“A good chequerwork pattern allows
you to inject some personality into
your outfit without shouting too
loudly,” says Jee. And he’s right, of
course. Except what constitutes ‘good’
very much depends on both the
wearer and the maker. A tight template
of squares “of around 2in” will work for
most body shapes, while larger grids
flatter few. In fact, “a good suit-maker
will pore over the pattern at the design
stage because it significantly affects
the wearer’s proportions,” says Jee.
“A vertical or horizontal stripe that’s
too heavy, for instance, will warp your
body shape.” When shopping around,
look for accurate alignment of the
pattern across the lapels, which is a
hallmark of quality.
RIGHT AND p54
Paul Smith suit $1299
Hugo Boss shirt $199
MJ Bale tie $99.9 5
MJ Bale pocket square $49.95
Akubra Bogart hat $220
Preventi X 124 shoes $1259
58 menshealth.com.au