Everyone here at HSS is firmly behind the idea that your first suit should be a navy suit in hopsack or a “four season” wool. In fact, it’s a pretty widely agreed upon stance across the menswear world. But why? Why is a navy suit such a great choice for your first foray into the world of men’s tailoring?
If you ask me, it comes down to one simple priority – versatility. When it comes to the foundations of your wardrobe, especially when you build from the ground up, versatility is key, and nothing is more versatile than a navy suit. Here are four reasons why:
What's up, guys?
I'm Brian Sacawa.
You're watching He Spoke Style,
and today we're talking about why your first suit
should be a navy suit.
All right, so one of the questions I get most often
from readers, as well as friends of mine,
is, okay, I'm taking the plunge.
I'm ready to get my first made-to-measure suit.
What color should I get?
And I am glad that I get this question a lot,
because one of the most common mistakes I see
is guys going with a black suit as their first suit.
And I'm gonna be honest and admit that that was me as well.
And as a matter of fact,
when I first started He Spoke Style,
I bought a black suit and I did a series of posts
about how to wear a black suit.
It was one of the first of the one-piece,
many-ways posts that we've done over the years,
and you can see it right there.
All right, so what is wrong with a black suit?
Well, there's really nothing wrong with it.
It's just that it is not a very versatile suit.
And when you're thinking about your first suit,
especially your first made-to-measure suit,
versatility really needs to be the number one thing
on that priority list.
Because let's face it, if you're spending the money,
you really should and need to be getting a return
on that investment.
And when it comes to versatility,
there really is no more versatile suit
than a classic navy suit.
And here are the reasons why.
First is that you can wear it pretty much anywhere.
If you think of all the dress codes out there,
short of black tie,
you would be hard pressed to find an instance
or an occasion where a navy suit would be inappropriate.
I mean, just think about it.
For business, this is your workhorse business suit.
Business casual, check.
This is a suit you could wear to a cocktail party,
a wedding, holiday party, semi-formal.
And if you're really in a pinch and don't have a tuxedo,
if the fabric of the suit is right,
you could wear it with a black bow tie and get by.
I've done that before on the site,
and you can check that out right here as well.
Next, a navy suit is extremely easy
to dress up or dress down.
For a job interview, it's perfect with a white shirt,
rep stripe tie, and white pocket square.
For something a little bolder,
try a gingham shirt with a knit tie
and some double monk strap shoes.
For a casual date or cocktails,
wear it with a nice denim button down, no tie necessary.
And you can even be more casual if you want
by wearing it with a t-shirt and some white sneakers.
Next, a navy suit is just really easy to match.
There is almost no color
that doesn't look good with a navy suit.
You can wear it with brown shoes,
you can wear it with oxblood shoes,
you can wear it with black shoes.
Leather, suede, and if you're building your wardrobe
with these very classic menswear pieces in mind
and an eye towards a very classic color palette
like blues, grays, and tans,
they are all perfect complements to a navy suit.
Which leads to the last reason
that a navy suit needs to be your first suit,
and that is that it gives you a very strong separate game.
Now, here's where the idea of versatility
really comes into play,
and you can really see the benefit
of building a wardrobe with that in mind.
Now, I would say that the one menswear piece
that would be considered the most timeless and classic
is a navy blazer.
And if you get the right navy suit,
you also have that jacket.
Not only that, but you've got a great pair of pants
and any number of ways to style them
with other pieces you probably already have.
Now, one of the most important factors
when it comes to making sure
that you're able to get this kind of versatility
out of your navy suit
is the fabric you choose and the detailing.
If your goal is versatility, which it should be,
you do not want to go with a fabric
that has any kind of sheen.
That's really going to limit the number of options you have,
especially when it comes to breaking the suit into separates.
So the suit I'm wearing in this video
is what I'd consider my workhorse navy suit.
It's from Michael Andrews Bespoke.
And I'm gonna walk you through some of the details I chose
to maximize its versatility.
So first, let's start with the fabric.
This is a hopsack.
And hopsack is not technically a fabric.
It's a method of weaving the fabric.
And as you can see, it creates a very nice texture.
And that texture is what contributes to its versatility
and wearability in a variety of settings.
The texture gives it a little bit more of a casual feel,
which is great if you want to wear the jacket as a separate
with more casual pants like chinos or jeans.
One other thing that I really love about hopsack
and this fabric in particular
is the way it sort of changes color depending on the light.
It's a really neat effect.
And I personally find it quite attractive and desirable.
Next, let's look at the shoulder.
Now, this is a soft shoulder.
You can see how the fabric rolls off very easily
over my shoulder and down the length of my arm.
This gives the jacket a more casual look.
If you have a rope shoulder,
that gives the jacket a lot more structure
and it makes it much more formal.
So again, if your goal is to be able to wear the jacket
as a separate,
choosing a softer shoulder is a great way to go.
Pockets.
Now, you basically have three choices
when it comes to pocket styles.
Jetted pockets, flat pockets, and patch pockets.
Of the three, jetted pockets are considered the most formal
and patch pockets, the most casual.
Now, as you can see,
I went with patch pockets on this jacket
specifically because I wanted to be able
to wear the jacket alone.
And also because I knew this suit would be the one
that I would wear a lot when I'm traveling.
And patch pockets are great for travel
because it's really easy to slide things in and out
that I need easy access to,
like my wallet, my phone, or my subway card.
So those are some of the reasons
I believe your first suit should be a Navy suit,
as well as some of the details you might consider
if you wanna get the most out of your purchase.
Leave a comment below if you have any questions
and let me know what video you would like to see
in the future.
If you like this video, please give it a thumbs up
and don't forget to subscribe to the channel.
That's all for now, guys.
Thanks for watching and stay tailored.
