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RSS icon Comments on BREAKING: Planets Align For Slim Suits!

1

High water pants showing the sock are in. The technosexuals are just dictating everything now. Their blogs are sexy, their IMs too much, pants are short w/ low waists and their armholes are daringly high. Plus, the scent of them with set your eyes afire. If they went outside, they wouldn't be left alone.

Posted by dwb | March 8, 2007 11:46 AM
2

This is one of those instances where we who live in Seattle think that the world is like Seattle. Suits are still important, and not just drudgery, in many places in the world.

Your qualifier as a gay man is also not a way to pad your credentials on this topic, since, again, you're a gay man in SEATTLE!

We had our moment of style in Seattle, but thank god grunge is dead. :-)

Posted by Timothy | March 8, 2007 11:50 AM
3

Get a grip Timmy, high waters and 2 button suits probably won't even make it through one season. Grunge is like moss, it's not dead, it just appears dormant to outsiders. On the other, if someone could tell people in Seattle to ease up on the fleece and show some skin, that would be awesome. You don't have to be slaves to fashion, but god couldn't you just do enough to acknowledge that you realize it exists.

Posted by dwb | March 8, 2007 12:01 PM
4

@2 has it right. Dan your Seattle is showing...

Posted by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me | March 8, 2007 12:07 PM
5

Not having to wear a suit for work makes me excited when I get to put on a good suit.

Still I'm resisting highwater pants as a fad that will not last beyond one season and one that will be looked back on in the next couple of seasons as a "what were we thinking" type of thing.

Posted by monkey | March 8, 2007 12:11 PM
6

Personally - I think this means that the big, ill-fitting navy box blazer (double-breasted) will enjoy an avant gaurde status (kind of like the backwards trucker hat). Hipsters pairing it with a nautical-themed-tie or demure mock turtle-neck will herald a romanticism of all things Mens Warehouse.

Posted by Off_the_rack | March 8, 2007 12:26 PM
7

The guys I know who are into suits are straight and live in SF and NYC. It has nothing to do with gayness, everything to do with geography.

And "technonatural" is a better slogan than "metronatural" for Seattle.

Posted by DOUG. | March 8, 2007 12:34 PM
8

i would wear a suit more often if anyone else did. when i do wear my simple, inexpensive armani xchange 2 piece summer suit to work, without a tie, everyone flips out like i'm a peacock. better to wear pleated chinos & a friggin company polo shirt.

but i won't wear pee wee's suit.

Posted by Max Solomon | March 8, 2007 12:42 PM
9

That IS weird. I thought your post would be related to David Schmader's "Saturn Wins Galactic Beauty Pageant" - that was the best title. Maybe this means David Schmader likes the slim suits. Anyway, www.thesatorialist.blogspot.com gives a shit about that fashion stuff. He photographs fashionable men and women (in his eyes) in the fashion hubs of the world.

Posted by Amy Jo | March 8, 2007 12:53 PM
10

@2 - exactly correct.
@3 - this is the third season this look has dominated.
I may love Seattle, but it certainly wants for style.

Posted by suiter | March 8, 2007 12:56 PM
11

Yeah, it's funny, because just yesterday I pulled my very slim Zegna suit (and no, no highwater pants for me yet) from the closet and put it on. It felt so defiant to walk the streets of Seattle in a nice, well-tailored suit. I felt downright rebellious; the punks of the 70's had nothing on me here in Seattle! :-)

Posted by Timothy | March 8, 2007 1:06 PM
12

I care about how a jacket looks (never should hanging open above the top button), how many buttons it has (no less than THREE) and how a jacket feels (tight, YES to high arm holes). and I get giddy about suits, nice suits...when I see them, (never in Seattle)...ugly suits bother me. Deeply. Those generic "business" type suits are AWFUL...two buttons/double breasted ONE button (!?), pleats AND fucking turn ups? bullshit. Really, it's time the pleats and billowy shirts went away.

and I don't wear suits to work because I bike in and would be too fussy about having them pressed and then having to transport them. and as for sucking up to advertisers sorry but the writer should know you don't ever go to buy a suit off the peg, YOU HAVE A SUIT MADE. fuck the fashion houses. and, if you can help it, your trousers should NEVER touch your shoes (except for Doug).

Posted by nipper | March 8, 2007 1:15 PM
13

Hey, sometimes it's the guys who go crazy for a sharp-dressed man. Last I checked, there appeared to be room to expand high-Seattle style beyond North Face Danali jackets or ironic rock Ts. I say bring it on.

And even an old stalwart like Brooks Brothers knows when to make adjustments. They've hired Thom Browne to design a suit collection for them. Maybe it's time to show a little ankle, Dan.

Posted by schlatty | March 8, 2007 1:25 PM
14

I like suits. I have a lot of them. I read the story in this morning's New York Times.

(Wait, this isn't Post Secret? Nevermind.)

Posted by Postman | March 8, 2007 1:49 PM
15

@10 - wrong - lived in NYC 2 seasons ago, get your facts straight O'Reilly
@13 - schlatty's bringing it, exactly right.

Posted by dwb | March 8, 2007 2:05 PM
16

If I want trenchant political analysis, I read The Economist. If I want intelligent news coverage, I read The NYT. If I want fashion news, I visit style.com. When I want irreverent, biased reporting which makes no effort to achieve journalistic integrity, I read The Stranger - but do not misunderstand: I am an avid reader and check in on the Slog hourly. Where else can you find a man that is ignorant of fashion, a man that is unfamiliar with some of the oldest and most esteemed names in Italian design, a man living in a land of fleece, who imagines himself an authority on fashion industry trends, evidently basing much of his credentials on his sexual preference? Thank you, Stranger. Keep up the good work.

Posted by paralogist | March 8, 2007 2:06 PM
17

I bought a pair of trousers at Costco. When I put them on, the cuffs weren't quite reaching my shoe, so I returned them.

Damn.

Posted by Mr. Pants | March 8, 2007 2:27 PM
18

Sorry guys, but I'm with Dan on this one. He isn't so much talking about men’s suits per se, but about the crappy "article" about fashion that was obviously cut and pasted from an industry press release.

But he's also right when he (briefly) addresses the substance of the article: men-- gay, straight, whatever-- just don't think in ways that the article suggests. "Anywhere men shop" followed by a laundry list of advertisers hardly supports the article's contention. Had the "author" been serious about that, he would have listed individual designers who are following and/or leading this trend.

Press release = bogus = who cares?

Posted by Brad | March 8, 2007 2:29 PM
19

I'm straight, and I get all fluttery about a nice suit. I'm not so strict as Nipper there, but in general I agree. I like a nice two-button though. Two-button is a million times nicer than those tragic hip-hop Harold Reynolds sporstcaster numbers (unless they are in mustard yellow with nine buttons, then they're cool).

The only thing that's an absolute no-no is pleated pants. I've been going away frustrated from menswear shops for years because none of the good clothes have flat fronts; usually it's the cheap, cheesy "suit separates" only. That's starting to change, and I'm very happy.

I'm also happy about the high-waters, though maybe not quite so high as described here. My pants will touch my shoes, sometimes, sometimes. And they will be cuffed, if I can afford it. What drives me crazy is the ridiculously long sleeve, and the obsequious yet insistent salesman trying to convince me that it's fashionable to wear your sleeves down to your knuckles. Maybe it is, but it's not MY fashion.

My biggest problem clotheswise is that I have a closet full of great stuff that I can't QUITE fit into anymore. Alas.

Posted by Fnarf | March 8, 2007 2:32 PM
20

There's a suit style out there for everyone, as long as it fucking FITS. Tailoring isn't difficult to find or very expensive - people spend more money keeping their cars detailed. More and more it seems like people identify with what clothes MEAN ("hey, they said wear a suit, I'm wearing a suit") rather than how they actually look.

I've got about 5,000 more words on this, so I'll digress...

Nipper, that other post was a different Doug, but I appreciate the pass. The tops of my pants WILL be touching my shoes, but at least my ass will look like two kittens fighting in a pillowcase.

Posted by Dougsf | March 8, 2007 2:59 PM
21

Jesus are you a bunch of fucking whiners.

"Oh no, I can't wear a suit because people in Seattle don't care about fashion."

Obviously all of the members of this little fashion circle jerk do care, so why don't y'all get dressed to the nines and ooh and aaah over each other.

Alternatively, in case you hadn't noticed, people here probably aren't going to care one way or the other if you wear the latest fashions. So if it matters so much to you, go ahead and rock whatever style you please. You may not get the awed reaction that you so desperately crave, but chances are that you aren't going to get pelted with rotting fruit either.

Posted by Stop the oppression | March 8, 2007 3:03 PM
22

So very happy that tailoring and fit is back in style; noticed it creeping back these past few years. Gentlemen, you're all looking damn hot.

Posted by Gloria | March 8, 2007 3:03 PM
23

Hey, Stop the oppression: nice sweatshirt! Is that ketchup?

Posted by Fnarf | March 8, 2007 3:14 PM
24

Thanks, Dan, for reminding me of one of the things I love most about Seattle - suits are almost never mandatory.

Posted by Sean | March 8, 2007 3:22 PM
25

Dan, after all these years, you're still a fashion retard.

The slim suit is here to stay for awhile, and anyone who pays the least attention to men's fashion reporting knew it before the Times article this morning. As a matter of fact, other than Cathy Horyn's brilliant coverage of the collections, by the time things make it to the NYT style page they're old news.

Posted by Mark Mitchell | March 8, 2007 4:30 PM
26

Dan, after all these years, you're still a fashion retard.

The slim suit is here to stay for awhile, and anyone who pays the least attention to men's fashion reporting knew it before the Times article this morning. As a matter of fact, other than Cathy Horyn's brilliant coverage of the collections, by the time things make it to the NYT style page they're old news.

Posted by Mark Mitchell | March 8, 2007 4:31 PM
27

Dan, you truly have been in Seattle too long.

What you are saying may be true for many men IN SEATTLE. But much of the east coast is far more fashion conscious, and the average dress codes are more formal.

One of the things I love about Seattle, and the whole west coast really, is the casual fashion sense. I think Canlis used to be the only restaurant in Seattle that used to require a coat and tie for men, but they dropped that a number of years ago. I don't think there are any restaurants in the city now with a formal dress code. Thank Gawd.

I do like to wear a nice suit a few times a year. But I wear one so infrequently that I'm not willing to spend the money on anything too trendy. A suit has to be ordinary enough to remain at least halfway fashionable for a decade, or I'm not buying it. I think my dad has owned less that 5 suits his entire life (he's 70), and has never worn a tux, even to his own wedding. I think he is appalled that I even own a tux. But as I say, I think this is a west coast attitude.

Posted by SDA in SEA | March 8, 2007 4:52 PM
28

@ 23

Dammit, Fnarf, I'll have you know that Mugatu himself put that stain there. Something about his new Derelicte collection...

Posted by Stop the oppression | March 8, 2007 4:53 PM
29

Hey Stop @ 23...I never said that Seattle didn't care about fashion, just that Seattle doesn't like high fashion (or whatever non-hierarchical term you'd rather apply to avoid some drawn out debate about what is best).

A hoody is like a fine Italian wool suit here in Seattle; even better if it is deconstructed. :-)

Posted by Timothy | March 8, 2007 5:17 PM
30

@29

Not sure that I see what this supposed debate that you're avoiding would be. We don't like fashion, don't like high fashion...whatever. I essentially agree with whichever formulation floats your boat -- fashion vs. high fashion debates I'll just leave to the fashionistas.

Posted by Stop the oppression | March 8, 2007 5:30 PM
31

SDA in SEA: My beloved Latin high school teacher is the total opposite -- he ONLY owns a tux. He wears it to everything that remotely requires a suit. It's amusing.

Posted by Gloria | March 8, 2007 5:31 PM
32

I don't know, Nipper. I've seen you in some pretty billowy shirts.

Posted by Paulus | March 8, 2007 5:38 PM
33

This is old news. H&M had this in their line over a year ago.

Posted by ianus | March 8, 2007 7:56 PM
34

"because it will probably affect their lives a lot more than Mercury going into retrograde ever will."

Whomever wrote this article needs a lesson in astrology. "Retrograde" means moving backward" Mercury can be in Aries, Capricorn, or any other "sign". And Mercury goes retrograde a few times a year, (actually, it just appears to go retrograde, but that's another issue.) Only an amateur would say that "Mercury is in retrograde" (Mercury is in moving backwards -- it doesn't make sense. Mercury is moving backwards makes sense. The word "in" doesn't.)

This is what the comments should be about -- who cares about fashion!

Posted by GN | March 9, 2007 12:12 AM
35

Considering how fat your thighs and ass look in jeans these days, I think you might want to re-think your aversion to suits...

Posted by Boomer | March 9, 2007 3:14 PM
36

Hi Jim. You letter i received. Thanks! Photos is GREAT!!!!

Posted by Slim | March 20, 2007 7:56 AM
37

Hi Jim. You letter i received. Thanks! Photos is GREAT!!!!

Posted by Slim | March 20, 2007 7:56 AM

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