The Journal — Menswear

Ready-to-wear suits are designed for a body that most women don't have. The shoulders are cut for a standardized width. The waist suppression assumes a specific proportion between chest and hip. The sleeve length accounts for an average arm, which fits almost no one. The result is a suit that requires significant alteration before it fits acceptably, and even then, the alterations are adjustments to a pattern that was never yours.

A suit that can only be worn to formal occasions is a limited garment. A suit that can be worn on a Tuesday afternoon, to a casual dinner, to a creative meeting — a suit that travels down the formality register as easily as it travels up — is a wardrobe foundation rather than an occasion piece.

The bomber jacket and the suit trouser is a combination that has moved from fashion experiment to wardrobe reality over the past decade. What was once a styling anomaly — the casual silhouette of a bomber against the formality of tailored trousers — has become a legitimate and intelligent wardrobe approach for men who want to span multiple registers without a full outfit change.

A coat over a suit is not an afterthought. It is the first thing anyone sees when you walk in — it establishes the register of the outfit before the jacket is visible, before the shoes are noted, before the tie is registered. A well-made coat over a well-made suit is one of the most commanding combinations in men's dress. An inadequate coat over an excellent suit creates a visual non-sequitur.