The suit that keeps on giving

The 3 piece suit may be one of the best value for money menswear purchases you can make. Boom! That’s it, I could literally leave this blog post right here after laying down that truth bomb.

But I won’t.

I expect you would perhaps need a little convincing, perhaps even some proof to go with this 3 piece pudding! So let me tell you why.

Meet ‘old faithful’, a 3 piece gem I picked up a little over a year ago at River Island. At the time I was suspecting camel would be forging its way into men’s fashion (nailed it BTW) and I loved the wool fabric for winter. I don’t generally need an excuse to get something so any excuse is a good one!

It wasn’t however until last week when I was trying to put the finishing touch on this outfit below that I realised what a true gem ‘old faithful’ really was, and how much more wear I had gotten out of her because she was a 3 piece. I’ve always been about mixing and matching suit separates, but now realise that the 3rd piece is the proverbial cherry on the top. Sure it’s a cherry you pay for, but it’s a cherry that keeps on giving – hmmm…I feel I may have lost my metaphor somewhere up there.

See, the waistcoat is the perfect all season item. It provides another layer of warmth in the winter but in the summer it lets you stay fancy by dropping a layer – your jacket of course, not your shirt! Never wear a waistcoat without a shirt unless you’re the doorman at an all men’s burlesque bar (and even then only if it’s leather)!

Of course, it’s not just the waistcoat that gives you variety, especially if you wear pants! And I think it’s safe to say we all wear pants!

In the end, every piece of clothing you invest in should give you variety. “Can I wear this item of clothing with items already in my wardrobe” should be the first question you ask yourself before buying something – Just maybe not in such a formal way, you’re speaking to yourself so keep it fun, maybe something like “Heyoooo….what will this fine piece of cloth look like….” you get the picture.

If you can match your suit jacket and pants with another suit you own, you’ve just given yourself 8 new looks – seriously, do the math.

Okay. I know I’ve been Mr Jokey guy in this post, but it’s time to get serious – Just look at my face up there. Serious. By now you should be thinking to yourself, “okay, how do I know which 3 piece suit to get?” So here are some tips.

• Make sure it fits perfectly (as you should always) – make sure the buttons on the waistcoat don’t pull or gape.

• Go for something neutral. Yep, the beauty of ‘ol faithful’ here was that she was neutral. Neutral colours are really easy to pair with pretty much anything else.

• Be brave with your choice. Get something with a bold check or texture. Unless you’re buying your wedding suit (or something similar) dont blow the rent on this one. Wearing your suits as separates means they not only wear out quicker, but they also wear out unevenly. So be smart with this one, spend less and go bold, you’ll wanna be updating it in a few years anyway.

Those 3 tips should do it. More than 3 of anything is too much I say. Except peanut butter M&M’s of course. I could smash those all day!

As ‘ol faithful’ is no longer available online, I feel like I should maybe steer you guys in the right direction for a good 3 piece. I did some quick poking around online for you and as I was happy with my River Island suit, I thought maybe you guys would be too.

Here’s something in a neutral sand colour, personally I dig the bold check on this one and think the suit would look perfect with a pair of white sneakers.

How about something in more of a brown? I actually have this suit too. The brown check is fine enough to add more texture than pattern so it blends well with most things! The double breasted vest is also a nice touch.

Lastly, maybe something in a blue…or is that grey? Either way, that texture is incredible. You might wanna get 2 pairs of those pants, something tells me you’ll get a lot of wear out of them.

And that gentlemen (and of course any ladies reading this) is why the 3 piece suit, is the greatest of them all!

Okay. Stay Fancy.