The picture to the left, unapologetically cribbed from the stunner of a blog that is The Sartorialist illustrates a perverse and potentially crippling trend in men's fashion: The Short Suit.
Now, at least for our male readers, I'm sure you must be able to identify with the poor soul who, whether fitted incorrectly for his first suit, wearing a hand-me-down from a father/uncle/brother that is unable to be altered, or who experiences a youthful growth spurt, has to wear a suit that is too short. We've all been there. Why one would be tempted to do it voluntarily, however, is a mystery.
Thom Browne, the purveyor of this trend (one of his daring suit-wearers is profiled in Esquire this month) has noted that people tend to have violent and negative reactions to adherents of his style. The equivalent for women might be seeing another woman willfully sporting whale-tail, or wearing a baby-doll dress that readily exposes panties or the lack thereof. I suppose the answer to that is, like all reactionary fashion statements, this one is transgressive, but in a way that is subtler than most.
It's puzzling to me, as a tall guy, why normal or short fellas would go to the trouble to get a suit trimmed, cropped, slimmed and shortened to such a degree that they can't exhale with the button closed, or stoop to re-tie their shoes. Maybe Browne recommends slip-ons.
To those in the "fashion know", this trend says to your fellow Men's Vogue readers that yes, you are willing to spend upwards of $4000 on a horribly tailored suit with the express purpose of making the yawn-inducing statement that even as a high roller, you enjoy fucking with conformity. That you are not wearing the suit, but the suit is wearing you.
What it says to everyone else is one of the following:
A) I don't know how to dress myself.
B) I got caught in the rain last night, and threw my suit in the dryer.
C) I picked this up at Goodwill. Pretty good fit for Dead Man's Clothes, doncha think?
D) I borrowed this from my 13yr old nephew.
E) I am a hipster dufus.
My great fear of course, is that more suitmakers will be caught up in this hype, and stop making off-the-rack suits in longer cuts. Or that the longer cuts will just wind up being regular, and regular will be short. Like low-rise men's jeans, this horror should be relegated to the trend scrap heap and fast.
Barney's is now advertising their "Made to Measure" service at several locations, featuring brands like Zegna, Incotex, Isaia, Brioni, and others (depending on your city). I noticed that their logo features the silhouette of Gregory Peck from The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit (1956). Whether this is really egregious content infringment or not, I can't say, given that the original movie is over 50 years old. Maybe it's public domain by now..
