The Return of The Three Piece Suit

[MK]

I think three piece suits look fantastic. They are versatile, sharp and help cover a multitude of sins.

For a long time they were not popular therefore difficult to find off the rack...especially in LA. Now they are back in fashion...except they have to screw it up by wearing the pants at the hips leaving a gap between them and the vest. Yuck!

There are far better examples, but this is in the ballpark.

Combine that with the current peg-leg look and you have yourself an outfit that will in several years will reveal itself for what it is: A odd looking, poorly fitting suit.

As always, the best bet is to stick with the classics.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

They've never gone away in my wardrobe! I have as many three piece as any other type. Here are a few examples:

My Customer Tailor suit that I call my "Avatar Suit!"



You can always rely on a bluish gray tweed suit by Ralph Lauren:



And this one is Italian tweed by Neiman Marcus and is sort of vintage because I have had it since at least 1990:



Lastly, another My Custome Tailor Suit which generous lapels:



Also, I couldn't agree more with that hideous vest to pants gap. I don't mind modern if the thing or idea looks good, but this is just silly and pointless and messy-looking, to run on my sentence a bit!

I like three-piece suits. In them you feel commanding. When you remove your jacket you still look a bit formal, a bit more kempt, but with an air of authority and individuality. That's why in films CEOs are often shown in them; CEOs and creative types.

If khakis and a blazer and a left turn from a suit, then a three-piece is a turn to the right, and an undefinable one. They are rare enough that it's a look you can make your own and forge for yourself, your identity.

 

[MK]

Another great classic three piece

 

[Matt Deckard]

It's great to see them sold off the rack again... especially since I have been begging for that to happen since I was a kid. Unfortunately it's still just trickling down some of the brands. Polo never didn't sell three piece suits and for the past 6 years or so with Brooks Brothers trying to catch up to the style Polo, BB has been marketing three pieces in many different ways with little success. People don't really need to spend money on a vest for a suit that is going to be worn a couple times a year.

Luckily Ryan Seacrest and Johnny Depp have been spearheading young men back into the three piece... even if it is without a tie.


I think Connery would have looked better with a flat front pair of trousers in that pic. Or a fuller cut pair. I never really thought the suit on him looked great.

I'm all about the vest as long as the trousers are extra high and the vest is short.

Had this one made in 1997

Some Armani looks from the past

 

[Clarke]

I have regretted tossing mine due to growth spirt I had a couple years back. I am very pleased to hear that the three piece is making a comeback, and that a few stores still have them.

One of the benefits as one of you mentioned was the formal look of a suit, when there's no jacket. The look of a two piece (to me at least) cheapens the look of a good suit, makes it look like something is missing.

There's something about the classic look of a 3 piece and when a man dons his, he looks sharp.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I wish they would really make a comeback to the regular shops.... still stuck in the thousand or above bracket when it comes to suits.

When they came back in the 90's it was for short time and the vests were sold as separates.

I do think that today you'd have to hunt harder for a three piece off the rack than you would have had to 5 years back... Most of the guys with new three piece suits on the Lounge are having them made.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

There are some regional differences as well. They are fairly common around here. J Crew sells them for heaven's sake and in tweed and heavy wool with pinstripes.

fftopic:
I don't want to get this great thread off on a tangent, but as for that Bond suit; Matt, I respectfully couldn't disagree with you more. That is one of the definitive suits and definitive styles. Few men were ever so well matched to their clothes as Connery was to that suit. It's wide shoulders and high vest emphasized his impressively broad chest and shoulders at the time. A close match was McQueen in "Thomas Crown..." all the more striking because it was McQueen.

 

[mike]

I'm all about the vest as long as the trousers are extra high and the vest is short.

Wow Matt! That suit is superb! Love the material! Love the Lapels!

 

[Matt Deckard]

fftopic:
I don't want to get this great thread off on a tangent, but as for that Bond suit; Matt, I respectfully couldn't disagree with you more. That is one of the definitive suits and definitive styles. Few men were ever so well matched to their clothes as Connery was to that suit. It's wide shoulders and high vest emphasized his impressively broad chest and shoulders at the time. A close match was McQueen in "Thomas Crown..." all the more striking because it was McQueen.

I was primarily picking on the trousers.
With trousers that slim... the pleats get lost. They would have been better with a flat front like Steve's

 

[Matt Deckard]

Nice to see.


I just wish they wouldn't showcase the bad fit... even though it's now the regular standard fit and fashionably right.

It's stylistically WRONG!
J.Crew

 

[Hemingway Jones]

The only good news is that they sell them as separates, so you can find a larger sized vest, if that would be long enough.

 

[cookie]

Honor Blackman

A childhood memory is of being a little star struck as I suddenly recognised her on a hidden away beach at Christmas near where my Mum used to live in Manly.... c. early 70s? What a good looking woman!

 

[Rooster]

Nice to see.


I just wish they wouldn't showcase the bad fit... even though it's now the regular standard fit and fashionably right.

It's stylistically WRONG!
J.Crew

Good God that is awfull. You can even see his tie poking out at the bottom of the vest. Not a good look in my book.

 

[Rooster]

Connery looks great in this suit. I know others have mentioned problems with the pants, but I don't see it. I'm diggin't that chick on his arm, who is she?:whistling

 

[KilroyCD]

I was poking around in my local Burlington Coat Factory store, and saw that they had vests available seperately, but in only two color choices - all black or silver front with black back. They did have them in longs as well as regular sizes, so it just might be possible to bridge the gap when wearing modern trousers.

 

[MK]

.

I'm diggin't that chick on his arm, who is she?:whistling

Pussy Galore.

 

[MK]

.

That J Crew is an even better example of screwing up a good thing. They have to mess with it because they are afraid to go all the way. This thinking that it can't be hip unless it has something messed up is weak minded.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Not weak minded... just hip.

If it was done right people would think it was too stodgy and the ones that wear the suit with the vest not covering the trousers wouldn't feel right. they would be very affected.

They aren't afraid to go all the way... they aren't afraid to go a new way.

 

[Sefton]

... Most of the guys with new three piece suits on the Lounge are having them made.

That includes me. I just had my final (I hope) fitting on my three piece tweed which should be ready in just under two weeks. It's my first custom suit so I'm a bit nervous although I shouldn't be. My tailor knows how to make vintage styles right.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I can't wait to see it