Owner: 'off the cuff!' - men's fashion URL:http://a-suit-that-fits.blogspot.com Join Date: Mon, 06 Nov 2006 14:52:35 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: 'off the cuff! - men's fashion' is a cutting-edge, London-based blog from the mind of an inspired poet and short-story writer. Sponsored by the online bespoke tailoring company 'A Suit That Fits', it is currently one of the top men's fasion blogs on the Site statistics:Click here
Coldness of the Eyes or the Mind 2006-11-06 11:36:00
On Saturday night, whilst watching Marie-Antoinette, I was suddenly confronted by a more than life-sized image of the person sitting next to me. It turns out the guy I've been 'seeing' for the last six weeks bears a striking resemblance to Keira Knightley's ex and Kirsten Dunst's on-screen lover, Jamie Dornan. In the film he appears as a sexy Swedish soldier. My friend, by comparison, is a handsome French banker. The likeness, however, was extraordinary. There was the same impenetrable stare, the same slight hint of a smile, the same contained masculinity, more or less indistinguishable from complete lack of care.
It got me to thinking about the type of 'handsomeness' these men possess. It's a handsomeness often associated with coldness, characterised, in my mind, by blueness... or a serious air. Before they smile and their eyes come to life, you feel like you're admiring a Renaissance painting - as if bright white light is directing your ga
Selling, Suiting and Writing... 2006-11-01 11:54:00
This morning I had to pitch an article to the Pink Paper in the hope that they'd be interested in the company I work for. I've never liked selling myself or my writing. It's one of the reasons I became a writer. When it comes to expressing myself, I need time to find the most effective words. If I was super-confident, why would I need to write at all? Writing is for people who have trouble expressing themselves - until pen is put to paper, that is, when everything starts to flow. It's why I feel such connection when I write - as if something's been unlocked inside me. My blood literally starts to tingle. I can feel it buzzing in my arms. For the period it takes me to complete the piece, my mind is wholly absorbed.
Having to sell myself is an unavoidable nuisance. If you don't make people notice you, you simply don't get noticed. The same can be said for A Suit That Fits. It's my job as Junior Writer to get this company noticed. If I had to do it by speaking to peop
Islington, Autumn and a Dream 2006-10-31 10:33:00
For a change it wasn't hard to get out of bed this morning. The clocks went back a few days ago so my room was flooded with light. My room is bright even on grey days (the creamy walls and big, big windows create a suntrap above London) but this morning it was literally beaming. I'd woken from a dream in which friends from various walks of my life had gathered at an awards ceremony in a trendily-converted warehouse. My school-friend Jax looked strangely anaemic in a slinky, silver-grey dress, while another, Ant, played Tori Amos on an enormous grand piano. A lovely girl called Rachel (the daughter of my mother's friend) was giving some kind of speech, while a new acquaintance (a handsome banker with a sexy French accent) kept morphing into my ex and back again. It was odd to see so many people from different parts of my life gathered in the same room, but stranger still to wake in a dazzlingly sunlit room and realise with disappointment that it was nothing but a dream.
Read more:Autumn
, Dream
Sunlight 2006-10-27 10:38:00
I was sitting on the bus this morning, travelling into the city, when the sun shone through the windscreen and fell against my face. At first I looked away, dazzled by the light. Then, thinking better of it, I fixed my gaze ahead of me and let the sunlight fall where it liked. After the preceding week's greyness it was a stunning change to see these bright yellow rays. They seemed to wipe out the entire world, leaving nothing but their brightness. For a moment I forgot I was on a bus and became one with the yellow light.
One of winter's most valuable traits is the way it teaches us to appreciate the sun. In summer the sun is more or less constant and we forget how enjoyable it is. But when the air is chilly and the wind is keen, we realise how beautiful the sunlight is - simply because it's so fleeting. Here at A Suit That Fits we've devised a way to let you carry the sunlight with you, whatever the weather. Just order a jacket with a luminous gold lining and when you're Read more:Sunlight
The Sexy City-Worker Destroyed 2006-10-26 11:24:00
City workers are a curious commodity. On the one hand they project a powerful style, epitomised by the pinstripe suit; on the other, they represent the pursuit of money in a solely economic world. Only this morning, as I was passing Bank, I noticed a young banker in line at the cash machine. There was something about him that stopped me in my tracks, and I stood fixated at the entrance to the Tube, casting my eyes up and down the stripes in his suit. The way they ran vertically down the length of his body seemed to accentuate every curve.
As the cold October wind broke over me, banishing the underground heat, the man began to walk towards me, his jacket pulled tight around his waist. Panic was drawn in his dimly-lit eyes. I could see streaks of grey in his hair. And as he passed me and I turned to look, the bottom of his jacket flared open, suggesting the natural shape of his hips.
All those hours, I thought, have aged him. His face looks dark and drawn. He needs some sunsh Read more:Worker
, Destroyed
Thoughts of Ivory and Red 2006-10-21 15:14:00 When our latest customer's suit arrived this morning, my colleagues thought it had a touch of the Man from Del Monte. I found it decidedly more sinister than that.Off-white, finely-woven, at first it conjured images of a pleasant, grey-haired man strolling contentedly beneath a hot Spanish sun. The ideal suit, we thought, for wearing at garden parties at the height of summer or for watching cricket on the village green. Just as we were beginning to get lost in these bucolic fantasies, we opened the jacket's two front panels and our eyes began to reel. Beneath the ivory Del-Monte Man veneer lurked a devilish blood-red lining! No longer were we in any doubt as to this suit's real nature. Bloody passion clearly boiled beneath what had first appeared serene.Ivory
and red. Ivory and red. The juxtaposition alarmed me. The outer fabric was like a skin, which opened like a gash; it made me think of elephants killed for their precious tusks; the red recalled their blood. I had to pack the
The Green Subversion Has Begun 2006-10-19 13:06:00
Who would have thought that a bright
green
lining could look so freaking COOL? That's what occured to me this morning when I opened the parcel containing our customers' latest suits. The suit itself was a navy affair, made from the softest cashmere. It wasn't until I looked inside that my eyes started painfully reeling, in wonder at this stunning
green
. If you'd told me last week that this rather unpleasant colour could be stylish, even tasteful, I'd have laughed in your face. But having witnessed it in all its grandeur, stitched inside a classic navy suit, I can't help feeling I've been converted. There's always been a mystery about the colour
green
- an aura of antiquity and magic, of believing in things that perhaps aren't quite there. Not only is it the most superstitious colour (seamstresses, they say, never use
green
the night before a fashion show, for fear of bringing down bad luck), it's also the richest, most fertile. It's the colour of the earth afte Read more:Green
, Begun
A Suit That Fits a Woman 2006-11-08 12:35:00
Here at A Suit That Fits we've received substantial interest from women looking to buy men's suits. Of course we've been happy to oblige. There's nothing sexier, more mysterious, than a woman in a man's suit. When Marlene Dietrich donned the above number, eyes glowering above seductively wet lips, she made a powerful statement about gender and the clothes we wear. Women, she said, need not objectify themselves to be powerful and sexy. A woman can wear what the hell she likes.
The brilliance of gender-bending is that it shows up the 'masculine' and the 'feminine' as the artificial constructions they are. When people look at a butch lesbian and feel as if something's gone awry, it's because they're made aware of their subjection to a system of signs that empowers some whilst disempowering others. Rather than actually doing something political about this, they usually deal with it in the easiest way possible by ostracizing the problem-maker and stigmatising lesbians. The ma
Dark Outside 2006-11-03 18:07:00 Outside
it is dark. A thousand windows glitter over London. Coldplay's 'Kingdom Come' plays on the radio, reminding me of my ex's belief that if he waited for me I'd be... his. Sadness spreads through me. Soon I'll be shooting out those doors - into the night - onto the pavement - the Tube - towards Warren Street where I'm meeting friends. Will any of it shake this heavy sadness? In our lunch break today Jen and I went ice-skating in Broadgate Arena; we circled beneath an unblemished sky on a rink that resembled a frozen pond. I wore a jacket by A Suit That Fits to keep me warm. I felt incredibly free.
Now I'm waiting for the clock to hit 5.30 so that I can go out into the cold.
Unedited Impressions of Paris 2006-11-14 11:22:00
Yesterday I wanted to write about my weekend but every time I touched the keys the words failed to do justice to my thoughts. I wanted to write about the sunset over the river Seine, the way the light fell across the water and spread like the petals of a rose. I wanted to describe how my friend's face was oranged by the glow and how his usually controlled eyes were open wondrously wide. I wanted to describe the gold light that shimmered on the Tower, the way it sparkled every hour, and how, on Saturday night, we stood at an open window in a darkened room at the top of a flight of spiral-stairs and looked out over the rooftops and the chimneys and watched it sparkle in the distance. I wanted to describe how much I enjoyed being the exotic attraction at a party on Saturday night, the person who everyone wanted to practise their English on, and how I kept smiling despite not understanding the conversations going on around me. I wanted to capture the grey-white haze that softened the c Read more:Impressions
, Paris
Impressions of Paris 2006-11-14 11:22:00
Yesterday I wanted to write about my weekend but every time I touched the keys the words failed to do justice to my thoughts. I wanted to write about the sunset over the river Seine, the way the light falling on the water spread like the petals of a rose. I wanted to describe my friend's face, how his skin was oranged by the glow and how his usually controlled eyes were open wondrously wide. I wanted to describe the gold light that illuminated the Tower, the way it shimmered every hour, and how, on Saturday night, standing at a window in a darkened room, we looked out over the rooftops and chimneys and watched it sparkling in the distance. I wanted to describe how I enjoyed being the exotic attraction at the party we went to, the person who everyone wanted to practise their English on, and how I kept smiling despite not understanding the conversations going on around me. I wanted to capture the city's impalpable haze, the way the trees along the Seine waved like giant plumes, brig Read more:Impressions
, Paris
Caryatids, roots, homeless women and a house... 2006-11-21 10:36:00
I woke up this morning to another blue sky, draped like a veil over London. A few grey clouds floated on the horizon, strangely grim and Christ-shaped. I decided that I wouldn't go to work. I'd go for a walk in London.
The air was crisp as I left my flat. I wandered casually along Euston Road, past the blackened caryatids of St. Pancras Church, which stood like sentinels, themselves unobserved - potential reminders of an older, cancerous London. At King's Cross a pair of young women were huddled under a blanket, a large alsatian asleep at their side. They looked shivery and sleepless; their arms like bone; the blanket grubby over their emaciated shoulders. As I passed them, I noticed their fingers: as black and encrusted as the stones of St. Pancras.
On Gray's Inn Road some tree-roots
were pushing up the concrete. The way they moved lugubriously in the earth made my feet tingle with revulsion. The rain began to fall, fitfully at first, then lightly; the roots began Read more:homeless
Euston Road towards King's Cross 2006-11-21 10:36:00
Below the vast November sky the heat-cracked surface lieshalf an inch up, baking and changed,the roots are fruitlessly unearthed.The blackened caryatids of St. Pancras Church stand like sentinels,themselves unobserved - potential reminders of a cancerous London.
Something moves lugubriously in the earth. The armoured octopi have stirred;their feelers snake past tarmac and stone, dreamingof gustation, touch.
Sun breaks through holes in the old back-door.
*
I wrote the above a few days and I still haven't got a clue what it means. I've tried to revise it, to try to make sense of it, to make it part of a 'whole', but every attempt seems to fail. It's most frustrating. The Caryatids and the roots undoubtedly obsess me, but I don't having anything interesting to say about them. My old tutor, Tim Liardet (who's just been nominated for the T.S. Eliot Prize) said there comes a point in the writing of a poem when the writer should know what he's writing about; only then can Read more:Cross
The Blackened Caryatids of St. Pancras Church 2006-11-21 10:36:00
The other day I wrote the following lines:
Below the vast November sky the heat-cracked surface lieshalf an inch up, baking and changed,the roots are fruitlessly unearthed.The blackened caryatids of St. Pancras Church
stand like sentinels,themselves unobserved - potential reminders of a cancerous London.
Something moves lugubriously in the earth. The armoured octopi have stirred;their feelers snake past tarmac and stone, dreamingof gustation, touch.
The sun breaks through cracks in the old back-door.
I still haven't got a clue what it means. I've tried to revise it, to try to make sense of it, to make it part of a 'whole', but every attempt seems to fail. It's very frustrating. The Caryatids and the roots undoubtedly obsess me, but I don't seem to have anything interesting to say about them. It's partly the way they stand that interests me, each of them spaced so gracefully apart, gazing into thin air with one hip thrown elegantly wide. But the thing that obse
Tockington Manor 2006-11-24 11:52:00 I went to a Chroma reading last night at Waterstones on Oxford Street (Chroma is a literary journal in which my poems have appeared) to watch my writer-pal Brynn read his winning story, Spawn of the Regime. Brynn has the darkest, most absorbing eyes. The kind of eyes you can only look at for seconds without feeling as if you're being sucked into them. While he was chatting to Louise Hercules, this month's Chroma cover-girl, I sat down with a mince-pie and a glass of water and looked around me at the scanty crowd. On the other side of the designated area my eyes were drawn to a familiar face. A face I will probably never forget, merely because it's so closely associated with a time in my life in which I was happiest. "Caroline," I said, my voice raised above the murmuring crowd. "I knew it was you!" she said, fixing her eyes on me. Caroline was a good friend of mine at primary school. The most interesting thing about our friendship was perhaps not the relationship itself (although I Read more:Manor
The Cinema and a Pale Yellow Jumper 2006-11-27 15:39:00
What a charming evening I had last night. After ten minutes of waiting outside the wrong Odeon on Leicester Square (did you know there were two?) Sean rang me to see where I was. When we finally met he was wearing a lemon jumper - pale as a spring flower - and his hair looked blacker than before, as black as soot in fact. We shared coffee/toffee ice-cream in the Odeon and then watched The Prestige. Sitting in the cinema with someone called Sean was a strange thing, especially as my trips to the flicks with my ex Shaun (who I still feel a connection and love for) were always incredibly intense. Am I the only one who finds there's something sacred-like about cinema-going? Think about it. When you enter the auditorium, you leave behind the world of light and enter an utterly different dimension. Not only are the scenes projected before you often unlike anything you've ever experienced, you're forced to sit in silence or talk in a hushed whisper. At its most basic level, there's som Read more:Cinema
, Yellow
'The Baroque': A Suit Review 2006-11-29 10:29:00
With its opulent lining and elegantly tapered waist, this unusual suit - fresh from the garment house A Suit That Fits - has a definite touch of the baroque. Brilliantly fitted with a gorgeous lining, it clings like a lover to the sides of your chest, heightening every sensation. One touch of the pure wool fabric, liberally padded and lined with satin, and we guarantee you'll never want to wear anything else. Sit in it for a while, as I am doing now, and you begin to notice all kinds of things. First there is the ticket pocket, a small flapped opening halfway down the torso on the left hand side, perfect for storing theatre tickets and other random things; then there is the fine slate pinstripe, quiet enough to make an impression without dominating the overall look. A suit, we think, that'll add a whole new dimension to your wardrobe - the exotic look of the 21st century "corporate baroque'.
To read more about this suit click here. Read more:Baroque
'The Urban Grey': A Suit Review 2006-11-30 11:09:00
A youthful modish grey, this single-breasted double-buttoned suit is perfect for those who want to inject a bit of style into the office environment. With no trouser pleats and flapless pockets, the extras have been kept to an absolute minimum for a streamlined, ultra-chic effect. Brightened by a blood-red tie and a cut-away shirt-collar, this suit combines the formality of our standard model with a definite sense of modernity, balanced by the luxurious softness of wool. Appropriate for the office or any formal occasion, this classic suit is also the one to be spotted in during after-work drinks. Particularly suitable for those city boys who play as hard as they work.
To read more about this suit click here.
Read more:Urban
'The Scholar': A Suit in Pictures 2006-12-11 13:30:00
An eccentric English gentlemen asked us to create the perfect suit. This is what we came up with: a 21st century look with an edge of scholarly seriousness. Here we see the two-piece suit matched with a gorgeous satin-backed waistcoat for the complete look of bespoke elegance. Browse the photos below for a close-up of each immaculate finish; we're sure you'll agree it's a work of stunning craftsmanship. What you don't see here is the flared leg, specially requested by the English 'gentleman', who turned out to be a bit of a hippy...
Read more:Scholar
, Pictures
'The Jewelled Gecko': A Suit Review 2006-12-13 14:08:00
Grey means serious. Grey means elegant. Grey means powerfully conservative. Grey, in fact, means all of these things, but by no means is it a stranger to fun.
For those who take their style seriously but like to wear something bright, this is exactly what the doctor ordered - one of those combinations that work wonders on the eye. Here 'green' and 'grey' are put to stunning use, with the soft, inviting grey-ness of the cashmere-wool contrasting with the sumptuous greenness of the satin. The satin itself shimmers so gorgeously it's practically incandescent!
Thanks to the minimalism of the flapless pockets, this suit has a particularly modern feel; the addition, however, of a slanted ticket pocket anchors it firmly in the tailoring traditions of the past. So if you feel like you're equal parts seriousness, equal parts fun, order this suit today: we're sure its 'green-greyness' will take your breath away! Lastly, if you're wondering why we've called it the 'Jewelled G Read more:Gecko
'The Accused': A Suit Review 2006-12-15 14:11:00
When a man stands accused, he might as well look his best. This dark blue suit with its ultra-thin pinstripe - reminiscent of a convict's PJs - is perfect for the accused man who wants to retain some dignity in his life. It's the suit to be caught in whilst brawling with pool-sticks after a night on the town. It's the suit to be seen in in a court of law, just before being sent down. It's the suit for the gangster. The suit for the thief. The suit for the hustler. The suit for the unrepentant hell-raiser…
It's also the suit for the innocent man who wants to face his calumniators with pride.
So buy it now or go to hell! Visit A Suit That Fits.
'The Oyster': a suit 2006-12-22 13:43:00
This is the ultimate in luxury from A Suit That Fits. Smoky, palpably-soft cashmere shot through with a delicate stripe. The softness of touch is complimented by an equally soft aesthetic in the powder-pink lining, which shimmers like mother of pearl.
This is not a suit to wear lightly. It's not a suit to overuse. It's a piece of art, carefully crafted like a pot or a painting or a box inlaid with pearl. It requires sensitivity to appreciate it. To open the secrets inside. Slip it on and calmness sinks through you. You breathe an aura of light.
Buy it now from A Suit That Fits.
The Beauty of Light and Black Satin 2007-01-05 15:44:00 No self-respecting gentleman can expect to survive long without a dinner-suit. Whether you're going to your end-of-year ball or some fancy do with your prestigious law-firm, our dinner-suit will make you stand out in style. More than anything, however, it's the satin that speaks to me - one of those strange instances when the aesthetic impression becomes as powerful as a drug, exerting the same absorbing effect on the mind as those things that attract a magpie's eyes. If there's one thing guaranteed to intoxicate the mind it's the effect of light on black satin - as if the very absence of colour in the fabric makes the light that falls on it shine more brightly. One is witnessing light at its most basic: at once there is the least variety - merely darkness and light - and yet the contrast between them suggests deepness, beauty and the essence of light. One is simply wearing light's dissolution. Buy it today from A Suit That Fits and dazzle at your next engagement. Read more:Beauty
, Black
, Satin
'The Grenadier': A Suit Review 2007-01-11 12:53:00 Grenadine was traditionally made from the juice of crushed pomegranates. It was thus a deep blood-red. The term "grenadier' might not have anything to do with "red' (it comes, in fact, from the French "grenade-man' or "soldier who threw grenades', which were, in fact, named after pomegranates due to their being a similar size - confused yet?) but to the simple folk here in Great Britain, the Grenadier Guards and their famous red coats inevitably spring to mind.Which is why we've named this suit "The Grenadier'. It might not look especially militaristic but its profound red lining stirs the soul with noble pride, reminding us all of those splendid characteristics - unfortunately tinged with bloodlust and war - that helped make Britain great in the first place. Wear when you're livid and want to kill some Boers. Visit A Suit That Fits for more.
Face Races! - a crazy new internet phenomenon 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Combining narcissism with business is hardly a new idea. With anything successful these days, image is of the utmost importance. But a website that exploits this rule so egregiously by letting people advertise their webspace using images of their own face must come pretty close to genius. Nowhere is the blending of business with the skin-deep more apparent than in the crazy phenomenon called Face Races
. For a fee of 5 pounds you enter your photo. If people decide they like what they see they click on your face and are taken directly to your personal site or business. Not only do you get to see how your face compares in popularity with the rest, you also get to drive valuable traffic to your site. Unleash your narcissism and your business potential here.
The quirkiest job in London 1970-01-01 00:59:59 I must work for the quirkiest company in London. Apart from writing this blog - which, in itself, is weird enough - I cycle round East Central on a 1950s pushbike making sure our products are ironed and posted, measure our customers for their personalised suits and every so often stand around in the cold handing out leaflets. 'A Suit That Fits', in short, are a bewildering company to work for. The product is of the highest quality (made from the finest cashmere) and our customers are some of the most stylish men in London, but an undoubtable air of mystery hangs over all our proceedings. Only the other day, handing out leaflets in the rain to drum up interest in our suits, a number of guys walked by me and flashed me the linings of their jacket. I saw the label 'A Suit That Fits' and a smile of acknowledgement passed between us. It was as if we belonged to a club that only a select few had joined. A fews day before that we brought the streets of London to a standstill by unleashing
Early Morning in Bloomsbury 1970-01-01 00:59:59 What is this confessional fever that grips me? Why must I chronicle every detail of my life? Is it because I fear it's a dream and believe that by fixing it on hundreds of screens I will somehow make it more lasting? When I woke this morning in Bloomsbury, the buildings through the blinds were orange in the sun, the sky was a delicious blue. My friend was pulling on his bespoke tailored suit, telling me not to get up, saying he'd set the alarm for later. But how could I sleep with this vision before me? This jacket so exquisitely tapered. These perfect white cuffs showing just below the sleeves. I wanted to reach up and pull him on top of me, to feel the cashmere bristling beneath my hands. Unfortunately he'd committed to breakfast with a banker. He had to go out into the cold. I slept for what felt like days, but when I woke it was 8.00. The bed was a ball of warmth that had somehow turned me to lead. How was I going to get out of here when my bones were made of lead? I had no choi Read more:Early
, Morning
, Early Morning
The Rochester: A Suit Review 1970-01-01 00:59:59 "England - alas, my country! - has degenerated very much, and is degenerating every day. She has not many gentlemen left. We are few. I see nothing to succeed us but a race of weavers" So said dear Mr. Turveydrop in Dickens' 'Bleak House'.Which brings us to the word "deportment'. "Deportment', you will learn, is a very special word, which touches on every aspect of what it means to be, not only a gentleman, but an Englishman. It is a word that covers, not just one's conduct and personal demeanor, but one's entire appearance and attitude to life. When wise Mr. Turveydrop spoke of his country degenerating, he had no idea that the general decline in manners and good conduct would correspond with an equal decline in the way people dressed. Ripped jeans! Long hair! Baggy T-shirts! Horror of horrors - men in make-up! Mr. Turveydrop would most likely have turned white as a ghost and vomited at the very mention of such a thing. That is because Mr Turveydrop lived in a Read more:Rochester
Who needs the Eiffel Tower? 2006-10-16 03:46:00 Not only do I work for the most vibrant garment house in London, I must live in the most buzzing city in the world. For me, it's symbolised by the BT Tower
. Not that the Tower itself is that interesting (though I can't help finding it strangely beautiful); it's more, I think, what it represents. Above all it represents London. In the year 2000 I studied at UCL and lived directly under it. Today, when I sit up in bed I can see it shining, purple, in the sky. I wake up in the morning and leave my bed. The sun is a mere white disc in the sky. There's something about the mist, the way it wraps around the Tower, that makes me tingle through and through.The first thing that happens when I get into work is that Jen gets out her croissants, still warm from the baker's in Notting Hill. After we've eaten them with tea, I begin to write about suits. At this time in the morning, when my eyes are still opening and my head feels numb, there's nothing more lovely to write about. It helps that Read more:Eiffel
Suits on the Street 2008 2008-02-25 10:31:00 At A Suit That Fits we pay close attention to suit trends – we often ask ourselves, what will the suits on the streets be in 2008? Will the three-buttoned suit succumb to the two-button as the contemporary gent’s suit of choice; will formal wear continue its resurgence in popularity and will classic fabrics be superceded by lightweight, quality fabrics with the right balance of classic fit and contemporary elegance? For us, one trend above all stands out – both men and women want bespoke suits. With the ability to design your own suit now at your fingertips and at an affordable price why sacrifice the fit, comfort and cachet afforded by a bespoke suit? Whatever the trends for men’s suits - whether fashion or formal, work or play - a bespoke suit is a far better investment than the Read more:Suits
, Street
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