How the suit should look

To follow are some hints on the various parts of the suit, and how they should appear when fitted properly.

The jacket: should lie smoothly over your shoulders and across your back, and should look proportional to your physique. The length of the jacket should cover up your entire backside (your butt).

Jacket sleeves: should end at the point where your hands meet your wrists and show 1/2 inch of your shirt cuff. Higher armholes may help your suit to drape better on your body, but they should never feel tight or binding. Make sure that you have free movement of your arms. As a test, bring your arms straight out in front of you.

The collar: should hug the back of the neck without buckling or pulling. 1/2 inch of your shirt collar should show from under the suit's collar.

Shoulder pads: if you have them, should help the suit to hang properly and help you achieve more of a "V" shape. For guys with narrow shoulders, pads might help you look more masculine, but they should never be too bulky or obvious, nor should they be so wide as to diminish the appearance of the head. The shoulders of a jacket should frame the head for a balanced presentation.

Lapels: should lie flat to your chest, and should never bunch up or buckle.

Vents: are in the flap of cloth below the waist at the back of the jacket that covers your backside (your butt). You can have one, two, or no vents depending on your body type. If you have a large backside, two vents are advisable; if you have a very flat backside, you can opt for no vents. The idea is to not have the back of the jacket stretching across your butt.

New Fashion Academy

Fashion and Textile Museum (FTM) is redeveloped and home to a new Academy to provide education and professional development within the fashion, textile and jewellery sectors. Martin Tolhurst, Principal of Newham College, which now owns and manages the FTM said: 'The fashion business can be a tough environment in which to flourish and yet the creative industries are vital to the UK economy. However, until now there has been no one place where education, learning and industry support has come together.

The Academy will be open to all who want to broaden their skills in the fashion industries, from those looking for full-time courses, short professional courses or more tailored for businesses. Next to offering education and training, the Academy will work in partnership with industry bodies such as Skillfast-UK and the Creative and Cultural Industries Sector Skills Councils as well as individual companies to design and deliver high quality apprenticeship programmes.

As well as the new Academy, FTM is developing a programme of changing exhibitions exploring elements of contemporary fashion, style and couture. The FTM's first exhibition is being staged in collaboration with the Getty Images Gallery. Peacocks and Pinstripes A Snapshot of Masculine Style, will zoom in on men's fashion and will run from February to May 2008.

Fun Fashion Facts

Thousands of years before there were mini-skirts or Doc Maartens, there was fashion. Women have always looked for ways to beautify themselves. See how many of these fun fashion facts you know.

*Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, was said to use kohl to widen her eyes. Egyptian women are also said to have used henna to lighten their hair.

*The “Gibson Girl” look, popularized in 1890 by Charles Dana Gibson, came to symbolize the sensible American girl's ideal image.

*Perfume is an over $10 million dollar industry. It's been used as far back as the Ancient Egyptians, who used it in religious rituals.

*The modern era of perfume began in 1921 with Coco Chanel's launch of Chanel No. 5, an exotic floral blend, created by Ernest Beaux.

*Prior to 1850, 70 percent of the clothes worn were hand-stitched by the people who wore them. Clothes were a commodity, not fashion.

*Fashion designers of the 1500s showed their designs by crafting doll clothes versions of their fashions and taking them to shows.

*It's only quite recently, about 200 years, that children have had clothes distinct from those of adults. Earlier, they just wore smaller sizes.

*The Phoenicians of 2300 B.C. favored a simple garment made from a triangular piece of cotton, for both sexes. It draped across one shoulder.

Tips on sizing and fit

Sizing in pants
Measurements on men's pants are usually listed with the waist measurement first, followed by the inseam measurement. So a 30x32 jean would have a 30-inch waist and a 32-inch inseam.

The "rise" on a pair of pants or jeans refers to the distance between the crotch and the waist. For shorter men, the rise of standard cut pants is often too long, causing the crotch to hang too low, or causing the wearer to have to pull the pants up too high on his waistline. Pants that are made especially for short men tend to have a shorter rise that is in proportion to the rest of the measurements. The rise will vary among different brands and styles, so be sure to try on pants to make sure they look good on your particular body shape.

Some of the "low rise" jeans styles available at stores that carry shorter inseams (see jeans listings below) might be worth a try to see if the shorter rise flatters your body type. What is a very "low rise" on a taller guy might look perfect on a shorter guy (if he can find a short enough inseam or have the pants hemmed).

Sizing in shirts
Most men's shirts that are simply labeled "small" (but don't necessarily have specific measurements listed on the package or label) usually are around the ballpark of a 14-14.5 inch collar, a 34-36 inch chest, and a "regular" sleeve length of 32-33 inches. "Short" sleeve lengths of 30-31 are sometimes available. Of course, the exact measurements of a men's size "small" will vary among manufacturers-- you might find that some brands of small are larger or cut differently than others.

Men's dress shirts will be typically be sized with specific measurements for neck circumference and sleeve length, with the neck measurement listed first. The chest/waist size ratio of most dress shirts is determined by the manufacturer to be in proportion to the neck size. This can be a challenge in fitting for guys who are short and heavy. Dress shirts can be found in "regular" fit, as well as "athletic" or "trim" fit (with a slight taper toward the waist, for those with broader shoulders and a thin waistline) and "full cut" for those who need a little more room around the middle.

Getting the right fit
Keep in mind that some stores may have their own special fit charts and size tips. This is particularly good to check when shopping online or through catalogs. It's always a good idea to consult sizing charts, ask questions if you are unsure, and find out the return policy in case something doesn't fit as you hoped.

Clothes are designed with different cuts and styles that flatter some body types and not others-- just because a shirt or pair of pants is made with your measurements doesn't mean it is going to look good on you! Try clothes on to be sure. This is especially true if you are trying to find clothes to take emphasis away from wide hips or narrow shoulders.

Finally, don't forget the option of alterations by a tailor or by someone you know with sewing skills. If you are just a little shorter than the average sized pant length available in your area, pants can be easily hemmed to the correct length. Sleeves can also be shortened, though for a good dress shirt you might want to check a short man's specialty store to obtain a better overall fit.

Keep It Casual

That is, it’s short-sleeves time. And T-shirts count. T-shirts with ring-around-the-collar and pit-stains, however, don’t. Neither do undershirts. Can’t tell if your favorite T-shirt is soiled beyond hope? Then you’re just blinded by nostalgia. It’s gross. We can practically smell it from here.

Short-sleeve shirts are appropriate to offices that allow them, but crappy short-sleeve shirts are appropriate to crapheads. Keep them clean and ironed; even the finest-aged vintages—a 1977 remnant of a sailing contest, say—can be worn down the hallways of industry if the hems are straight and free from puckering.

Collared dress shirts with short sleeves are fantastic; Steven Malkmus and the engineers of NASA have endorsed them. Despite your own yearnings for cropped sleeves, however, you’ll want to avoid ripping the sleeves off your long-sleeved dress shirts. Instead: purchase. Buy a fitted shape, but nothing too tight. Larger men will want to err on the looser side. Button-down collars say unbuttoned personality. Details on either side of the placket—cute little boxes, illustrations, zippers—went out when Matthew Perry went to rehab. If your short sleeves are at all rolled up, you’re looking to get laid, not promoted. Plaids almost always work; patterns rarely ever do. A straight hem on the shirt will make it look like a cheap jacket, especially if the fabric’s at all waxy; stick to flap-tails. Like capri pants, three-quarter sleeves belong on women. Pockets are good for anything but storage. Bowling or gas-station shirts are good for bowling or gas stations, or demonstrating the only known proof for the argument irony is dead.

Did we mention Hawaiian shirts are now being shown in the Smithsonian? Leave them there, unless you’re surfing. And don’t think we’re ignoring a discussion on the merits of oversized silk shirts bearing dragon images or popular comic-book heroes. We simply think anyone who wears these types of shirts, and wants to have a discussion about them probably will explode from the sheer mind-fuck of multiple universes of logic co-existing in their cranium.

Golf shirts are great. Stick to bold, solid colors (better for larger men, but never pastel) or thin stripes (good for skinny guys). Wear your proper size. Keep the collar down. Realize that if you’re wearing a T-shirt underneath, people will either think that you’re younger than you are (and not in a good way) or that you don’t know how to do laundry (and are trying to get an extra day out of your shirt). Avoid wearing golf shirts to work, and certainly never to a meeting, since the fabric will crinkle and go slack (stretching out from humidity and your nervous tugging) after a few hours. If you must, try to wear a superior specimen that will look good in the late afternoon; Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, and Patagonia make excellent, sturdy shirts. Banana Republic does not.

Japan Trades In Suits, Cuts Carbon Emission

The Japanese government — essentially with the stroke of a pen — instituted a new policy that has so far trimmed more than two million tons of greenhouse gases from the country's growing emissions.

The feat is particularly impressive because it required overturning a decades-old tradition.

When Yuriko Koike was Japan's environment minister, one of her jobs was to figure out how to deal with climate change. So she hit on what — in Japan — was a radical idea: Get men to stop wearing suits. That way, office buildings could ease up on the air conditioning.

The Jacket

You’ve picked your color and you’re ready for the fit. First comes the jacket. Never was a suit bought for the pants and repeatedly worn afterwards. Pants are easily adjusted by a tailor, jackets can only have minor improvements. Think of true love: it must be close to just-right at first, with a slight thrill when you put it on, the coup de foudre as the French say.

First off: are you a single-breasted man or a double? While both styles can fit most body types, single-breasted jackets tend to flatter the slim while double-breasted jackets make the broad look mighty. This doesn’t imply being “skinny&” or “fat,” it’s simply about your tits; hence the term “breasted.” Choose the jacket style that you can best fill out—from there you’ll always look best. David Letterman, who can rarely be found not wearing a double-breasted jacket, skirts this rule by sitting behind a desk. Notice how uncomfortable he is during the monologue, fussing with his buttons while standing full-view before the camera.

To those opting for the single-breasted jacket, you’ll have to choose how many buttons you want. One? Hmm. Two? Excellent. And returning in popularity. Three? Certainly good, and was much sought-after in the recent past though it’s now reached near total market saturation. But, still classic, and hopefully always available.

Of course, jackets also come in four-, five-, and six-button styles, each with their own fifteen minutes of fame. Four-button jackets have been sported by everyone from The Beatles to Steve Harvey. Can you sport one? Of course! But no, not this season…

Last, the fit. Like we said before, close to the body, but no wrinkles when you button. Vents, double or single, are preferred to the vent-less jacket that, nine times out of ten, looks like a giant condom from behind. Shoulder pads should be avoided—you’re no linebacker—but a tailor will gouge you if you show up post-purchase and ask him to reduce the heft.

Finally, before we move onto trousers, there is one ticklish in-between: the vest. We can put this simply. If you’re ready to buy a vest, you’re either old enough to sport one or dangerously disillusioned. A good rule of thumb: Alfred Hitchcock looked great in vests. Young Jimmy Stewart looked out of his league. Pick your man.

Coat

A coat was the uppermost layer of the 18th century man's suit, worn over waistcoat and breeches. Both the cut and the title of the fashionable coat saw several evolutions through the course of the century. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries a coat was a relatively straight loose garment, with the slight fullness in the knee-length skirts falling into folds over the backside of the hips.

In the 1720s and 1730s the skirts of the fashionable coat grew in volume and were set into regular pleats. In the 1730s an alternative to the weighty full skirted coat was developed.

This new fashioned coat, with narrow skirts set in pleats and other defining features, including a collar, was termed a Frock. Through the middle decades of the century both the coat and the frock were worn, coats being for fashionable full dress, frocks for fashionable undress. By the 1770s the distinctions in purpose and terminology were becoming blurred. None but the most conservative older man would be seen in a full-skirted coat.

The frock had entered into fashionable full dress, and was by many simply referred to as a coat. In the closing decade of the 18th century and into the next, the frock dominated fashionable dress and language.

Suits

Without suits, men would have nothing. In the hierarchy of style, a good suit remains a man’s only trump card. Even in this sad age of casual-wear, the suit still carries an air of success, taste, and sophistication. It is designed to make you look better, to break boundaries between social classes, to make a small man tall with pinstripes or a fat man rich with soft wools. The suit looks good in restaurants, trains, dinner parties or Paris; in short, everywhere you want to be. It is, in its best forms, a complete outfit that will never fail you.

And that is exactly what it will do, if you treat it right. Unfortunately the majority of suits you see look awful. This isn’t necessary. Even if you work ten hours with your jacket on, being mindful of your clothing will keep you ready for cocktails after work. Too many men either don’t care or don’t know how to wear a suit, and, suitably, look like shit. This is worth avoiding.

To start us off, a few general rules should be observed when approaching a suit, and most apply to good dressing in general:

* The suit, no matter the style, needs to fit your body, closely. This means all pieces should be cut and tailored appropriate to your form. Surprisingly, this doesn’t require a lot of money ($500 can, in fact, get you a good suit) but it does take an eye, and the strength to ignore any saccharine compliments from salesmen.
* Trends have six-to-eighteen-month shelf lives. If you plan to retire your suit in this window, feel free to splurge. Otherwise, shop considerately.
* Suits are made of wool or cotton, and their variations. Additional fabrics need not apply.
* You are an interesting, confident, multi-hued man. Let others learn that from how you behave, not from the label on your jacket.
* A suit jacket goes with suit pants, not with jeans or chinos. If you want a casual jacket, buy a sport-coat or a blazer. Stand-up comedians are regularly shot over this rule.
* If you’re not comfortable—if you don’t feel the suit’s appropriate for you—the salesman’s looking out for his commission, not your style.
* A modestly, well-dressed man has never failed to impress. Yes, never.

Assuming you’re not an investment banker, you don’t need ten suits; you only need four. This means you can be a discerning shopper and spend time accumulating, then keeping your suits in good condition (dry clean once a year, then more for spills; don’t you dare iron it yourself). Think of the process in terms of collecting, spending years searching for that one original-packaged Chewbacca.

The Trousers

You must now choose a trouser style. There have been, in the history of men’s trousers, a few trends that fucked with a good thing: bell-bottoms, bibs, clam-diggers, “cargo.” Unfortunately, all of these styles eventually found their way into suits.

Men, generally, will take any pants that come with a jacket. Being men, we want some control over how they look—“How they work,” thinks the man—but not too much. Hence, the cuffs-or-no-cuffs debate. Ask a man what he thinks of his pants and he’ll say, “Yeah, I had to go no-cuffs.” We won’t help you here except to say: cuffs are older, no-cuffs are not. Choose according to your image of yourself.

Next comes the pleats question: The only times pleats are wanted is in the single-pleat case, on a pair of wool pants. The case should be that the pants look crisp and well-folded, rather than puckered. How to tell the difference? Think of a pair of pants recently back from the dry cleaner. Remember the line down the middle of the leg. Does your new pleat-to-be look like that? If not, drop the hanger and run.

After cuffs and pleats, you need to worry about waist, swish, drape, belt-loops, ass-hugging, crotch-dangling, and whether or not you need a watch pocket. This is beyond our advice. Suffice to say, your ass is probably less than marble, though it shouldn’t be treated like a towel hook. Pants shouldn’t blow like a scarf in the breeze. The best way to judge a pair of pants is to ask yourself, “Would I wear these pants on a date without the jacket?” If so, they’re fine. If not, move on.

Finally, a salesman will often ask if you’d like to buy two pairs of pants for the suit. The idea is you can alternate pants with the jacket so they wear evenly over time, but since pants can be so easily ruined, you always have a back-up pair. This is similar to electronics store people trying to sell you insurance on an air conditioner; if you have the money, it’s not a bad idea, but it also isn’t necessary.

So now that you’ve picked out your suit, you have to know how to wear it. We’ll assume you know the basics of putting the thing on. (Yes, the jacket part goes on top.) And this brings us to buttoning. It is a historic dilemma, faced by every man. Here, for you, is our easy-to-remember rulebook:

* Two-button jacket: Button the top button, only, ever. Button the bottom button and you’ll look like a stooge. That’s really all there is to it.
* Three-button jacket: Button either the middle button alone or the top two. Important: the bottom button does not meet its hole. It will plead before a date, just when your stomach’s boiling, “Hey! Friend! Button me once, please. I’m sure we’ll look fine. Come on! Just once!” But you will not give in, you will be strong.

Australian national dress

While Australia has no single uniform national costume, an Australian national dress style, based on specific local dress styles, has emerged in response to climate, lifestyle and identity. This is reflected in the modern design of dress by emerging and established designers which incorporate particular defining elements.

An Australian style can be seen clearly in the main types of local dress: bushwear and swimwear, along with Australiana and Indigenous designs. These have been formed by a larrikin attitude, the qualities of mateship and the dictates of an outdoors lifestyle. Dress is also characterised by the migrant experience and the process of cultural borrowing, which is part of the unique history of Australia.

Presenting Australian national dress on the international stage depends upon what localised style is being represented. It is a question of authenticity about Australian culture and identity.

FASHION DESIGNERS

FASHION DESIGNERS create clothing and accessory designs. They may plan the production and marketing of their creations. Designers specialize in one type of garment or accessory such as men's or women's wear, children's garments, swimwear, lingerie, handbags, or shoes. Some high-fashion Designers are self-employed and design for individual clients. They make fashion news by establishing the silhouette, colors, and kinds of materials that will be worn each season. Other self-employed, high-fashion Designers cater to specialty stores or high-fashion department stores. They design original garments as well as follow the established fashion trends. Designers who work for apparel manufacturers do less original work; they adapt fashions set by other Designers for the mass market.

Designers' Assistants in apparel manufacturing are exposed to the fast pace of production schedules while performing routine aspects of the job. Assistant Designers acquire the knowledge of what creations will sell at a profit in an intended market, within a defined price range, at a particular time of the year. They learn the personality of firms, types of stores that buy the merchandise, and the age and tastes of the stores' clientele.

Fashion Designers perform the following tasks:

Sketch their ideas.
Draw and cut patterns to create sample garments.
Select fabric and trimmings.
Combine basic dressmaking and tailoring principles with flat pattern work and draping techniques.
Fit and modify the finished garment.
Arrange showings for press and buyers when the sample garment line is ready.
Compare merchandise with those of the competitors.
Keep current on trends by reading trade magazines and attending fashion shows.

Visit textile showrooms to keep up to date on latest fabrics.

A large manufacturer generally has a Head Designer and several assistants. Many small firms do not employ Designers but purchase ready-made designs or copy higher-priced designs.

Head Designers are responsible for executive and creative functions. They supervise design room staff. Those with less experience may be responsible for small divisions or specialized garments.

Assistant Designers are generally all-around assistants to Designers. They make first patterns and samples or may supervise sample makers.

Specialty Designers work with other Designers to coordinate special lines of clothing, such as sweaters. They often arrange for styles to be made in foreign countries.

Theatrical Costume Designers create costumes for movies or theatrical productions, usually on a contract basis.

Tapa cloth

Colour and the patterning of surface designs in Australian fashion textiles has also been influenced by the tapa patterns of the South Pacific. Tapa collected from Tonga, Fiji Islands and Samoa was known to have been brought into Australia from around 1900.

The Fijian masi or tapa ceremonial cloth is made by beating strips of bark together until the fibres meld and pieces are then joined together with starch paste to make one large piece of cloth. The print pattern is made using ink and stencils cut from banana leaves with the brown dye sourced from the sap of a mangrove tree and the black dye from kerosene lamps.

Georgia Chapman and Maureen Sohn of Vixen describe their label as 'sensual, in terms of the nature of the cloth'. In 2002 Vixen created a diamond scarf from cotton tulle with handprinted designs and glass tassels as well as an 'Artefact skirt' inspired by the tapa cloth of Samoa and Fiji. The surface designs for the skirt were created using dyes on power mesh, discharge and a devore print on a silk viscose velvet with a silk georgette border.

Chinese and Japanese silks

Chinese silk embroidered shawls and Chinese surcoats brought into Australia by Chinese Australians in the late 1800s through to the 1930s have influenced the choice of cloth, cut and colour of modern Australian fashion.

Women in the 1920s and 1930s wore silk and embroidered evening coats and overblouses, made of chiffon, georgette or velvet which borrowed heavily from the prevailing Chinese and Japanese influences in cut and colour as well as using locally sourced materials.

These items were worn over decades and have a place in place in the living memory of women's wardrobes, such as a black & white chiffon silk velvet evening coat with pikle floral patterning made around 1920. This garment has its sleeve and neck edges trimmed with broad bands of black swans' down - an exquisite light sensual combination showing definitive Chinese, Egyptian and native Australian influence (H6024).

Patons Wool, magazine clipping, 1969. Image courtesy of the Powerhouse Museum. Japanese silks have also been influential - evident in Akiro Isogawa's collections of the 1990s based on his mother's kimonos. In 2002 Isogawa reinterpreted a turn-of-the-century hand-ruched silk taffeta frock to create a shawl from silk velvet. Isogawa's work is distinguished by his use of transparent fabrics, layering of garments, unusual combinations of textures and fabrics and his re-use of antique kimono fabrics and traditional Asian textiles.

Silk organza and other light weight silks are a favourite cloth for Nicola Finetti and Collette Dinnigan. Finetti and Dinnigan dresses are renowned for the way they drape and sculpt bodies in a wearable, albeit subtle cut, often to sensual dramatic effect. In 1995, Collette Dinnigan was the first Australian to mount a full scale ready to wear parade in Paris as invited by the 'Chambre Syndicale du pret-a-porter des courtiers ets createurs de mode'.