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Trish Carmen Fashion
There is something about a man wearing a suit. When a man wears suit he excludes success and power but only if he is wearing the right suit. When shopping for a suit the experience can be daunting as one can be overwhelmed by things like colour, fabric, cut, fit and trends. It’s important to have the knowledge about suits so you make an informed decision. When it comes to suits, it is not only about knowing the right size but also knowing your body proportions so as to create balance and knowing your body type.

Are you mesomorph (athletic), endomorph (bulky)or ectomorph (slim)? Once you have established these then you can start looking at things like the fit, the length of the pants, the length of the blazer and the different features of the suit. Now when we are talking about features on a suit, this all has to do with the cut and style of the suit.

Today I will take you through the most popular suit cuts, bearing in mind that suit cuts have nothing to do with geographical origins but are more about the cut.

1. Italian Cut: The Italian cut is the most popular because of its trendiness. It is cut very slim; the silhouette is sleek, modern and very stylish giving that polished look. The Italian cut I would personally call the power suit of the century because of its wide shoulders and small waist, which tend to create that defined triangle shape on the body.

The jacket comes with two vents, and is shorter than the English cut jacket. The shoulders are padded and the lapel notches and buttons are positioned higher than the English or American cut suit.

The pockets on an Italian cut suit are flap-less and the jacket has a pronounced V-shape.

The fabric used on Italian cut suits are lighter opposed to the English cut suits. The pants are fitted on the waist and hip. This suit cut fits snug to the body. The ectomorph body suits this cut perfectly. So if you are tall, slim and have a flat belly this suit is for you.

2. English Cut: This is the most commonly worn in Zimbabwe I believe for obvious reasons, the English cut originated on Savile Row on May Fair. English cut Is the world wide standard of a suit.

This suit is cut closer to the body and is single-breasted meaning it comes with only a single row of bottom. It comes either with two buttons or three buttons. It has a peak lapel, when you look close to the top it has a small triangle facing up. It has slightly narrower and defined shoulders with a higher armhole and thicker shoulder pads because of these features the English cut is structured and is suitable for the mesomorph body type, which is your athletic body.

3. American Cut: This cut was designed by the Brooke brothers in the 19th century. The American cut is distinguished by its single vent in the back. It has higher armholes, flap pockets, and a natural look on the shoulders with almost no padding showing, giving it a softer less structured silhouette.

The American cut is not as snug as the Italian cut, it originally had a very baggy cut and with time it has been improved to have the more fitted look.

Out of all the cuts of suits it’s been labelled the least stylish or trendy. It’s suitable for the endomorph body type and very comfortable for those who wear suits for long hours in the office because of its not so snug features.

4. The Classic Cut: The double breasted suit, this suit has its history in military uniform, it is the most classy and formal of the suit cuts. This suit has two distinct rows of bottoms down the front and a bottom on the inside left meant to keep the suit straight. It has a peak lapel hence it is considered the most formal. It has double vents at the back. It’s a great choice for any formal occasion.

This suit type works for tall men simply because the long lapel feature tend to minimise the size of one’s torso making someone appear not so tall and the wide front tends to widen the chest. So if you are a short guy stay away from the classic double breasted suit as it will only make you look shorter.

There are different styles of the double breasted cut that being 4 x 1 doubled breasted style, 6x 1 and 6x 2 double breasted

Wearing the right type of suit will set you apart, it will make people think of you differently. As the saying goes “Dress the way you want to be addressed”, and with the right suit, you can’t go wrong.

Till next week ciao!

Trish Carmen is a Zimbabwean Fashion designer and hostess of The Front Page on Star FM. Her fashion Brand Trish Carmen has been showcased at SAFW, Durban Fashion Fair, Durban Designer show case, HIFA, Harare Jazz Festival & KZN Fashion Council Fashion Showcase. Feedback: [email protected]