A good suit can be hard to find.
Many of us guys have the be st intentions when we head to the department store to buy a suit. Sadly ,that’s where we do it wrong.
To get a suit that really fits – not too tight across the shoulders, not too long in the sleeves, tapers at the waist, and with just the right break at the shoes – you really have to go with bespoke tailoring.
That’s great – especially if you can afford the jaw dropping prices that some tailors charge. But, as anyone who has ever been to a tailor shop will tell you, you need to know what you want going in, or you might not be happy with the results. That can be problematic since most guys have no idea what to ask for.
Thankfully, one Sydney-based online suit maker has devised a solution.
The data on suiting
In a bid to resolve a long-standing dispute, InStitchu co-founders James Wakefield and Robin McGowan decided to plough through their data, and in the process managed to uncover the most popular Australian suit style.
“We’d been arguing for months about what colour suit was more popular with today’s businessman, so we decided to look into it and resolve the matter once and for all,” Wakefield said.
“We realised we had data from thousands of customers and that it would be pretty easy to see who was right. But then when we started analysing the data, we realised there was much more we could do with it. That’s when we decided to create the archetypal Aussie suit.
By the numbers, by the tradition
The most popular suiting colour for Aussie guys: navy blue. That puts the Aussie man in line with sartorial tradition. The most popular button configuration? Two, which also happens to be in line with the old standards. In other words: timeless.
The man with the navy suit on
“Wearing his usual rig—dark-blue single-breasted suit, white shirt, thin black knitted silk tie, black casuals— but they all look brand-new. ” – Ian Fleming, from The Man With the Golden Gun
In addition to preferring James Bond’s default uniform, it seems that Australian men also favour some of the more refined suiting conventions of sartorial tradition, too.
“Interestingly, central vent jackets have fallen out of favour, with the vast majority of men now electing to go for jackets with side vents (81%). And most men prefer to have their jacket fully-lined (92%), although there are a few who like the tailored look of a half lining (6%).”
“Lapels are also really interesting. The notch lapel is a clear winner here (77%), which hasn’t always been the case. Not so long ago, more Australians would have chosen a peak lapel (11%). but I think the peak lapel is almost dead, with only a select few still opting for this classic look.”
What every man wants to look like in a suit…
Everyone knows that, when a man puts on a suit, he really wants to magically turn into James Bond. While no one can possibly guarantee that result, unless you just so happen to be Daniel Craig, you can get a little closer by sticking to popular tradition, as InStitchu has clearly proved.
Men’s style should be more timeless than trendy, and, based on InStitchu’s finding, it looks like Aussie men clearly understand that.
Whodathunkit?
