In this the third of the occasional series of Sartorial Sages (link below) I'm delighted to welcome Eric Musgrave. One of the first books I bought as a style blogger was his Sharp Suits with its cover image of a besuited Steve McQueen (the cover below is an earlier edition). Eric Musgrave is former editorial director of Drapers (the magazine covering the fashion retail sector), launch editor of For Him (later FHM), author of Sharp Suits (Pavilion, 2009). He's also a very dapper fellow.
Here Eric Musgrave gives us the benefit of his considerable menswear style experience:
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Sharp Suits cover – 1966 suit by Ted Lapidus (Photo from the files of IWS, now Woolmark)
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| My version of the suit. A bespoke suit made by Meyer & Mortimer in a Fox Brothers flannel |
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A made-to-measure three-piece by Magee, using a Magee tweed. I picked the floral lining to complement the windowpane check
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TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE by Eric Musgrave
What do want your clothes to say about you? That is the first question to ask yourself when on a search for style. Your wardrobe should be a reflection of your character, so it could be very large and varied or very narrow and focused. But the choice should be yours – not your mother’s, or your wife’s, your girlfriend’s or boyfriend’s.
My own interest in my appearance goes back at least to my mid-teens, when I was first allowed to go shopping for clothes rather than have my mum take me. I was 63 in May this year and my passion and interest is undimmed. I am now very choosy about what I wear and tend to concentrate on a few favourite looks. I take pleasure in what I wear and, I hope, I give people pleasure in seeing me in my choices.
One of the saddest things for me is when a bloke will say “Wow, you look great, Eric, but I could never wear anything like that.” Oh yes, you could, I think.
It is a nonsense for anyone to suggest that men are not interested in their appearance. In nature, the male is usually the more flamboyant of the two sexes. If you want some inspiration and proof that males have been style-conscious for decades, have a look at Menswear (Bodleian Library, 2012, a collection of vintage postcards collected by artist Tom Phillips. With images from about 1900 to 1950, it’s an inspiring and fascinating collection for which I wrote a short introduction. There is a short piece about it on my blog.
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| Menswear by Tom Phillips - the cover of an inspiring book of old postcards |
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In Silhouette spex – a simple outfit gathered around white, black and grey. Wool jacket by J. Keydge.
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| A plain blue polo shirt balances a busy club check in a made-to-measure linen-silk suit from Magee |
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| Cord jacket by Polo Ralph Lauren, traditional Fair Isle slipover by Drake’s |
MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALL
I have had to come to the alarming conclusion that I no longer have the skinny body I had in my late twenties. As I am not prepared to exercise and change my diet enough to reduce my weight and girth, I am no longer a slip of a lad. I have to be realistic about sizing of clothes and any man who wants to look good has to take the same somewhat painful attitude. Despite my good intentions, I now accept that my near-40 inch waist is unlikely to ever shrink back to a 34, so a couple of years ago I had a major clear out of my wardrobe.
It’s not possible to look good unless you your clothes are the right size. Having them too big is a regular problem I see, especially when the sleeve on a tailored jacket hangs below the knuckles of the wearer. Ugh!
Don’t worry about what the size label actually says. Try a garment on to see how it fits. There is no consistent sizing scale for the industry, so one suit manufacturer’s 40 Long may well be another one’s 42 Regular. The huge variation in sizing, cut and styling in menswear makes me wonder why anyone would buy anything new and unknown to them via the internet, but life is full of mysteries, isn’t it?
Most of us buy our clothes ready-made, so the other reality of a stylish life is you will very often need to have them altered to fit you properly, whether it involves shortening or lengthening a sleeve on a jacket or shirt, adjusting a trouser waistband, or slimming or easing a jacket side seam. Find yourself a good alterations tailor and include the alterations cost into your budget.
I have a lot of time for made-to-measure clothes – essentially the alterations from the standard size are put in at the time of manufacturing – of, if your budget allows, the full treat of bespoke, when the garment is made individually just for you.
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A punchy red shetland knitwear sweater by Drake’s is a good background for a multicoloured cashmere Wispy scarf by Begg & Co
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| Candiani jeans etc – a two-way mix of unusual denim. Not sure about that white belt on second thoughts! |
TAKE YOUR TIME AND FIND A FRIEND
For too many of us, shopping for clothes has become a self-help exercise. The sad decline of independent menswear retailers and the paucity of knowledgeable staff (or indeed any staff!) in larger high-street chains and department stores means you have to work out a lot for yourself.
I’d always advise trying to find a good specialist menswear retailer, even if it means travelling a bit of a way. Even if you are confident in your style and know a lot about the performance qualities of fabrics and different silhouettes, it’s engaging to discuss the finer points with another fan. With a bit of luck, they will be able to introduce you to a new label or a new idea. Or suggest a combination that enables you to tweak your own style.
The other important point is to devote some time to the shopping process. It’s dangerous to shop in a hurry. If you are developing your style or want to go in a new direction, it is worth giving yourself the time to try things out in a shop with a helpful and knowledgeable expert at your side. Decent retailers survive on repeat customers, so a good one is highly unlikely to send you off with something that won’t work for you.
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR, SO LOOK AFTER IT
I learned a long time ago that quality costs money. I am not talking about the premium prices charged by “designer names” just for the addition of their often-ugly logos, but high-quality clothes made of high-quality materials necessarily cost more.
I rarely buy inexpensive items, but if I do, it’s only in the knowledge that they will probably have a short and limited life with me. Happily, decent bargains are to be had pretty much all the time these days and the internet makes locating these more easily than schlepping along a high street.
A few years ago I decided that I wanted to support British manufacturing, so wherever possible I buy clothes and footwear made in the UK (and Ireland too). They may not be cheap, but they represent great value, which is a more pressing concern for me.
Looking good involves looking after your clothes. Way back in 1985 when I was part of the tiny team that launched For Him as the first of the modern-era “style magazines” for men, dressing well was a central theme of our editorial proposition. We consistently advised our readers to avoid the vagaries of “fashion” for the pleasures of “style”. We regularly ran features about caring for clothes and shoes correctly – it all pays off, believe me.
You can see what we were doing with the early For Him here.
GO ON, SURPRISE YOURSELF
It’s never been easier to look good. The internet is an apparently infinite resource on which you research any menswear query. When I started my journalistic career in 1980, the best you could find for guidance was an old copy of The ABC of Men’s Fashion by the Queen’s couturier Hardy Amies, which had been published as a 3/6 (17½p) paperback in 1964, or one of the early books by American style commentator Alan Flusser, who I interviewed in 1983 in New York (read the piece here).
Style is a visual medium and the millions of images online make it easy to gain inspiration and ideas. You can look up renowned style champions like the Duke of Windsor or Cary Grant and examine how they put their outfits together. Look at proportions, shape, pattern mix, colour contrast or colour coordination. Once you see something you like, you can start to find out how you can replicate the look or a version of it.
Men’s style is, literally, a many splendoured thing. When I was researching my history of tailoring, Sharp Suits, I devoted a great deal of time in digging out unfamiliar images rather than recycling the old favourites. Aided by picture researcher Emma O’Neill, I found literally hundreds of great photographs, most of which still sit on my laptop as they did not make the final selection. Often I like them not for the overall look, but because they give me an idea for a mix of patterns between a shirt and tailored jacket, or the angle of a pocket, or a way to wear a scarf.
Sometimes, I do go the whole hog, as in the case of a bespoke suit in Fox Brothers flannel that I had made by Meyer & Mortimer in Sackville Street (it was payment for the work I did on redesigning their website a few years ago). The outfit was inspired by the cover image on the first edition of the book, which featured a high-fastening double-breasted suit from 1966 by the French designer Ted Lapidus (once very influential, now largely forgotten). I saw the image. I liked it. I thought it would suit me (no pun intended). It does.
You’ll be surprised what would work for you. Just give things a try – and make sure they reflect your personality, not someone else’s notion of what your personality should be.
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Grey Fox: I'd like to than Eric Musgrave for his considerable and fascinating contribution. I've learned a lot and it's good to hear that I'm on the right lines after 7 years as a self-taught menswear enthusiast.
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| Menswear book – Eric Musgrave's favourite outfit of the 200 featured in Tom Phillips’ book of postcards |
Click here to find other contributions to my Sartorial Sages occasional series.
