I was driving to the shop the other day, and while stopped at the light I watched a handful of people cross the street in front of me on the way to their mid morning business meetings. I couldn't help but to notice the way the men in the group wore their outfits as they crossed the intersection in front of me. To their credit they were all in suits (not a bad start) but all of them had on the exact same thing - a black oversized suit!!
It's a common thing to hear.. "It's Edmonton, what do you expect!" or "I hate suits, I just wear them because it's required" and so on...
For myself, being born and raised here, I don't buy into these comments at all. I don't think that our city has the lack of fashion sense that we are commonly associated with, nor do I agree with men when they claim to not give a crap about their appearance. The longer I do this and the more men I meet day to day, the more I'm convinced that men DO care about their appearance. They just don't understand fit and co-ordination.
This is not a blog post to point out how horribly men dress in Edmonton, but more of an outline on how the correct fit can improve a persons appearance.
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The first thing I'd like to point out is that I'm not exaggerating the poor fit of the garment on the left just for the sake of the photo. That suit was purchased at a reputable store here in Edmonton as a grad present to me from my mother in 2004. It was the correct fit and style for the time - three button, no vents, notch lapel with a single pleated pant.
All about fit. Left vs. Right
As a person looks at these two garments side by side on me, one can't help but notice how much fuller and shorter the charcoal suit on the left makes me look. The long jacket, wide shoulder and large pant makes me look far shorter and stockier than the Corneliani garment on the right does. The length of the jacket on the left comes down to the end of my finger tips when relaxed, the jacket on the right sits clean and crisp at the knuckle on my thumb. Pant width and rise is also key to keeping the garment looking updated. The Corneliani suit on the right has a far narrower leg and shorter rise, this combined with the shorter fitted jacket gives me a much taller appearance.
Fit is the single most important thing to consider when dressing yourself every morning, clothing needs to enhance the good and hide the bad - where ever it is. I understand that people are busy and ten years can whip by without much thought about your wardrobe. As the photo illustrates, the benefit to keeping your wardrobe updated is far greater than most men realize. You won't understand the impact that it has on your personal life and career until the leap is taken.
-C
