LOL!   

*Note to self: Stop drinking tea at computer. Laughing & drinking isn't safe*

If I remember this Manton or Antongiavanni author has a whole chapter in praise of drape and villifying the number 1 sack. I gave the book to a good cause and so my memory on the subject is faded.

There is no "best" "silhouette" (Silhouette, an over-used message board fora term not found in the lexicon of the many tailors I know).  The best is what "best fits" the client's physique and is most flattering.  A suit with much drape and much less structure, and sloping shoulders, for instance, looks horrid on me because of my naturally sloped shoulders.  Such a coat simply falls off my shoulders into a mess of excess cloth.  I need more structure.  The best cut is one which is tailored specifically to the client.  It is balanced and naturally enhances the client's best attributes and, in so doing, naturally minimizes the weaker characteristics.  As I had written earlier, filling the chest and blade areas with excess cloth is an amateurish technique for creating the illusion of muscularity.  It's unlikely that anyone confuses Fred Astaire, while in his drape suits, with Arnold Schwartzenegger.  He still appears as a very slender, even frail, man, a very distinguished and elegant man, but slim nevertheless.  A properly constructed and balanced coat will provide ample freedom of movement of shoulders and arms without going the drape route.  Structure and freedom of movement are not at odds with one another.  I own several dozen suits and sport coats, specifically made for me by a highly skilled tailor, that bear this out.  As for looking more "nonchalant," given the definition of the word as meaning a casual lack of concern, striving for such an appearance is highly personal and, in my view, quite dubious.  I likely achieve such a state of mind and public perception while wearing jeans and sweatshirts.  However I am generally much more purposeful and intent in my sartorial point of view, leaving no room for conjecture as to whether I've put time and effort into looking well turned-out.  Perhaps for a subsequent printing of his opus, the author could be less "nonchalant" and invest additional time becoming more learned in the technicalities of custom clothes, and gain more personal experience in the nuances of dressing well.  Doing so would provide more, ahem, balanced advice and guidance.

Last edited by Marc Grayson (2006-11-08 05:54:59)

As a quick postscript, an integral element of the "best" cut is the personal
element: What the person wearing the garment is most comfortable with aesthetically.  The so-called drape cut might not be universally appealing and, indeed, it is not.  The fact that only one tailoring firm in England, Anderson & Sheppard, specializes in the drape cut (not counting the few A&S offshoots) reflects that there is not a huge calling for such a "silhouette."  It's self-limiting.  I'd venture to say Brioni, with their highly structured cut, sells far more suits than A&S.  Wear what you're most comfortable wearing, both physically and psychologically.  Drapes are often best suited for hanging in your living room.

Last edited by Marc Grayson (2006-11-08 06:23:27)

I sure hope that someday someone writes a book on men's clothing which analyzes the differing body structures of male humans and carefully, thoughtfully -- and free from his or her personal "opinion" -- recommends appropriate suits and jackets (and other details) for said body structures. I honestly think it can be done.

Raph stikes me as a pussycat.  It must be that either he left Sicily too long ago or old age  has mellowed him.   

You didn't enjoy your bris?!