(Forgive the slightly blurry quality of the photo; as you can see, I forgot to put on my glasses.)
Well, that was refreshing. As much as Mrs. E. is devastated by the return of the fall weather (thanks to her CAD), I’ve relished the opportunity to wear something other than linen or cotton. The tweed jacket (Agnés B — a French company, you can tell by the cut) is lightweight enough that I wound up with a red cashmere sweater under it for a walk later in the afternoon. Paired with a red, white and blue checked shirt, solid blue cashmere tie, custom grey flannels and a pair of Belgian like shoes put out by Will over at A Suitable Wardrobe (jacket and shoes courtesy of a regular reader and benefactor, M. Many thanks!) The pocket square is paisley silk. If you click through on the photo, you should be able to see some of the details.
Now I know that’s a lot of pattern, but they are all of different scale and the colours work well enough together without being too matchy-matchy. To tone it down a bit, I could have chosen a light blue shirt, as Valentino does here (also notice the lapped seams on his cavalry twill trousers — very nice touch). This is also a good example of how to wear those J. Crew chukkas that everyone seems to be sporting lately.
(Photo credit: The Talks/Alex de Brabant and used without permission. Let me know….)
A glen check, knit tie, striped shirt and paisley square. Not sure where I lifted this photo from — it is in my “Sartorial Inspirations” file. If it’s yours, let me know, please!
At any rate, it’s about time to start messing about with tweeds, checks and some fall colours. Have some fun.
I may be displaying my ignorance here, but what is different about a French cut for a jacket? How does it compare to an American or Italian cut?
Your Glen Plaid pic is taken the GW, the most exerent one at http://mostexerent.tumblr.com/
Hello Mr. Grimm, small differences. The shoulder line is straighter (not “natural” like an American suit), the cut is a bit boxier in proportion to length (there is no full skirt like the Brits favour, which accentuates a nipped waist.) I haven’t decided if the front quarters are more closed or not. The Italian cut takes the American or English silhouette to their logical extremes. At least in my opinion. Lately, the Italians have adopted the tightly fitted suit with a bit of the shrunken thing thrown in. The classicists, like Barbera, are descendants of the English look. I’ll try and work up something to show the differences in a more coherent way.
Wisco, thanks. He is a splendid dresser.