SUIT YOURSELF

There’s perhaps no more powerful menswear-to-womenswear adaption as the three-piece suit. The blazer jacket, trousers and waistcoat combination speaks of a certain timeless, pulled-togetherness, a Savile Row formality in an increasingly casual world where dress codes are increasingly blurred. And who doesn’t crave a little order in their life?

Take Vivienne Westwood’s reworkings of the pinstripe three-piece. Subversive yes, but with just as much empowering swagger as the dapper young Brit Beau Brummell who first introduced the modern men’s suit way back in Regency England. And remember Helmut Newton’s photograph of a mysterious model wearing Yves Saint Laurent’s Le Smoking?

Some say it’s seduction without the skin, but loosen it up for daytime in pliable fabrics like grey wool flannel to soften the shape, and this is sass for the street. There’s a reason why designers Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors can be relied on for seasonal renditions. The three piece is all cool classic charm. Just ask the gents.