The London Lounge

Dear fellow members,
So far I have always worn dark navy blue suits and have had a preference for them over grey ones.
But now I have found myself at home with a stack of grey LL cloths:

Wabi Sabi
DD Grey
FdL Flannel
Agnelli tweed

I have started to wonder. Is grey more elegant than navy?
I would be interested in what you have to share.
Alex

My opinion is that grey is not inherently more or less elegant than blue. One might also debate the "formality" level of the two, especially if you read Permanent Style closely. The cloths you have are all what I would consider to be a mid-grey, except for the FdL. I have the other three made up into suits. The flannel is a DB suit and perhaps the most elegant of the three (to my eye). The Agnelli tweed is made on exactly the same pattern, but the nature of the cloth lends the suit a more casual air, perhaps. The Wabi-Sabi is too new to really evaluate as I've only really worn it to take photos for this forum. Of these three, I think that the DD Flannel is the only one that could transition from day to night without batting an eye. I think I've worn the Agnelli tweed to dinner, but only because I had been out all day and did not return home.

Re: Is grey more elegant than blue?

Alex

I wrote down a few reflections on the subject of blues and grays a decade and a half ago. The ideas expressed back then did not compare or contrast the "elegance" of these two staples of men's dress. I suppose because "elegance" is the purview of the man and not his clothing. A man who is elegant will be so in blue or in gray. And a man who is inelegant will not be better served by one color or another.

Questions regarding the suitability of either color for business or evening wear will depend on your own context and personal preference. I suggest you wear the color that makes you feel best. And whatever you do, don't think about it too much. Let your instincts for elegance take over. Brooding over such questions is a sure fire way to telegraph doubt, hesitation, trying and insecurity into your image.

I have always preferred gray suits. And I suspect that is why many are made in the LL Clothclub. Fabrics in gray, if they are done correctly, are very special. Gray flannels, chalkstripes, sharkskins, birdseyes, and herringbones, you'll find all of these in my closet, And when it comes to the "refinement" I am looking for in all fabrics, I think the recent Wabi-Sabi line is at the very summit of my expectations. It has all the qualities that I described, tongue in cheek, here:

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=5471

As regards blue suits, they are often chosen by diplomats and politicians for the properties of well defined straightforwardness they project. You will rarely if ever see a French politician, for example, in anything but dark blue suit. And the Frenchmen who still wear suits will favor dark blue over dark gray while the reverse is true for many English and dedicated Rat Packers like Frank Sinatra who would not wear anything but dark gray..

And since we are talking about great suit colors, I have to include browns. Very difficult to get the right shade of brown. We have made a couple great ones in the LL. But if you can find the right shade, there are few suits as "chic" as brown. And I think a dark brown flannel chalkstripe, like the one I wore in the video "No Brown in Town", is a must for any well rounded wardrobe.


Cheers

Blue has a resonance with the American middle class. IBM executives were told to wear it for a reason. The French variety is a bit different, I think.

Still, over a century ago Edward VII chewed out a staffer for wearing blue to some sort of gathering. Too Fashionable. The problem with blue is that it is not a neutral shade between black and white. It requires care in choosing, and complementing. Different tones will react very differently in different light, etc. If everyone else is dressed in colors, no problem. If not, you can be getting into peacockery.

One interesting example is the suit that Prince Harry seems to live in. Excellent French blue, looks good on him. Works best in social life, though, and not affairs of business or state. After dark at the opera, might jump out of the crowd just a little.

To my eye, dark blue is more elegant, grey more practical, I wear a suit to work every day and perhaps 3 of 5 days are grey. When I do wear dark blue during daylight hours, I try to tone down the formality so far as possible. Light tan or checked shirt, as opposed to white, striped tie. My favorite suit for evening is a navy DB with white shirt and grey Prince of Wales bowtie. The women in my life say they love it so it works for me,

Gentlemen,

interesting discussion - I miss these on the LL. I would say that blues are a bit more festive than greys. Therefore, when I wear a blue suit for work during the day, I try to tone things down a little. The grey blue ratio in my wardrobe is about 3:2 for grey. Grey is easier to wear and never out of place.

Cheers, David

alden wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 25, 2020 4:21 pm

Re: Is grey more elegant than blue?

And since we are talking about great suit colors, I have to include browns. Very difficult to get the right shade of brown. We have made a couple great ones in the LL. But if you can find the right shade, there are few suits as "chic" as brown. And I think a dark brown flannel chalkstripe, like the one I wore in the video "No Brown in Town", is a must for any well rounded wardrobe.


Cheers

This year I took a dark brown vintage mohair to my taylor and really think that brown is a wonderful color for a suit, sadly rarely seen anymore. The brown sharkskin we made would make such a chic suit.
(As an aside, touching the dark brown mohair my taylor says: this is a mohair like it used to be, they don’t make it anymore... so I’ll have to lie and tell him that the FdL mohair is also a vintage one not to shake his beliefs )

(As an aside, touching the dark brown mohair my taylor says: this is a mohair like it used to be, they don’t make it anymore... so I’ll have to lie and tell him that the FdL mohair is also a vintage one not to shake his beliefs )

Almost all the LL qualities are vintage qualities that are not made anymore. If the Cloth Club did not exist, they would not be made anymore. It is precisely the raison d'etre of our club to recreate and keep alive these great traditional fabrics of yesteryear. And I intend to go even further back in the archives to bring back even older qualities. The new (old) heavy Thornproof is an example.

So Screamin, you don't have tell an untruth! The FdL LL Mohair is as vintage as it gets!

Cheers

I would opine that dark blue, being more colourful, is more 'optimistic'. more assertive. Conversely, dark grey is more subtle, perhaps on some level slightly more formal.
I really like Alden's point about brown suits being very 'chic'. I think that especially today, when suit-wearing is becoming increasingly optional and in some places even rare,
a well-selected (and well-cut, of course) brown suit really pushes the boat out in terms of self-expression.

Here is an image of a brown suit. I doubt the fabric would pass muster with the LL standard but I've had fun with it.

IMG_0224 by info at claxity, on Flickr[/img]

Luca wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 07, 2020 1:10 pm

Here is an image of a brown suit. I doubt the fabric would pass muster with the LL standard but I've had fun with it.

IMG_0224 by info at claxity, on Flickr[/img]

I am not normally a brown suit guy, but that has a lot of potential!

Luca

Very nice indeed! I suspect that shade of brown does very good things for you, as it would do for most men.

The LL Brown Sharkskin we did a few years ago was a real jewel. I would make a run of that one again in a heartbeat.

I think the next Wabi Sabi to be proposed will be a dark brown. And I am going to work on a brown flannel in a shade similar to the Lesser 14 ounce Golden Bale I used to make my "No Brown in Town" suit.

Thanks for the picture. Love to see guys getting things right...for a change.

Cheers

Thanks you very much, gentlemen, for your comments. Highly valued, from such sources!

Anyway, wearing the blue chalkstripe Brisa makes me think about a dark grey version as well

Anyway, wearing the blue chalkstripe Brisa makes me think about a dark grey version as well

Looks great!

We could do a dark gray version too!

Thanks Screamin