made by Kiton none is more luxurious, nor -- at $30,000-$50,000 each -- more expensive, than the prosaically-named K50.
So called because it is the product of 50 hours work, the suit is made exclusively by Kiton's master tailor Enzo D'Orsi, one of the giants of international suit making.
Because he and he alone can actually craft the suit -- he will travel anywhere in the world to conduct measurements and fittings -- a maximum of 50 appear each year, a rarity that only adds to their mystique and allure, not to mention cost.
"What makes this suit so special," explains Kiton's commercial director Antonio De Matteis, "is firstly that it is created on the body of the person who is buying it, ensuring an absolutely perfect fit; secondly that it is crafted exclusively by one of the world's finest tailors; and thirdly that it is made of only the very finest fabrics."
A K-50 suit uses wool from merino sheep reared in Australia and New Zealand, where the climate and grass-quality are especially conducive to the creation of high-quality fibres.
Typically a K-50 suit will use wool whose fibers are less than 14 microns in diameter, with some employing a superfine 11.5 micron fabric (the lower the micron count, the smoother and lighter the feel of the fabric, and the higher the cost.)

Enzo D'Orsi crafting a K50 suit

From this material, Senor D'Orsi crafts a suit that, according to one critic, "follows the lines of the body so closely, and yet sits so lightly, that it seems to be poured on."
Each one involves a minimum of three fittings and a painstaking process of cutting and stitching at Kiton's factory in Arzano, a suburb of Naples (the breast pocket alone can take up to eight hours to finish.)
Among other trademark design features, the K-50 has tapering sleeve ends -- making the jacket feel more like a shirt -- and an unusually short collar and high "gorge" -- the point where the collar meets the lapel.)
Uniquely, Senor D'Orsi doesn't actually cut a pattern for the suit -- he instead chalks the relevant measurements directly onto the cloth, a method that allows almost no margin for error.
So extraordinarily comfortable is the suit, apparently, and so superior to any other experience available in the world of tailoring, that one Kiton customer was moved to declare: "I could change from a Porsche to a BMW. But to go from Kiton to something else? Impossible!"

007's Tailor: A Guide to Men's Clothing

007's Tailor: A Guide to Men's Clothing: "Learning about suits and how they're made is interesting. Tailoring is a fine art and hopefully one that will not be lost on future generations.


A short history of British tailoring

The recent history of fine tailoring and men's suits centers around the area of Savile Row in London. In the early 1800's they were known for military uniforms and clothing for royalty. In the late 1800's, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Dr Livingstone, and the Maharajah were customers of the Row. Around this time, increased demand from royalty caused Henry Poole and Co., Davies and Son, Meyer & Mortimer, and other tailors to outsource work to local sweatshops. Disease spread quickly in these crowded, unventilated rooms and the threat of it being passed on through the fibers in the clothing was the source of many major news stories. In the early and mid-1900's, the Row attired JFK, Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, and others. More recently, it has seen Eric Clapton, Hugh Grant, British Prime Ministers, and countless others.

While the tailors there are famously secretive about their clients, a few stories that are known show the Row has had a hand in the larger affairs of the world.

In one story, the Shah of Persia [Iran], Mozzafar-al-Din, visited England around 1902 on the promise of receiving the Order of the Garter. King Edward VII refused to give this high honor to the Shah. A quick thinking Secretary had a special medal made that resembled the Order, but was missing the Cross of St. George. He and had it sent to the royal yacht just in time for the Shah's arrival. The King was so enraged by the sight of the medal, though, that he threw it out of his yacht's porthole. As a consolation, the Shah was introduced to the King's tailor, Henry Poole and Co. on Savile Row. (Although, a few years later, Britain sent the Shah a full Order of the Garter.) In another story, the 1973 French play La Cage aux Folles (on which the original French movie, and then later, the Robin Willams movie The Birdcage were based) caused a run on curled feathers which were used in their elaborate Savile Row-made stage costumes. This cause a few month's worth of backup in dressy military uniforms that also required curled feathers.

Today, the Japanese call a suit a 'sebiro', which is their pronounciation of 'Savile Row'.


Bespoke and custom-made suits

The top-of-the-line suit, which is called bespoke ('bih-spoke') in England, is a handmade suit where you choose the fabric. The cutter then measures you, creates a set of individual paper patterns just for you (which can be used for later suits), cuts the fabric, and then they and the tailor assemble it exactly. A good tailor will prepare their pattern for you based on your 'figuration', which is the way you lean or stand. All suit jackets have 4 buttons on the end of the sleeves. Real buttons in button holes holding the end fabric of the sleeve together is a tell-tale sign of a bespoke suit. Most off-the-rack suits have buttons which serve no purpose, but are simply there for appearance.

But probably you're not planning to spend $2000-$3000 or more on a suit. Unless you have the money to burn, you don't need to. If you do have that kind of money, it might be a worthy invesment to support the fine craftsment, like investing in the arts. Custom-made suits also fit better, are more easily altered over time, and last longer than factory-made ones, so ultimately they may be worth the higher price tag.

A key thing to remember in buying a suit or any other part of your wardrobe is that there is a clear difference between flashy and simply well-tailored clothes that fit both you and your personality. The former is necessarily expensive, the latter need not be. For the latter, James Bond is my personal favorite style icon, especially for the British look which others, including the Italians, take their cues from.


Style points

* James Bond apparently preferred pleats. If you have pleats, your pants should be cuffed; if you have a flat front, your pant cuffs should also be flat. Cuffs on your pants should be exactly 1 3/4'. If you have pleats, you should only have two on each side. Savile Row only tailors pleats that fold in, not out ('reverse' pleats).
* When looking at suits, the way one fits you and the quality and type of fabric used are the two most important elements. After that, the quality of the construction of the suit should be considered. One of the easiest ways to tell whether the suit is well constructed is if the canvas between the fabric covering your chest (called a chest plate) is 'hanging' and not 'fused'. In other words, it hangs freely between the wool and lining and is not glue to them at the seams. The best way to check is to ask (if the store doesn't know, assume not). Or online, there should be a description of the qualities of the store's suits and that should be one of the qualities highlighted. Hanging plates last longer, fit more naturally, and are easier to tailor. All Savile Row suits use hanging plates, of course.
* Find a good tailor to make sure your suits fit perfectly. The following are a few things that a tailor can adjust for you.
o Your jacket should be tailored to curve in so that there is a slight gap showing between your arms and chest when your arms are hanging freely.
o Your jacket's sleeves should be so that about a 1/2' of your shirt's cuffs extends beyond the jacket when your arms are hanging freely.
o The collar should be fitted so that after you shrug your shoulders up or to the back, after the jacket falls back into place, you don't see any of the material on the back of the collar. A tailor can make such alterations easily. Your shirt collar should stick up from the jacket collar about 1/2' inch. See this still from Dr. No for an example of a well-tailored suit (Sean Connery on the right) and a not-so-well-tailored suit (the American spy on the left). Also note Connery's jacket's cuff buttons: they're the real thing with matching buttonholes and not just there for decoration.
o There's a story that Fred Astaire had his tailor at Anderson & Sheppard pull back their carpet so he could tap dance in his new suit in front of a mirror to check that his collar didn't pull away from his neck.
* Wear your suit and shirts. If you take care of them (such as not wearing your suit pants without shoes to prevent the bottoms from fraying), they'll last a long time. Don't send them to the cleaners any more than is neccessary. But brand new clothes don't look as good as clothes that have developed a bit of worn-in character. Fred Astaire used to throw his new suits against a wall to 'knock the newness out of them'. According to one rumor, Connery's tailor for Dr. No made him sleep in his suit for a couple of nights to get used to it."

How to Dress for Men, How to Wear a Suit, How to Dress Professionally, Business Suits

How to Dress for Men, How to Wear a Suit, How to Dress Professionally, Business Suits: "Mixing Patterns with Confidence
Combining stripes, checks and patterns doesn't have to make you uneasy

To take the uncertainty out of coordinating patterns, simply respect these rules:

* Patterns fall into two broad categories: MAJOR (the pattern stands out from 5 feet away or more) and minor (the pattern blends in from less than 5 feet)
* Your jacket and tie should both be in one pattern category (MAJOR or minor), while your shirt should be in the other category

This gives us two proven pattern-mixing strategies: MAJOR-minor-MAJOR and minor-MAJOR-minor.

    

It's as simple as that. Mixing patterns doesn't have to be intimidating. Just put MAJOR-minor-MAJOR and minor-MAJOR-minor to work for you - and leave the solid blue shirt/navy suit pack behind!"

At Law Firms, New Hires Go Casual - WSJ.com

At Law Firms, New Hires Go Casual - WSJ.com: "One of the lifestyle perks law firms increasingly offer young lawyers is the chance to dress comfortably at the office. With 'business casual' as the new dress code of record, ties hang in closets and jackets await their day in court at home.

There's just one problem: It can be difficult to get young associates to shift gears and don traditional dress when the need arises. A decade after the dot-com boom made casual Friday a weeklong event, many people under 30 have never witnessed a suits-only office.

Older people have long complained about the sartorial sloppiness of the younger generation. But the divide is stark in the legal profession.

'I share the lament and disgust about the general level of associates' attire,' says Tom Mills, the 60-year-old managing partner of the Washington office of Winston & Strawn LLP. 'I think it's abysmal.'

For young men and women, a business suit is an uncomfortable yoke to be dusted off for special occasions. 'Getting up in the morning and putting on a suit is hard,' says Sara Shikhman, a 26-year-old legal associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in New York. She says she hasn't worn one in six months.
Dressing Down?
[law]

Are associates getting away with too much? Have partners misplaced their anxieties? Join the discussion on WSJ.com's Law Blog.

When associates show up at work in suits, their peers think they have a job interview, Ms. Shikhman says. 'Guys don't really polish their shoes,' she adds. They go for cool, rather than traditional. 'They wear shoes like you might see Johnny Depp wearing to the Oscars.' She recognizes that her firm's partners 'definitely look more put together than associates, but they also get more sleep than the associates.'

Yet in lawyering, half the battle is the posturing. Many experienced lawyers see their wardrobe as a tool to win the trust of clients, juries and judges. Legal associates who aren't sartorially prepared may not be invited along to a new-client pitch or to take a leading role in court, regardless of the office's stated 'business casual' dress code.

Mr. Mills says he is partial to well-fitted Brioni suits for himself. He notes that the going rate for new associates in New York, Los Angeles and Washington is $160,000 a year -- enough to buy suits while paying down school loans. Yet all too often, associates show up at work in jeans -- attire that he doesn't condone 'unless it's moving day.'

When it came time to pick a point person for a plum assignment at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips recently, the New York law firm chose 'a polished, professional-looking associate' over a 'brilliant' and experienced associate who had been counseled, to no avail, to improve his grooming and attire, says Renee Brissette, a partner at the firm.

The firm opted for someone more presentable to the client, says Ms. Brissette. She notes that associates are often loath to believe their attire could affect assignments or promotions. 'Young lawyers don't like to hear that it's anything but their intellect,' says Ms. Brissette. She notes that for women, being professionally attired doesn't require a man-suited look: She has a wardrobe of Nanette Lepore suits that are unmistakably feminine without being inappropriately flirty.

Brad Tobin, 25, who is working at a midtown Manhattan law firm, says he is certain that clothes don't affect job assignments at his firm. 'Not at all -- it's really based on work product,' says Mr. Tobin, who is working part-time while he completes law school. He says he owns suits but doesn't bother to wear them at work.

Law firms are attempting to raise the bar. Some associates at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft this winter received a note asking employees to change out of their snow boots after young associates began wearing their Ugg boots all day at work, says Ms. Shikhman. A Cadwalader spokeswoman says she wasn't aware that such a note had circulated.

Winston & Strawn brought in a personal shopper from a local department store last year to address associates on how to shop and dress for work. Mr. Mills says that when some associates do make an effort to dress up, they seem to base their look on Hollywood. 'You get the TV-woman lawyer look with skirts 12 inches above the knee and very tight blouses,' he says. 'They have trouble sitting and getting into taxis.'

The firm also hired etiquette consultant Gretchen Neels, a former executive recruiter, to give lectures on grooming, dress, and etiquette standards such as where to place one's napkin at dinner.

She says many members of the so-called millennial generation have never been schooled in the traditions that previous generations learned at their parents' knees. Yet these 20-somethings are still being evaluated by old-school bosses and clients. Many members of this generation not only 'don't own a watch -- they've never owned a watch,' says Ms. Neels. In many white-collar professions, an expensive watch signals success, while a cool cellphone or iPod, though it tells time, signals hipness.

Ms. Neels, founder of Neels & Co. in Boston, has been making the rounds at law firms, as well as law and business schools at Duke, Harvard and other universities. She hears all sorts of complaints from scandalized partners: One young attorney wears yoga pants to work. Another associate blasted out a firmwide email searching for a size-32 belt when an unanticipated court appearance required him to dress up midday.

Ms. Neels notes that business-school grads share law associates' casual sartorial attitude, and she tries to connect the dots between what they wear and how they come across. When she was coaching M.B.A. graduates at Harvard last weekend, she says only about half came in a suit. One young man showed up in cargo pants, and his cellphone rang during the interview.

'What I'm getting from you is that you're a jerk,' Ms. Neels told the student as part of her feedback. 'Can you see how I'd get that?'

'Yeah, I guess,' he responded, she says.

Trial attorney Rosemarie Arnold says young lawyers need to learn that 'courtroom drama is all about control.' Ms. Arnold represented Joran van der Sloot, one of three men who were with student Natalee Holloway before she disappeared in Aruba. With courtroom appearances in mind, Ms. Arnold spends $150,000 a year on clothes, she estimates. She is partial to Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana in particular and black suits in general.

'Trying a case is like a movie,' Ms. Arnold says. 'Wardrobe is everything.'"

What is the best shirt fabric for me?

What is the Best Shirt Fabric for Me?What is the Best Shirt Fabric for Me? The weave and construction of cotton fabrics produce dramatic differences in appearance and performance Weave: Poplin: Very cool and crisp to the touch. Makes a great shirt for warmer climates, or the humid heat of summer. Starch not necessary. Broadcloth: Lightweight and finely woven with no visible surface texture. Also great in warm climates or simply as a year-round dress shirt. A longtime favorite for most. Starch is not needed for performance throughout the day. Oxford: Traditional weave of a 'beefy' nature that will withstand the most rigorous of daily use. A classic as a button-down collared shirt. Takes an awesome starching for that sturdy appearance. Pinpoint: A durable, well respected cloth, known for its soft feel and dressier luster than its cousin the Oxford. The perfect shirt to have in multiples. A natural in any climate, it performs fantastically well with or without starch. End on End: A time proven variation of the broadcloth. Woven with colored threads alternating with white. Offers the overall appearance of a solid color, yet with unique visual interest upon close inspection. Twill: Characterized by a very fine diagonal weave, resulting in a cloth with a soft hand and a perfectly subtle elegant luster. Considered a relatively dressy cloth. Performs nicely with a light starch. Sea Island: Extremely fine, long staple cotton. Produces a deliciously light and extremely comfortable cloth. Revered for its ability to take dyes and produce vibrant colors, allowing for unique and intricate patterns. Laundered shirts acquire an incredibly silky feel. Starching will reduce the tactile sense of this wonderful cloth. King Twill : True elegance for those desiring a distinctive cloth possessing a clear visual texture. Construction: I. Thread-Count � Thread-count tells you how many threads were used to produce the fabric. The higher the thread-count, the finer the fabric will feel. For example, a 100's pinpoint is of higher quality and will feel finer than a 40's pinpoint. II. Plying � The ply of a fabric expresses how many threads were twisted together before weaving them into the finished fabric. For example, a two-ply 100's pinpoint takes two strands of the 100's thread and twists them together before weaving the cloth. A two-ply fabric is more durable than a single ply fabric. III. Staple Length - The third factor in the quality and luxuriousness of a shirt is the raw cotton from which the yarns are spun. Longer staple fibers such as Sea Island are those from which the finest cotton goods are made, because their fineness permits them to be spun into exceptionally tight yarns. This allows for very fine multi-ply yarns and high thread count finished goods - the ultimate in cotton!

The Perfect Shirt, Searching for the Perfect Dress Shirt, Modern Dress Shirts

In Search of the Perfect Shirt
A global guide to intricacies of the modern shirt

When searching for the classic American shirt, the surest places to start would be Chicago�s Michigan Avenue or New York's Madison or Fifth Avenues. Whether moderate spread or button-down collared, these shirts say, 'traditional, understated and refined'. Classic American shirts are normally detailed with rounded barrel cuffs, a front placket and a box pleated back. Patterns are usually clean, simple and straightforward; colors run the gamut from soft 'preppie' pastels to stronger primary colors. A monogram on the cuff is a great option for customizing the classic shirt (we recommend the right cuff so your initials are discretely displayed when you extend your hand to shake).

Classic American neckwear has a straight shape with a firm lining for a clean and well pressed look.


If your taste leans toward the runways of Milan or the smaller shops in Florence, you will appreciate the artistic qualities of Italian shirtings. The distinctive details of Italian shirts, the global benchmark of design, are high, edge-stitched spread collars, shoulder pleats and cuffs with mitered corners. Italian shirts typically sport a 'French' front (no placket) and no pocket. Patterns are highly detailed with subtle, subdued colorations. Put it all together, and you have a shirt of contemporary style, cosmopolitan sophistication and artistic elegance.

Italian neckwear has a bottle-neck shape and typically uses a very light natural fabric lining for a softer expression and smaller knot.


Browsing on London�s famed Jermyn, Oxford or Bond streets, you will find the quintessential British shirt. British shirts are sophisticated, elegant and distinguished. The collars tend to be high cutaway collars with double-fold cuffs ('French' cuffs in the US). Colors and patterns are typically more spirited to offset the subdued (even plain) suitings favored by the Brits. British shirts have a placket in the front, shoulder pleats in the back, no pocket - but never a monogram.

British neckwear has a straight shape like American neckwear, but is notable for the use of very substantial silk along with a light lining. This allows for a much fuller knot."