Going tieless; Hemingway Tailors suit

Without a tie, men lose the biggest opportunity to express themselves easily in colour and pattern. But I don’t like wearing a tie every day either. The key if you’re not going to wear a tie is to add accents elsewhere, such as in a pocket handkerchief and a sweater. It’s often only with the second addition, such as with that knitwear, coloured socks or an unexpected shoe, that you really compensate for the central absence of the tie.

The suit is from Toby Luper at Hemingway Tailors. It has the strongest shoulders I’ve ever had in a suit, achieved not so much from extra padding as from the cut, chest canvas and strong roping in the shoulder. The roping is about ⅝ of an inch in width.

It’s fair to say this is Toby’s normal style – though he is not a cutter himself, rather a travelling tailor using Cheshire Bespoke to make his suits. I find it interesting how much influence a tailor like Toby has on the style and cut of suits made elsewhere though. His trousers really deserve the attention in this suit; as with previous pairs, they are the best cut of any I own. The sculpted line into the lower back is just perfect.

I may yet have the shoulders altered. But continuing the thoughts of a previous post on sloping shoulders, it’s interesting to see perhaps the most extreme way of dealing with them – cutting a near right angle around the circular shoulder line. I’ll wear it in for a while and see how it feels.

French navy flannel suit, Hemingway Tailors; white polo shirt, Kiton; grey sleeveless sweater, Loro Piana; brown suede shoes, Edward Green; royal blue linen handkerchief, Pochette Square.