By Manish Puri.

Although it arrived a little late in the season, that hasn’t stopped me from wearing my new Luca Museo Donegal Tweed suit every chance I’ve gotten. It’s quickly established itself as a favourite and attracts compliments wherever it goes – just a few weeks back an attractive woman rolled down the window of her car and shouted “nice suit” at me. (For context, she had just nearly run me over, so it’s possible she may have been overcompensating for almost killing me.)

The fullness of the arm, the drape through the chest and the wider trouser all work in concert to make this a remarkably comfortable suit. But more than that, I just find it a very pretty, almost voluptuous, thing to look at. 

The extended shoulder accentuates the curve from the sleevehead through the waist, which is then echoed by the roll of the lapel (supported by a multi-layered and darted canvas) into the rounded quarters; the latter, even when fresh out of the delivery box, is like a sailor on shore leave – proud and vigorous – and, if anything, might need some shape ironed out of it! You know, just to chill it out a little.

But I’m not here to review the suit – if anyone is looking for a breakdown of the Museo house style, Simon’s article serves perfectly. What I am interested in is why, in my humble opinion, I think this cut works better for me than it does for Simon. 

Why am I pressing on with a second summer commission while Simon is hesitant (“I’m not sure the cut of the jackets is one I’ll want to pursue going forward”)? Why do I think Simon’s suit is very good but mine is great?

I hope an examination of those questions will offer readers some more general pointers on cloth, style and dressing for their body.

I think the first point to make is somewhat ethereal, but important nonetheless: how accustomed is the eye (yours and those around you) to seeing a particular silhouette, colour or pattern. So often, murmurs of disapproval are less about the thing itself and more about our own hesitancy in the face of something unfamiliar.

In this case, both long-time readers and I are well-versed in seeing me in fuller, higher-waisted trousers and roomier jackets – like my beautiful cream linen suit from Taillour. Whereas Simon is more contemporary and typically wears things just a little closer. (As always with bespoke, the differences we’re talking about here are measured in centimetres, even millimetres.)

On recent shopping trips together it’s been fascinating getting Simon’s input when I’m caught between RTW sizes. He generally favours a medium on me for a cleaner back and more shape, whereas I tend to plump for the large to give me extra comfort. 

Visually of course, he’s on the money, but I’m the one that has to live in my clothes, and I know from experience that I’m just a heavy night out or a fried breakfast away from irrationally banishing any garment that feels even remotely restrictive to the cold outer reaches of my wardrobe.

And so my Luca Museo suit (whether you think it favours me or not) is perhaps more quickly recognised and accepted within the parameters of my usual style. Whereas Simon’s commission strikes you immediately as something different, thus demanding a little more evaluation.

Of course, beyond highly subjective and completely individual factors like comfort, there are other, more objective reasons why Simon leans towards his style and why I mine: chief among them is physique.

Even though we both have the same chest measurement (40”), Simon’s shoulders are longer and more sloped than mine. To accommodate this, his Luca Museo shoulder seam measures a full 7” with an extra half inch of wadding in the sleeve head (making it one of the widest jackets he owns), whereas mine is 6.5” plus the half inch.

In my view the extra length emphasises and possibly even exaggerates the slope of Simon’s shoulders.

Now I should add, lest anyone accuse me of body-shaming poor Simon, that one of the attractions of an extended shoulder is it gives a broader foundation from which to draw in the waist – and this is an area where Simon requires much less help than me.

I’m pretty straight through the trunk – measure my circumference anywhere on the torso and you’ll likely get the same number – but Simon doesn’t have that issue; he is an actual drop-six whereas I’m an aspirational drop-six-kilos. 

And so I find the Luca Museo extended shoulder better suits both my actual shoulders, and the prerequisite for my tailoring to create an illusion of shape through the waist.

My final observation was prompted by an astute comment from reader Ale on Simon’s initial review: Would this suit excel in a fabric that is more casual than the formal navy worsted?

I think there’s some wisdom in this, and a lot of that is underpinned by associations. Common adjectives that get attached to ‘navy worsted suit’ are crisp, sharp, slick, corporate – words I wouldn’t ordinarily ascribe to the Luca Museo house cut, which (with its wider set shoulder and lower gorge) partly evokes late 80s-era Armani tailoring.

That historical inspiration is perhaps the final reason why I think this suit works so well. The cloth, a vintage Donegal Tweed sourced by Luca Museo, with its cold colours and speckled marly texture, feels like something that may have appeared on an Armani runway. (Holland & Sherry 8821402 is similar)

And so, completely unwittingly on my part, the commission instinctively feels more cohesive – the visual language and heritage of the cut harmonising with that of the cloth.

Of course, all this theorising and rationalising is predicated upon the opinion that the Luca Museo suit works a little better for me than it does for Simon. 

But you might reject this assertion. You might prefer Simon’s look. You might not particularly fancy either.

And that’s just fine, because, ultimately, formulating your perspective and understanding what feels true to you is how one develops personal style, and how you learn to identify the fine lines between a good suit and a great one.

Manish is @the_daily_mirror on Instagram

Luca Museo currently hold trunks shows in New York

Other clothes worn:

An MTO Bryceland’s OCBD which has neither the Oxford cloth nor the button down (it’s a poplin that follows the same block and collar shape)
Drake’s black knit tie (one of the most versatile I own)
Red Rabbit Lil’ Thunderbird pin and ring
London Sock Co socks in Highland Heather 
Alden tassel loafers in black calf