If you read Fashion, Frankly regularly (as regularly as I update it, anyway) it will come as no surprise to you that I am a huge fan of Boardwalk Empire. I caught up with season 1 during the summer and am now keenly following the new episodes every week.
As I watched one of the episodes last night I realised how hard it is for me to remember my favourite looks from the show. Everyone is so exquisitely dressed and to such detail that my mind is not capable of registering everything. So I had this idea of looking for pictures from the show and putting together a little list of my favourite suits so far. This is the result.
1. The olive green flannel with the subtle stripe. Green is my favourite colour and I've been dreaming about owning the perfect green suit for years. I am still saving (or thinking of saving) for one but I reckon this is very close to perfection. I love that tie to go with it too.
2. The micro check dark suit. What I like the most about this pattern and the colour palette of the look in general is how only another man who knows his stuff can appreciate them. It's not bold but it's not boring.
3. The India green suit with a (slight) shine. Call me crazy but I love this colour suit for the evening. I'd wear it with a black shirt and a pair of black suede New Balance sneakers. Another winner for me. But, again, it's green.
4. The double-chested checked suit. Again, call me a mad man but I see this as the perfect lounging jacket. I can see myself wearing this suit with a soft white Oxford shirt and sipping a whiskey from my Chesterfield armchair while I watch Frozen Planet on a Sunday night.
5. The asymmetric 3-button suit. I find red to be the trickiest colour for a man to pull off but I think it's also one of the coolest colours to wear, if you can. What's interesting about this one is the fact that the red check on the jacket is asking for a red shirt but the jacket's grey base helps tone the volume down. One wants to be quirky, not loud.
6. The "wooden effect" striped suit. This is another example of an understated pattern choice. The look itself is a bit boring but I love the grey and brown stripes –they remind me of that fake wooden effect you can decorate cars with. Rightly paired with a shirt and tie this would be a statement look.
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| HBO.com/boardwalk-empire |
7. The never-mind-the-suit coat. It baffles me when, knowing you could buy an über-elegant cobalt blue coat, men go for the *yawn* black coat to wear with their (surprise, surprise) black suit. Especially if you're one of those men who goes from meeting to meeting you need one of these.
8. The my-waiscoat-is-cooler-than-my-jacket look. If you know you will not be wearing your jacket much during the day (i.e. you're flying) make sure your waistcoat can bare the jacket's spotlight on its own. I love this Prince of Wales knit version, which almost goes unnoticed with the tweed blazer on but acquires a personality of its own when the jacket's off.
9. The purple flannel suit. Wearing purple is, for a man, a way of making an effort to look different but not wanted anyone to know that you wanted to look good. I know, though. Purple is also a great colour to pair with other colours –see the pumpkin checks in this one. An orange paisley tie would have made this a knock-out.
10. The wonderfully simple and incredibly elegant tweed suit. I must say
after buying mine a couple of weeks ago I cannot see why every man wouldn't want to wear a tweed suit every day of his life, in winter anyway. It's comfortable and warm and it makes you feel so chic. This fine specimen in the picture, though, differs from mine in the double pocket on the chest and the waist band across the back -elements taken from the strictly hunting suits from earlier in the 20's that later became a casual everyday option.
Which one is your favourite?
