A Suit That Fits Blog

Back in the 80's Madonna's unique style blended confidence, power and femininity and inspired a generation of young women hungry to be taken seriously. Her ability to create trends, inspired by her outlandish music videos and own unique wardrobe, confirmed her status as an icon for her generation. Thanks to Madonna, the 80's became a time where women could wear a diamond studded cross, worn with a bra and bangles.

 

Her most adventurous and outrageous outfits include - the leotard worn in the ‘Hung Up' video, the famous Jean Paul Gautier ‘coned bra', and our all-time favourite: The 80's Power Suit. Madonna's first wore her power suit in the music video ‘Express Yourself', which underlined her message that women should assert their independence.

 

 

A Suit That Fits was thrilled to see that 25 years on, Madonna is determined to bring back the 80's trend: spotted last month at Diane Von Furstenberg launch party wearing a modern version of her tailored suit. She looked great, and the suit looked better than ever. Madonna combined her 2- piece -suit with a pair of wide legged trousers, adding elegance to the aggressive jacket. It's inevitable that as Madonna continues to adapt to the times, we will all follow suit (pun intended). The power suit is back and heading to a high street near you.

 

A Suit That Fits recommends that you wear your jacket with over exaggerated shoulder pads, wide lapels and an extra helping of confidence. Combine your jacket with feminine separates; by wearing it with a sexy pair of denim shorts, a deep cowl, fish-nets and heels.

 

For those in need of a further Madonna fix, Brand Madonna' continues to inspire our wardrobes; teaming up with her 13 year old daughter- Lourdes, and launching her debut fashion range: Material Girl. As the world awaits the unveiling of Material Girl, at Macy's department stores next week.

One of our directors, David, went to a Courvoisier Cognac event earlier this month, where they had a great little sartorial gift to go with their drinks - tie pins! David had a great time and particularly enjoyed the bouncy castle, the chocolate Fois Gras and of course the lovely Courvoisier drinks.

 

David wore an Ivory jacket with a purple shirt and purple pocket square to match. Below is a picture of him looking suave with his Courvoisier tie pins.  

 

A great tip from David for networking events is to wear something that makes you stand out from the crowd as "they act as an ice breaker giving you a talking point".  In this case the purple pocket square and tie pins did the trick and he even attracted a few photographers!

 

 

 

 

This weekend the Cartier International Polo  was held at Guards Polo club in Windsor. It is one of the summer's most prestigious events; it attracts many Hollywood A-listers, celebrities and even royalty.

The weather was great, so we got to see some great summer styles; my particular favourites were the linen jackets and suits, worn by many of the notable guests.

We offer some great linens, I love this pure blue linen for a full suit; Linen-300. But if you just want a linen jacket to pair with some dark wash jeans I suggest going for this pure white linen fabric; Linen-1.

The event is less formal than Royal Ascot and has more of a relaxed atmosphere; the after-party was held at Chinawhite in central London. If you went to the polo or the afterparty in one of our suits we'd love to know about it - email Harry with a picture and you might feature on our blog!

 

 

This month you might be surprised to find suited workers across London engaged in games of impromptu ping pong. The summer madness has been brought on by the installation of 100 ping pong tables in the city's public spaces by Sing London, the organisation behind last year's street pianos project.

Ahead of the trend as always though, A Suit That Fits ' staff have a well-established tradition of post - work ping pong. Our head office in Bermondsey features a full size ping pong table for those moments of office down - time and some of our staff now consider themselves quite the experts!

As far as corporate social events go, ping pong tournaments are not usually high on the agenda, but these public tables might just inspire you to unleash a competitive streak ... does your company fancy taking on ‘team tailor'?

With temperatures having soared lately, Silverstone turned up the heat by hosting one of Formula 1's hottest events: The British Grand Prix. If you were lucky enough to hold a ticket into the F1 paddock, you would have seen people looking and feeling cool in their smart attire.

 

Our half-lined jackets are perfect for the hot days we've been having; pairing that with one of our summer shirts would have been perfect! I would have gone for a smart casual look by wearing jeans with a linen jacket. Equally, those feeling ‘on trend' could have worn a linin jacket with some smart tailored suit-shorts.

 

Loving this old style picture of the race.

Do you know your lapels? Here at A Suit That Fits we take pride in informing our clients about the fine details of a well cut individually hand tailored suit. The finest of these details rest somewhere in between the more conservative and well known notch lapel (image below right), and it's counterpart, the infamous and more stylish peaked lapel (image below left) which has always been associated with dinner jackets and double breasted suits throughout the decades.

 

 

Since its introduction as the everyday dress for the well-groomed man, the notched lapel suit has been considered the most formal and classic way of dressing.  A businessman who needed to create an air of professionalism and conservatism always stuck with the tried and tested notch lapel for his suits.While the misconceptions over the proper usage of the peaked lapel in men's suiting have grown more misleading in modern aesthetics, many fans of traditional tailoring and classic style consider peaked lapels more of an occasion look and not appropriate for a conservative suit intended to be worn in a professional atmosphere. 

 

 

However, the reality is that the peak lapel gives off a certain aura of power in any man's suit that can never be obtained from a notched.  With it's fuller looking edges and arched angles, it can cut across any men's chest to create a broader, stronger silhouette - it's also a little dressier than it's notched counterpart and in line with 2010 trends for tailored menswear.  So the next time you need your suit to make an impression for that big business meeting, think single breasted peaked lapel - it will make you stand out and leave your more conservative colleagues trying to figure out your next move.

 

 

If you choose a peaked lapel for your next suit from A Suit That Fits, don't forget to have it hand stitched. This bespoke feature will add a dash of sophistication and savoir faire to your power look.

 

Robbie Williams confirmed that he will be re-joining Take That later this year; early reports suggest that their new single will be released in November. I thought I would take the opportunity to give the newly reformed band members an idea for some suits they could start designing! Whilst I think about some cool suit ideas for the band, my initial thought is that a great 3-piece would cool for them in this grey toned fabric- then they'd be perfectly on-trend this season! 

Here is a video of them back in the day:

Women regularly get teased for the amount of clothes they own or how many times they change their outfit. Well, Dr Who puts us all to shame - he changes his whole body! This new season has seen the Doctor transform once again, accompanied, (of course), by a brand new look, and I have to admit, I think it's quite dapper.

Similarly to David Tennant's doctor, he's gone for the ‘cheeky chappy' smart-casual, except this time the converse are gone and in their place we find red braces, a bow tie and a statement tweed jacket . I don't blame him; preppy geek chic is a strong look at the moment!

Here at A Suit That Fits we have a great selection of fantastic tweeds for you to create your own preppy jacket. You can view all of them by clicking on our fabrics page and choose which garment you would like to design from there. For a style like the Doctor's I would recommend the Camel Tan herringbone tweed, (a medium weight fabric that's ideal for all seasons), with a maroon lining for that wow factor contrast. When it comes to the detailing keep it simple; a straight flapped design or slanted flapless pocket option will work best to give that minimalistic feel. To make your jacket more ‘summer proof' our half lined option not only looks striking but means the jacket will be a lot cooler!

For more of a weekend piece, try a country variation. A combination of Sandy Olive herringbone and Forrest Green lining is perfect for a break in the country or even for in the park - it'll even match your wellies. Sorted!

 

 

 

Recently I was watching Step Lively with Frank Sinatra, and was struck by his superb attire - as usual Frank was dressed to perfection. However, it wasn't just his suit that caught my eye, but his pocket square. It's always been stated by men of taste and elegance that a tailored suit is deemed naked without this fine accessory. Most men have been mislead to believe that their selection of an adequate tie and well cut shoe would give them the Pièce de résistance in accessorizing their new bespoke suit, however it's the man who knows the power of the square that really looks a cut above the rest.

Never too flashy unless your suit is plain, and never matching your tie, the pocket square will add that final show of taste to any man's suit. A favourite of the well-dressed Italian man for centuries, it's not only an elegant and stylish look, but a functional accessory to your suit's presentation. Fold in in a triangle for a simple, sharp look (ideal with a sharply cut mohair or pinstripe suit ) or create a puffy appearance (good for softer fabrics such as cashmere or with more casual tweed jackets ) - any way can bring out the personality of your suit.

To add a pocket square to your next A Suit That Fits suit, chose the 'with pocket square matching lining' option in the 'label' section of the suit wizard, and we will send you a pocket square made up of whatever lining fabric you chose for your suit - try a rich 2 tone colour from the the mystique range or one of our paisleys.  Keep an eye on our product development announcements for more updates on bespoke pocket squares.

The team at A Suit That Fits is very proud to announce that David and Warren have made it onto the prestigious Online Fashion 100 list! Leon Bailey-Green, the man behind the list, keeps us in the know about the industry with his communications company The Online Fashion Agency. We join an array of industry greats - bloggers, directors and celebrities - that influence the business. 

To celebrate our listing you have the chance to get hold of £50 to spend with us. You can enter the 100 for 100 competition by clicking here: good luck!

We would like to thank Leon Bailey-Green and the experts who compiled the list. To see the full list please click this link: Online Fashion 100.