Thom Browne: Hey, those tall guys are wearing our suits
OK, this one’s for the hedge funders. I’m going to tell you about the one (and only) suit that fit me perfectly right off the rack. This thing felt like it was made for me. From scratch. Completely bespoke. Like someone sprayed little flecks of worsted wool onto my naked body and let it dry. Okay, it wasn’t that tight or anything, but it did fit perfectly. It was an unexpectedly religious experience. One that made me keenly aware that snaring the perfect fit is far too rare an experience for guys under 5-foot-7.
The suit was made by Thom Browne, an NYC-based designer who’s generated a lot of buzz over the past few years with his “shrunken suit” look. But he’s also roused almost as much anger. Alan Flusser speaking on The Sartorialist a year ago berated Browne’s line:
Those are the most irresponsible clothes I’ve ever seen in my 30 years in fashion. To charge that much money for a coat that is deliberately short . . . the whole thing is like, childlike.