Cary Grant’s jacket sleeves were short. Fred Astaire wore his tie as a belt. Jimmy Stewart preferred peak lapels, hacking pockets, and side vents. Although they differed greatly in showmanship, there is a common thread between their personalities: they dressed in the details. Surely their style wasn’t happenstance. So how can today’s man deliberately find his own details?

Consider the traditional navy suit with grey pinstripe.  By coordinating the color of the pinstripe to the button hole stitching and button thread, it takes an ordinary suit to extraordinary.  The same level of detail can also be applied to shirts and slacks as well, in the event a more subtle approach is necessary.

For style that’s just below the surface, look to the inside of your custom suit or sport coat. Jacket linings can be plain, modest, or overtly ostentatious.  Matching their color to a complimentary one within the fabric is one approach. Or continuously using the same lining throughout your collection is another. This detail remains your secret until you choose to expose it.

For the majority, showmanship is not an attribute appreciated in daily dress. Finding subtle details to take ownership of is the first step to personal style; executing those details is the next.

Which begs the question: Where will you find your “Devil in details?”

While not all of us can carry the same swagger as Gregory Peck, we can certainly dress like it. In the hallmark 1956 film adaptation of Sloan Wilson’s “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit,” the namesake article of clothing was meant to symbolize the homogenized nature of the business culture. In the 1950’s, everyone owned the gray flannel suit. In 2009, few own it. Which begs the question: who is today’s man in the gray flannel suit?

Much like tweeds and glen plaids, flannels are best left to those with a true appreciation for fine clothing. Functional both in shape and wear, flannel is often reserved for the unpleasantries of fall and winter. However, unlike its older 1950’s predecessor, today’s fabric mills are processing flannels in lighter weights that are perfectly suitable for the climate-controlled office.

All warmth aside, flannels have another surprising advantage in the fall and winter: lighter color. It is typically assumed that only dark colors such as navy, charcoal and blacks are seasonally acceptable. With flannel, that is not the case. The milled, knotty and knobby fabric carries a warmer aesthetic and rich texture that substitutes the need for dark color. While we all look forward to the more bashful colors of spring, flannel lends an opportunity to break away from the dark doldrums early.

While it may not be a beginners fabric, flannel is an excellent consideration for anyone looking to round out their wardrobe essentials.* Once your basics are covered, flannels offset the texture of your everyday suits while offering a break from the monotony of winter. So to answer the question we began with: the man in the gray flannel suit could be you.

*If you’re not sure what wardrobe essentials are right for you, just ask. We’d love to chat with you.

Gentlemen don’t wear the same suits year round. After they build their basics, they branch out into more pragmatic pieces for the seasons. Tropical wools, linens, and the like for spring and summer. And more pertinent to this time of year, think of flannels, cashmeres, and tweeds. Heavier weight fabrics aren’t only functional, insofar as they keep you warm, but they also offer a sophisticated aesthetic and story. Consider Tweed.

Originally known as tweel, the Scottish word for twill, it morphed into the more common Tweed over time. Various urban legends suggest why: from a simple misspelling on an order form, to its birthplace near the Tweed River in Scotland. Whatever the case, tweed has been a staple in the gentleman’s wardrobe for decades.

Tweed is a coarse wool in a loose twill weave, making it an exceptionally durable and warm fabric. Originally made for sportsmen, one can stick a nail through it without damaging the integrity of the fabric (feel free to ask us for a demonstration!).

Capable of lasting for decades (literally), you’ll often find sport coats with leather patches in areas that encounter the most wear, especially the elbows. But it’s just not for jackets anymore. Fine purveyors of tweeds, such as Holland & Sherry of Scotland, have been blending finer tweeds with a hand suitable for even a pair of pants. So go ahead and give tweed a try, even if it’s one leg at a time.

Fall is here. Winter is approaching. We know it’s time to start thinking about how to keep warm. Short of bourbon or those nifty hand warmers, we tend to rely on bundling up our bulky coat to get us to work warm. We all know wool keeps us warm, but do you know why?

Start off by thinking of a sheep. What comes to mind? Fluffy. Curly. These are precisely the characteristics that make wool warm. An individual wool fiber, when inspected closely, exhibits crimps which result in the fiber curling. These crimped fibers, when spun into yarn, are bulkier than they would be than if they were simply straight. There is much dead air between the crimped fibers when made into yarn, and it is the air that provides the insulation.

Cashmere on the other hand, is a much finer fabric. And yes it’s more expensive, but there is a reason behind it. The best cashmere comes from remote locations with inclement weather, thus it has better insulating properties than other fibers. The other advantage is that even though it’s warmer, the fabric weighs less. So if you’re sick of the bulk, consider cashmere for your next topcoat.