I wonder if it gets harder and harder each year for men’s suits designers to top the previous year’s designs. And if it does, if the only option left is to “jump the shark”. While the definition of jumping the shark has its origins in the world of TV (the point in a TV series at which far-fetched events are included merely for the sake of novelty, indicative of a decline in quality), it seems as if it applies to men’s fashion as well.
Seriously. Look at the picture above. It’s from the Wall Street Journal’s Fall Fashion Guide for men. Would you ever wear one of those suits?
But I have to assume that there are enough people that would wear such a suit, otherwise it would have never gotten produced.
I’ve written about several times about the new fashions that appear in the WSJ (June 2018, January 2018, September 2015, February 2015), and one of my favorite things to do is to read the comments. Once again they did not disappoint:
- I really like these suits. I can’t fork over $6000 for one so I took our drapes down, cut them to fit while draped over me, drew lines with a sharpie, and then made rough stitches. Can’t wait to call on customers today!
- Those are truly horrible! They look like five starving people who dressed themselves from a Salvation Army store.
- I have been watching this since the 70’s, the gradual femininazation of male clothing styles. oops, I am not being politically correct.
- They generally remind me of pajamas, sweat suits and Russian prison uniforms.
- Ah, the weekly freak show. Like an accident I don’t want to look but I can’t look away. Now, where did I leave the Fall LL Bean catalog?
- I was looking for an Onion or Babylon Bee source reference. Was this article intended to be serious?
- No. Just no. I had to check my calendar to make sure it was not April 1st. These designs do not pass the bulletin board test (i.e., put the picture up on any bulletin board and see what 99.9% of normal people think).
- Uncompromisingly and embarrassingly ugly. No respectable man would be caught in public dressed like that.
- Come on. This is no radical reinvention. Clown suits like these have been around forever.
- I’ve said it before and will say it again – Jacob Gallagher is the best humor columnist on the WSJ staff. He must laugh his head off every time he writes an article about the latest “trend” in men’s fashion.
- Why does the one in the middle have a used adult diaper strapped to his side?
- Pure garbage. Ugly clothes, emaciated models. Why does WSJ cover this trash?
- Not something to wear on a job interview…unless the job is with Chuck-E-Cheese…
*photo from the Wall Street Journal. From left: a casual take from Bonne Suit, a scaled-back look from Ermenegildo Zegna, a youthful duo at Sunnei, a zip-up idea at Neil Barrett and a slouchy, patterned iteration at Lemaire.
Borden's Blather 