Who do you wear a suit for?
Good evening. I am cantáte Matsushima.
When discussing suits, the conversation inevitably tends to turn to construction.
The shoulder structure, the interlining, the silhouette of the slacks.
Of course, that is an important subject.
But today, I would like to discuss something a little different.
I have written about construction before, so please take a look at the piece on jackets and the piece on slacks.
What does formal dress mean for a man?
In other words, this is about the role of a suit.
I was asked that quite often until fairly recently.
“Is it okay to wear this set to a wedding?”
The so-called swishy tracksuit set.
It is clothing that resembles an extension of sportswear.
Of course, if the person wearing it is comfortable with that, there is no reason to stop them.
However, from the perspective of formal dress, the answer is clear.
Of course it is not appropriate.
Because you should not be the main character in the room.
a suit is not, by nature, clothing meant to make you stand out.
In fact, the opposite is true:
it is clothing for not standing out.
or, more precisely,
Not for yourself,
It is clothing worn for someone other than yourself.
the bride and groom at a wedding.
the deceased or bereaved family at a funeral;
your counterpart or the setting, in a business context;
To give center stage to the person or occasion at hand:
You step into the background.
I believe a suit is clothing for that purpose.
<cantáte>
COL : NAVY , MARON
¥407,000 TAX IN
※The slacks shown are Fine Garbadine French Trousers.
<cantáte>
”Fine Garbadine French Trousers”
COL : BLACK×OFF WHITE , NAVY , MARON
¥132,000 TAX IN
A suit is, in fact, a very peculiar kind of clothing.
It is not clothing for self-expression.
The colors are usually navy or gray.
The patterns are generally solid or narrow stripes.
In other words, there is hardly any room to assert oneself.
But that is precisely what makes it interesting.
The fit.
The tailoring.
The material.
And in the way the wearer carries themselves.
A person reveals themselves in the details that are not flashy.
Fashion is freedom.
There is no doubt about that.
But—
Freedom that disrupts the atmosphere of a place is not freedom.
Clothes that draw more attention than the couple at a wedding.
clothes that make you stand out at a funeral.
That is less fashion than
Otherwise, it is merely self-expression.
can you compose yourself to suit the occasion.
Only when you have that sensibility
I believe clothing becomes truly interesting.
Sometimes,
“I’m a casualwear person.”
I often hear people say,
Casualwear is fun, naturally.
I like it too, of course.
but speaking only of casualwear without knowing dress can be somewhat precarious.
It is not about which is superior or inferior,
That is not what I mean.
it is something you should understand from both sides at once.
because
A suit is something you wear when you want to,
Because a suit is also something you may suddenly need to wear.
A wedding.
A funeral.
An important business meeting.
such situations arrive unexpectedly, without warning.
I often think—
Something like a sudden torrential downpourI think that is what it is like.
Even though the sky was clear,
it suddenly starts to rain.
At that moment,
Whether or not you have an umbrella.
A suit is somewhat similar.
you do not need to wear it every day.
But when the time comes,
Whether or not you own a proper suit.
can, by itself, greatly change the way he conducts himself.
For a man, a suit
In a sense, they may be something like “equipment”.
Having polished shoes.
Having one tie.
And having one proper suit.
it alone allows me to stay calm even in an unexpected situation.
When I put on a suit,
and even the way you walk, stand, and carry yourself changes.
Your back straightens,
Your movements naturally become more composed.
I believe clothes can also bring a person into composure.
Clothing is freedom.
But the people who can truly enjoy freedom are—
I believe only those who know the rules can truly appreciate it.
and casualwear from someone who does know dress—
casualwear from someone who does not know dress,
Though they may seem similar,
can actually look like something completely different.
and, on top of that,
A suit is a garment
They are very quiet clothes.
There is no flashy design.
there are no eccentric embellishments.
But the maker’s philosophy is—
It shows clearly in the details.
The structure of the shoulders.
The expression of the lapel.
the way the trousers drape.
stands out precisely because these are not attention-seeking clothes:
Because even the slightest difference
ultimately determine the atmosphere as a whole.
cantáte’s suits, too,
that is exactly what we design it around.
Rather than a suit that draws attention,
a quiet suit.
But—
It is a suit that naturally makes you look put-together when you wear it.
A suit is not something meant to stand out.
That is precisely why they are worth making properly.
Clothes you wear for someone else.
clothes that set the tone of a place.
Clothes like that—
I want to make things properly, even if only in the smallest way.
cantáte Shin Matsushima
