My dear readers I have a special treat for you- my first guest contributor! After reading my suit article, I got an e-mail from my favorite guy in a suit! My dad! (yes apparently he is reading my fashion blog- what a guy! haha) So with his permission, I’ve included his two cents! 

Miss Caroline,  As one who started his working years in the men’s clothing business, at a high end men’s retail and tailor shop, I know a little something about suits.  My personal preference is in the style.  There are different styles of men’s suits.  The traditional style calls for a three button coat, a single “hooked” center of the back flap, and lapped seams(rather than single seams).  In the summer time cotton poplin, linen, and seersucker are my preferred cloths, though a very light hard finish thin wool can be nice.  In the winter I prefer 100% wool, with a hard finish.  Soft finish, like thick cloth, for blazers is good, too.  The trousers can be either plain front or pleated, but traditional calls for cuffs on the trousers.  I prefer a 2 inch cuff.  A lot of the high vis folks you pictured were wearing more fashion oriented suits, but my favorite is still the classic traditional style.  Hope that helps.  I love you,  Dad

Thanks, Dad! He doesn’t need Google to know what’s up. Let’s take a look at his pointers.

Traditional style coat has three buttons:

 NO

Yes

A hooked back flap?

Oh! I get it now!

Wait, lapped seams? *tikka tikka tikka* I know these! I’ve been taught they are called “flat fell” seams. These are the kinds of seams you can probably find on the inside of your leg on your jeans! Look down! In fact, I used these on those flashy PJ’s I wore in “Breakfast-Casual” and Hairdryer Glamour Shots both on the shoulder seams and on the inside seams! If you weren’t wearing jeans and need a better idea of what I’m talking about then behold: the flat-fell/ lapped seam

My dad mentioned his preferences for fabrics, also, which is an increasingly relevant topic in my life. (I just started my textiles classes tonight!) And he’s not kidding– he boasts a sharp collection of seersucker suits. If you aren’t literate in fabrics yet, thats okay! I probably wouldn’t know what seersucker was called if I hadn’t seen him wearing it all these years. You’ve seen it- its a lightweight fabric that is striped in white and pastel.

 << I think he has at least 3 out of 5 of these colors.

I neglected to clearly acknowledge the way the seasons correlate with fabrics as it relates to suits, so this was a great point to address.

Moving on to pants, here is a great photo showing both styles my dad mentioned in his note. The left is the pleated complete with 2 inch cuffs, while the right is pleat and cuff-less.

Even though my dad would pass up Justin’s “Suit and Tie” to listen to these suited gentlemen…

…he still knows what he’s talking about.

And you can take that to the bank!