The search is on at H&H to find the most iconic suit of all time and once we have found it, recreating that suit for our window, to celebrate not only the look itself but also to bring in to the spotlight tailoring and suits as a whole but why?
Well, the obvious reason is that it will bring attention to the shop and help us sell suits and while this true, the same result can be achieved by putting a nice jacket in the window without all the logistics and hassle of recreating something iconic and recognisable, so really why are we bothering.
To put it simply we think the suit is in danger of being, if not forgotten, certainly overlooked and it’s true that less and less people are wearing suits these days, or so we are told!
Very few people need to wear a suit to work anymore and likewise people aren’t getting married or going to weddings every day of the week either but let’s take a minute to think about the suits in question.
Work attire, we tend to think, is conservative, conforming to a work place, functional even, for the day job, with weddings suits, that’s something classic, isn’t it? A suit that says commitment and love but not something for the office, maybe a nice light grey.
Now whilst neither of these statements are 100% true or even how everyone thinks about suits it does highlight that people tend to look at suits as an outfit you wear for ‘that thing’ not something cutting edge or stylish, not something that breaks boundaries.
Of course, there are exceptions, vintage lovers, followers of fashion, general suits admirers who know the true value of having some great suits in the wardrobe already think differently and that’s because they look beyond the pre conception of what a suit is, exactly what our search for iconic suits is all about. Reminding people that the humble 2 or 3 piece is more than the sum of its parts.
Let’s look at an example or two and start with the suits that spring to mind for most people, the classic worn by James Bond. Nothing too outlandish or even ground breaking in how he wears his suits but who would Bond be without his famous tailored style? Not quite the same in a tracksuit and old cardigan, is he?
How about at the other end of the scale? Would Jim Carey have been half as outrageous in The Mask without that bright yellow zoot suit? Of course not! The suit is telling you who he is and how he approaches life, maybe even more so than that crazy green mask. It’s making a statement.
The list goes on. The Blues Brothers, John Wick and the Men in Black all in classic black suits but they define who they are. Think about Bowie and suits he has worn, the same for Prince, attention grabbing, career defining.
And don’t think that the ladies are being overlooked either, lets talk about Jackie Onassis (Kennedy) in her truly iconic pink 2 piece or Madonna wearing that amazing pinstripe in her Vogue video. I mean show me something more iconic that Mary Poppins in her signature look.
Tailoring has also blurred the lines, take Julie Roberts in her oversize grey suit for the Golden Globes or Grace Jones, Elton John, RuPaul and on we go.
Suits aren’t just pinstripes for work or light greys for a wedding, far from it. Suits are style, fashion, bright colours or bold patterns. Soft tailored shoulders and draped cloths to multi-layered canvass and bold structure and cuts.
In short suits can be whatever you want or need them to be, they can express who you are, make you feel brave and bold. Suits can shock. Suits can conform and of course be mundane but they are one of the true staples of a wardrobe that can be a different thing to each and every person that wears one, as individual as you want it to be, just like a person, truly capable of something great if you put your mind to it, perhaps even, something iconic. And we think it’s about time people remembered that. Now more than ever.