Suits for Sophisticates
- Dev Team
- 20 May 2014
By Marvin Caplan
Men’s clothing styles are not immune to the winds of fashion, but they sway far less in the breezes that keep women’s fashions constantly changing. Over the last several years the most fashion forward men’s wear has had a 60’s look – something like the clothing worn in television’s popular Mad Men. Jackets have become trimmer, shorter, narrower in the shoulders and sleeves; flat fronted trousers have lost an inch or so in the thigh, and cuffs have all but disappeared.
If you want to buy the most aggressively and fashionably styled suit this spring, the tightest one in your size with the narrowest lapels is what you are looking for. The influence of a trimmer shorter jacket and trim trousers will be felt in the Coppley apparel offerings.
Hamilton based, the Coppley name has been synonymous with fine clothing since 1883. Recently, a succession of owners has muddied the clarity of the vision of the company. Today the company has a much clearer focus. Now owned by American clothing giant, Individualised Apparel Group (IAG), the Coppley division is the most fashion forward in a group of companies. As part of that group, the Hamilton manufacturer’s product is sold by over 500 retailers across North America. While aiming at a fashionable younger client, the firm’s goal is to be the tailored clothing maker that men with style will desire. Made to provide years of wear, their clothing avoids the most extreme looks, but does offer a range of products that can be comfortably worn by the executive as well as a younger man who wants the best.
Describing in words what the accompanying picture shows is difficult, but numbers help. At the beginning of this century, a size 40 suit from Coppley (their most popular brand name then was Cambridge) was 30 ½ inches long, the width of the shoulders was about 19 ½ and the trousers were pleated, and notched lapels were 3 ¼ inches wide. Today’s most aggressive suit coat is 29 ½ inches long, less than 18 inches wide at the shoulders and lapels are an inch narrower. Those measurements may not sound like a huge difference, but they are. The difference between a suit for someone standing 5’ 9” compared to a man who is 6’ 3” is only 1 ½ inches and the shoulder widths would need a difference of at least 3 sizes in traditional models.
The new look is great! It is younger, hipper, and sexier. And you should keep that in mind when you are adding to your wardrobe this spring. The trimmer influence will be felt for several years. But, the pendulum of men’s fashion swings in a pretty narrow arc.
The hottest brand in forward fashion men’s suits today is Tom Ford. Ford’s fall line-up is showing a much wider shoulder, trousers are single-pleated, slightly wider peak lapels on single-breasted suits are ubiquitous, the jacket waist will still look too tight to a traditional eye. Even though Ford (and Coppley) are suggesting that for fall of 2014 a retro influence will be felt, it will still look different from the old suit hanging in your closet. Jacket waist lines are still trimmer, 2-button suits remain the norm, and the movement back to pleated trousers is not even on the horizon of most men’s wear shops. If you want to look fashionable but want your suit to still look great three years from now, this coming fall’s silhouette will be a retreat from this spring’s most extreme looks.
How about fabric selection? George Lindsay, President of Sales and Merchandiser for Coppley, is betting that the Italian fabric mills are, as usual, the arbiters of what will be worn by discriminating men. Subtle and not so subtle checks will continue to be popular this spring and next fall. Jewel tones will be in the weaves, often subtly behind the predominant grey and softer blue tones. For the most practical men, solid grey and navy to midnight blue suits are always in style.
Many men find change abhorrent. They are afraid of standing out in the crowd. But, they are also often afraid of looking as if they haven’t been successful enough to afford to update their wardrobe. One compromise is to keep one’s business attire more traditional while picking a more fashionable garment in a sport jacket or blazer so that they can look sharp on the weekend.
What about business casual? While a more relaxed look for business is still popular, men are finding that people they work with are more respectful and deferential to men who dress for success.
Coppley suit styles can be seen online at www.coppley.com and may be purchased in Hamilton at The Villager in Westdale, and Westbrooke of Ancaster. By the way, if you want or need a more custom garment, Coppley has one of, if not the fastest delivery times in the world for better men’s clothing – usually less than ten business days.
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