Reviving the Classic Men's Suit: A Call for Timeless Style

By Josiah Sumbry

A black man submitted a recent Facebook post featuring three beautiful black women and a caption that read: “Can this come back in style(?)”The black beauties sported no spider-like eyelashes, no cakes of MAC foundation, no cascading Farrah-Fawcett-like extensions, just simple and classic beauty.

Josiah has a request of his own: Can the natural, classic-cut suit for men come back in style?

You know the kind of business suit about which he is referring. It’s the one that respects the natural contour of the male human anatomy, not offending it as skinny suits often do. 

The collar of the classic cut fits snugly around the neck, allowing one-half inch of the shirt collar to show. The shoulder line runs parallel to the floor, assuming a more natural, clean and comfortable look. 

The sleeves of the jacket prefer falling perpendicular to the floor. And whether single- or double-breasted, the jacket of the classic cut is long enough at least to cover a man’s seat. (Too long of a jacket hemline can be just as problematic as one that’s too short.)

The matching slacks sports generous ease through the thighs. The single- or double-pleated model often affords this ease, if the wearer has avoided squeezing into a pair meant for his younger brother. 

You see, the contour of the slacks should follow the natural silhouette of a man’s lower half. The thigh area is the thickest part of the legs, and the calves and ankles get incrementally smaller. Accordingly, slacks should taper. (Josiah recommends the cuffed variety, for they aid gravity in causing the lines to fall stylishly, presenting a slight break over the instep.)Speaking of gravity, the skinny suit defies it. The skinny prototype, which The Beatles helped popularize in the 1960s, is just too much – or should Josiah say, just too little. 

Thick muscles and thighs – and sometimes big backsides – seem to be bursting through fabrics, much like the display resulting from one of the Incredible Hulk’s well-published transformations.

The entire aim of clothing is to cover the human body, not act as a canvas to be painted on. If worn skillfully, clothing can even be employed to create optical illusions, tricking the eye to focus on assets while scanning away from imperfections. 

But aren’t muscles an asset deserving to be flaunted? Shouldn’t onlookers gaze on muscles sculpted during laborious workouts? The answer is an unequivocal no!

A man can preserve that look for more casual appearances. There is a time and place for everything. 

When wearing the business suit, the focus must be on business, not on a man’s body. People might easily chastise a professional woman for wearing in the business world clothing that reveals her assets. Why shouldn’t men face the same scrutiny? 

The skinny suit is reminiscent of a common practice of yesterday, when children often wore hand-me-downs. Children of large families, especially those with limited economic resources, often wore clothing that were passed down from their older siblings. 

Such families could not afford to buy brand new outfits for every child. The wearer had to rush home after school or church and immediately pull off the clothes before play. This practice assured Mother that the clothes would be in good shape when time came to pass down the garments.

But the hand-me-downs often were an imperfect fit for the younger wearer. He might be “in the water,” an expression of yesteryear suggesting that the britches were too short. Or the jacket’s hemline might have rested above the seat. Or the jacket and pants might have been too tight or too big. Victims of this practice often hated it, because such clothes reveal not only a poor fit but also a poor standing, financially.

Men, do you want to continue looking ill-fitted, as though you’re wearing your older brother’s Easter suit?

After pondering these sartorial matters, Josiah can only hope that a man’s reasoning would supersede the human appetite for being a fashion slave. Just because others head to the sea like a bunch of lemmings does not mean that a sensible man must do likewise.

Be your own man, men. Bring back common sense when making important sartorial choices, and let’s snatch a page from trend-setting black beauties who have stripped away the fake eyelashes, the painted faces, and the fake hair. They’re seeking a more natural look. So should you, men, when choosing the proper business suit.

Josiah Sumbry is the former fashion columnist for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer newspaper and is now a regular contributor to The Courier Eco Latino.