LAWRENCE AUSTER writes:

Look at Nick Clegg in the photo in this entry. Have you noticed how men’s suit jackets today open too soon below the button, revealing the lower part of the tie instead of covering it? Obama introduced that look. Now it’s everywhere. I’m the only person I know who has noticed it. Do have any thoughts about what it signifies, culturally speaking? 

In my view, it subverts the very idea of a suit, which is that it covers the man.

Laura writes:

I do not know whether this is habitual with Clegg and David Cameron. This may just be a relaxed moment when they’ve unbuttoned their jackets. But, if it is common, it’s a way to undercut the formality of the suit and downplay the power of the person wearing it. [Note: See the comment from the reader B. below in which he explains that the bottom button of suits are not meant to be fastened and thus this theory of mine is incorrect and shows my ignorance of male fashion. He explains the evolution of the men’s suit.] They seem to be saying, “I am just wearing this stuff because it’s part of the game. But I myself am too casual and authentic for the sort of power trip the male suit represents.”

Here’s Churchill with an open jacket, but he’s wearing a vest. He’s also wearing a hat, a bowtie and a handkerchief in his pocket, all of which add to the formality of his appearance.

                                 — Comments—

Markus writes:

It’s been said that the slit up women’s skirts (even long skirts) are meant to draw the male eye up towards, well, wherever the slit end is pointing to. Could there be something similar going on with the exposed tie pointing down towards, well, you get the, ahem, point. 

Now, I wouldn’t want to read too much into this, and I’ve been guilty of exposing myself thus in the past (with ties, mind you). My problem is that at 5’6″ I’m wearing the same length of tie that a man who’s 6’2″ wouild wear, and unless I’m crafty (or tuck the back of my tie underneath my shirt buttons, which I hate doing), the tie may come down to the belt buckle, which means I’m asking for exposure. 

Still, there’s no doubt there have been some subtle shifts in the male suit over the years. If memory serves, it’s only been a few years since pleatless trousers came out, and now hardly anyone manufactures pleated pants, whether for suits or not. Now, something’s definitely going on with that. As for the jacket, the style has shifted in the last decade from the three buttons to two. Now, I remember in the 70s, the two-button look was in, but I’m not sure if the placement of the buttons are exactly the same. Maybe Kidist would have some thoughts on this. 

And don’t get me started on those metrosexual slim-fit shirts. Not that I don’t have one or two, but they’re (a) not comfortable and (b) I dunno … but something. It’s as though men are being corsetted! 

Finally, as for the vest, I think there’s about as much chance of that making a comeback as men’s top hats. Not that it would be a bad thing, but I can’t see it happening anytime soon. Just like we won’t be seeing a Churchill anytime soon.

Sean writes:

I am grateful that both of these men are wearing suits with actual ties, instead of the horrible tieless look that many politicians have adopted over the past fifteen years. Perhaps that trend is finished – even Obama appears to have cleaned his act up now that he is actually president. My wife once claimed that that a politician wearing a suit without a tie just screams, “Please! Trust me! I’m a regular guy like you!”, which immediately should cause your hackles to rise.

Anyway, Lawrence Auster is correct. Fashionable men’s suits nowadays are two-buttoned with a smaller gorge (the “V” formed by the suit lapels) compared to older suits.

Since it is a faux pas to button the bottom button of a suit jacket, a high-buttoning suit jacket leaves your belt buckle and tie end exposed. Fashion-forward suit jackets also have become much slimmer over the past ten years which means that a man is more likely to own a jacket that is too tight, rather than too loose.

I am sure Cameron and Clegg, like most politicians, are dressed by P.R. people to carefully cultivate an “image”. Since it is anathema for a politician to not appear “with it”, they all wear whatever fashion decrees. I can only imagine what Winston Churchill would have thought of such behaviour. However, from what I have read of Mr. Cameron, he and Churchill would disagree on far more fundamental matters than suit styles.

I also agree with the other poster. I long for the days when men wore vests and serious hats with their suits.

Laura writes:

So because of the two-button suit, men adopt this look with the tie peeking out from the waist. But then wouldn’t it make sense to button both of the buttons?

B. writes:

Men’s jackets, whether as part of a suit or as a sports coat, are not intended to have the bottom button fastened. Doing so pulls the material out of place, resulting in lines and folds that detract from one’s appearance.

What we are seeing is the convergence of three trends in men’s clothes: pants worn on the hips; tighter-fitting clothes; and a higher button stance. Once upon a time, men’s trousers were worn at the natural waist, which is somewhere near the navel (the only way to get this look now is to wear either tailor-made or vintage pants). When worn with a jacket that buttons near the waist, one gets the sleek lines a traditional suit supplies. However, in an effort to conserve cloth during WWII, men’s trousers started to be made to sit on the hips, like jeans; the trend was never reversed after the war.

The slim silhouette of tighter-fitting clothes is part of the current trend, which may be in reaction to the extremely loose fit of the baggy hip-hop look. The tighter look means that the front quarters (the part of the jacket below the buttons) are more likely to spread apart.

Finally, the higher button stance is just another trend, and seems to be allied with the increased popularity of 3-button jackets on which the top two buttons are meant to be buttoned (the classic Ivy League look incorporates a three-button jacket, but only the middle one is designed to be fastened). Both produce a smaller area of visible shirt & tie.

Incidentally, there is a specific kind of custom-made jacket, called the paddock jacket, in which both buttons are intended to be fastened. The buttons are about 2″ either above or below the waist, and, unlike the 3-button jacket, provides the optical illusion of greater height. JFK preferred this look.

Classic men’s clothing is field that is both deep and broad. Gentlemen who are interested may find A Suitable Wardrobe and Ask Andy About Clothes of use.

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