Double Trouble

Let's talk about the double-breasted tuxedo if we may. It's is no mean feat to pull this look off. To illustrate just how difficult this look can be here are two examples from a single runway show by Signor Valentino.

Both are on gorgeous, thin models yet the model on the left looks less trim and a little frumpy; even a little stuffy and uncomfortable. The reason Monsieur Valentino has made this work in the jacket on the right is the closely-fitted, tapered waist line, the more acute angle of the lapels and the overall proportionality, as well as the fact that it looks more relaxed (which is not to say casual or sloppy). The tux on the left is less flattering to an otherwise adorable model. The lapels look too wide for their short length and the wider angle contributes to the illusion that the model is thick-waisted.

Which brings up my primary admonition. Too many of you have been deluded into believing the oft-repeated lie that large men look good in a double-breasted suit. They don’t! A large man in a double-breasted suit only looks like the back of an upholstered sofa or worse, like Winston Churchill.


Many people also feel that the double-breasted tuxedo is quite elegant. Indeed, it was made popular by many fashionable men of 20th Century. This notion however ignores its origin. It was modeled after the 1914 Navy pea coat which is outerwear, meant for and designed as, a utilitarian garment; hardly the sort of pedigree one should look for in elegant attire.

One can rail against tradition all one wishes but in men’s attire, particularly formal attire, traditional is always going to be found most acceptable and men are no longer permitted the luxury of being the strutting peacocks of the 17th and 18th Centuries. Men have been condemned to uniformity by the Victorian standard of etiquette that demands that a gentleman does not call attention to himself in either manner or dress.

Of course for my dears of GMCW there should be no double breasted jackets because you are wearing a uniform and, quelle surprise, you should be uniform. If that's not clear her Ladyship shall say it again. No double breasted tuxedos!

Looking out for your look,
Lady Prisspott