Men who possess style often do not follow fashion that fades with time. To express yourself through your style means to create an identity for yourself that grows into an expression of your personality. It is therefore important that you listen carefully when your bespoke tailor guides you through the styling options for your suit to ensure that whatever you choose becomes a timeless and complete expression of yourself.
The first and foremost thing to consider is your suit lapel. The general rule of thumb is to go with a peak lapel for a double-breasted suit and a notch lapel for a single-breasted suit. However, if you feel your personality and general appearance is such that you want to bring attention upwards to your face and shoulders, then it would be interesting to go for a peak lapel on a single breast. This will also give you a chance to test how good your bespoke tailor is at his craft since it isn’t an easy task to cut a good peak lapel on a single-breasted suit.
Unless your suit is meant for special events or occasions, it’s best to remain safe and opt for a slim lapel not exceeding 2.75 inches in width. Always try to choose options that are unique and subtly different such as angled bottom pockets possibly with the addition of a ticket pocket. Bottom pockets that are slightly angled make you appear slimmer and tell others in the know that your suit is custom made, as regular suits don’t have this option. The ticket pocket is a small pocket on top of your right bottom pocket. In the early days, this pocket was used for putting opera tickets in them since these tickets were long and slim and did not fit in any other pocket. Today it is used just as a style statement to set your suit apart.
Another unique option is to have the buttonholes on your sleeves working so you can leave the first or the second one undone just to reinforce the fact that your suit is bespoke. Every bespoke tailor has his special signature style on the inside of the coat. When the opportunity presents itself, go for the signature style with a contrasting lining that is bold or subtle depending on your personality and top it off with having your first name or your initials inside your jacket to give a sense of possession. It is also a good idea to have the first buttonhole and button thread on your sleeve in the same color as your lining so that whenever you are talking or shaking hands with people, that small subtle detail is noticed.
Finally, it is important to have your bespoke suit convey the essence of the craft’s origins from England. Most English suits tailored in Savile Row almost always have a lapel hole since it is a known fact that when Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg got married to Queen Victoria in 1840, he cut open a hole on his lapel immediately upon being gifted a small bouquet of flowers by the Queen. He then simply put the flower in the self-cut hole on his lapel for the rest and the whole crowd was in awe of his gentlemanly gesture. He henceforth instructed his tailor to always have a buttonhole on his lapel to be able to put a flower in it whenever Queen Victoria decided to give him one. Today, every gentleman who knows this story makes sure they have a buttonhole on their lapel to remind themselves of the importance of having gentlemanly attributes as part of your style. It is this quality that makes your style last for a while.
Knights And Lords bespoke tailors are located in the Al Fattan building across from the Rixos Jumeirah Beach Residences.
