FOREVER A GENTLEMAN

Photography by Phan Vo (instagram @phan_vo)

In life, we all have mentors, people that inspire us to aim higher, to achieve more or simply be a better version of who we are. 

Four years ago, I had the privilege to meet a true gentleman. I must confess it was a style crush at first sight! Mr Thuan Nguyen is currently dividing his time between Paris and Ho Chi Minh City. Today he is now recognized as one of the most stylish and elegant men about town. For this article, Mr Thuan Nguyen is wearing his own made to measure tailored suit. Whilst I wore a single breasted "Antonio Torres", not only that I was styled by Antonio himself!

But how well do you wear your suit? With today’s article I would like to go through the basic rules when wearing a suit.

1. Suit Color

This is all about preference, but black isn’t the be all and end all of suits.

Most of us own a dependable black suit, it's a wardrobe staple but a wardrobe full of black suits is just unadventurous (sorry Mr Ford!) Personally I love navy blue or dark grey as first choices: just so easy to mix and match.

2. Shoulders must fit

The days of Miami Vice are over. If you don’t have broad shoulders then it is important that you pay way more attention to the fit. It is important to see how much of your frame fills out the jacket. If your physique is a little imbalanced then you may never find the perfect fitting jacket and will require a skilled alteration  tailor!

3. Cuff coverage

Some people will have longer arms than others, so it is hard to fully determine what can be done about your cuffs if you do indeed have long arms: ideally, the shirt cuffs will exceed the suit jacket by about half an inch and certainly no more than an inch or less than the actual jacket.

4. Jacket Length

As a rule on a traditional jacket the length of sleeve should hit the same height as the knuckle of your thumb. More contemporary jackets may be shorter but never go longer.

5. Trouser length

The length must sit perfectly on your ankle and crucially before it rests on your shoe. When you sit down your trousers will rise up a little bit, so to save yourself from embarrassment make sure that you have socks that rise a fair way past your Achilles. If you wear gym socks or those short length socks with a suit, then you’ll get what you deserve if your hairy legs are on show.

6. Shoe Color

 Shoe colour is important because it compliments your choice of suit. Black suit and black shoes are the “sit on the fence swiss” option, but if you actually want to look like you don’t just own one suit or aren't a character out of Pulp Fiction, you will need options. Brown always works well with navy, but not necessarily always with grey. So be vigilant and make sure you don’t take the simplistic look of brown is brown. Remember belt always matches shoes!

7. Pocket Square
Don’t ever have a pocket square that matches your tie. It rather defeats the purpose of having a flourish of additional color and pattern. It also just looks like you're wearing a pre bought Christmas set from Grandma!

Hope my top tips will help you "rock" a suit for any occasion! Finally, I am a man who believes a well cut suit just like in the movies makes for a great night, customized suiting is a must for a man who understands the gentleman's lifestyle.

 

Special thanks to The Society