Trad or Thom Browne?
I knew I would capture an image like this sooner or later.Ok Trads, you're really closer to the Thom Browne aesthetic than you may want to admit.
Let review the elements
- Slim, shorter jacket
- At or above the ankle pant hem
- Plenty of shirt cuff showing
- Buttondown Oxford shirt
- Classic wingtips
Comments on "Trad or Thom Browne?"
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Anonymous said ... (10:58 AM) :
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Anonymous said ... (11:16 AM) :
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Mike Paget said ... (1:50 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (7:03 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (9:59 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (12:35 PM) :
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The Sartorialist said ... (2:32 PM) :
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The Sartorialist said ... (7:55 AM) :
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Anonymous said ... (11:09 AM) :
post a commentI actually like the Thom Browne aesthetic. Though the purple-inspired trench and suit he did for a Cartier launch for the CFDA Fund looked really odd. Could've been the color purple.
This reminds me of a pretty funny incident that occured when I first started working at the law firm I recently joined. Another associate and I were having coffee in the coffee room, and a senior partner popped in for a drink. We made idle chatter with him and he departed. He was dressed for court that day, wearing a slim fitting navy suit with pants that hovered about the shoe. It wasn't a Thom Browne thing, it was a shrinkage thing. The pants had probably been sent to the cleaner one too many times and had probably inadvertently shrunk. The associate I was with chuckled. I chuckled as well, but could only think one thing: that looks damn good! The suit had been worn, washed, worn, washed, worn, washed etc. for so many years that it started to just fit him like a snug little glove. And it looked great. And I think that's what Thom Browne is going for - the long-worn suit aesthetic right off the rack. Soft, snug, with short sleeves and trousers. I personally love it, and, yes, I think it will be a permanent mainstream fit soon enough. It's already happening, even if not on purpose!
It looks good. I'm not convinced the shirt sleeve isn't actually a touch long, and that the amount showing isn't a bit more then typically you would see, simply from the cuff being too big, and slipping further down then normal.
I think there is a mainstream thom/trad look that is beginning to slip into the culture. It's hard for everyone that grew up in the 90's to take, but it looks great.
this guy reminds me of officer bill gannon in "dragnet" but this is definitely "trad" and not "thom browne". i think tb went for the extreme where the pants and jacket are too short. notice the socks are showing when he moved just like what luciano barbera are trying to point out to those men who wear too much break with their pants.
I think a more accurate way of putting it is that Thom Browne is closer to the trad aesthetic than some trads might like to admit -- not that trads are close to Browne.
For better or worse, Browne has created a sort of caricature of the trad suit, and like all caricatures, it looks cartoonish.
I think one important issue to consider when discussing the Thom Browne look is that he doesn't always go super, super short as he does when he's fitting a model for a magazine or a show. Indeed, from what I've seen of his bespoke line of suits, his cut is a lot like Barberra, where the trouser leg barely scrapes the front of the shoe (or hovers right above it), but isn't cut above the ankle as they are in the suits he wears and prepares for his models. What I'm saying is, there's the Thom Browne "extreme" look and the Thom Browne toned-down look, and his versatility in this regard is known to those who are familiar with his work. He's sort of like the guru who has to push his students a little too hard so that they give halfway, but that halfway is all the difference. I read in an interview with him (maybe on this site) that 1/2 an inch makes all the difference. The more you study and live in fine men's clothing, the more you realize that this is 100% true.
If only his pant cuff were 2 inches, and he had a visible tie bar.
I concur with the 7:03 post... I've said similar comments myself on other posts.
I think the Sartorialist scored with this shot...this gentleman was surely a muse to TB 45 years ago...and I would imagine he still is. His gait and posture are also very much TB.
I would also echo the sentiment that this isn't traditional looking like TB but visa versa.
to 12:35
absolutely, TB has said many times he is inspired by this look
I think TB's look just isn't as shocking anymore so he may have to begin thinking about how to evolve the look
Frankly, I was hating all the TB haters. I think most people have heard so much about his clothes and many have encountered the clothes in person that they've realized he really does care about making beautiful things.