Yes thanks for the stimulating first post and welcome.


My take is that Trad or this natural shouldered phenomenom was a second international style used as a palette by other nations to do their variations. Perhaps trad itself wasn't so much upper class at first as it was universal and one of the many looks the upper class liked. In turn they eventually adopted this look permanently in the States. As they were the last to hang onto it for several reasons, it became "their" look. I always thought of it as a social/class identifier which suggested integrity and manners on the inside.

Maybe that is why there is a separation between the J.Press memories and the look itself which has inumerable permutations. Even today, we speak about a Neapolitan look and try to emulate it but the NY style will always look more American and will always look different due to higher resources, cultural color preferences and purposes for business and leisure. Even the shade of red necktie chosen by someone with taste in Naples could vary from that of a person in NYC and there alone could speak a world of differences.

In the present, I dress very NYC, I may have strong hints of naples and london and milan but essentially I have an Italian tailor who ran the Brooks Brothers custom and MTM depts for 20 years! There is Trad in there somewhere and I dont think its an accident I associated with Nino's cut of jacket. I grew up thinking the Hickey Freeman stuff was more businessy, the J.Press/Brooks/Chipp was more Marina and Madison avenue/ Westchest/Fairfield fun and Paul Stuart was the International version. I may have seen all these things in Nino's creation.

You think you avoid your background but maybe you dont. Food for thought. To this day, I ask Corvato about making me the original sack suit as know at Brooks in the 60s. He has the patterns and the technique. However, he tells me it would look terrible on my physique.

I admire some of the British shirts colors and styles but I put them together the way an American would and some of the things the Milanese find natty, I do not like.

We really need someone taking photos all day long in every city to show us what the differences are day in and day out, color, choices, fabrics etc...

Gentlemen,

Discussions of Class in American are fraught with peril.  (Though of course, we should remind ourselves that here on the internet, we are without borders.  Sirrah.)  However, I shall attend to this very important discussions anon; where then I shall pronounce a verdict.


Thank you for your Continuing Support, and Be of Good Cheer,

Horace

Last edited by Horace (2006-06-21 16:40:21)

Naaah, I try to emulate a more Francophile clochard style.

Last edited by Miles Away (2006-06-22 05:32:55)