Defending the black suit

The black suit consistently finds itself berated by knowledgable writers advising young men on their first suit purchases. The advice comes from a helpful place. A black suit isn’t the most versatile garment, and when worn traditionally it finds itself squarely in the overly formal category. Only appropriately worn with white shirts, black shoes and rather plain neckwear, the black suit receives little love from menswear enthusiasts. 

This suit gains the reputation as a beginners suit — perhaps for high school award ceremonies or bought for college internship interviews. Or worse, for the kind of man who never wears a suit except for funerals and wakes — the default choice of a man who doesn’t care or want to attempt any stylistic flourishes. It’s the uniform of the help — or anyone who isn’t meant to be seen or paid much attention to in the course of the evening. 

I’ll readily admit to not only the skepticism, but also the outright snobbery on my part toward the black suit. Once I read and began to adhere to the rules about good taste in tailoring, black seems really pedestrian and not worth owning. Since first getting into menswear, I’ve never owned a black suit until this year. Until recently, I saw the black suit as the complete opposite of a “cool suit” to own or wear. 

Conversely, the black suit rises to the pinnacle of cool in many of my favorite movies. Take for instance the films of Quentin Tarantino: the slow-motion walk of “Reservoir Dogs”, the “Pulp Fiction” hitmen, or the Crazy 88 henchmen in “Kill Bill Vol. 1”. Or look to the John Woo shoot-em-up classic “A Better Tomorrow II” as the gunmen go guns akimbo in the final sequence. Or the more recent “John Wick” films where Keanu Reeves becomes the underground embodiment of the Baba Yaga. And this is to say nothing of the countless black tie ensembles worn by any incarnation of James Bond on screen. Black suits undisputedly look cool as hell on film. So, why couldn’t I and more menswear enthusiasts get behind it and add one to our closets? 

I think Alan Flusser said it best when interviewed by The Rake:

“If you’re in the fashion world,” he says, “and I have one foot in it, at some point you have to come to terms with black. Black can be very chic, and guys who are into tradition or ‘sartorial’ style are generally not into chic.” 

When I first started getting into menswear, the endless colors and pattern combinations got me really excited. Call it sartorial sensory overload. But after years of chasing new collages of patterns and tones, I’m honestly quite bored with wearing them. I’m not as interested in a broad, sweeping wardrobe of tailored clothing in the “sartorial look”.

I also find myself quite bored with practicing all the rules of classical menswear and being a walking fossil of traditions decades old. It’s not fun and frankly I don’t feel “cool” anymore doing it. I enjoy wearing tailoring, but I don’t enjoy sticking out as “the suit guy” (you know the types) every time I choose to wear one outside of work.

So, I came to terms with the color black. Instead of complexity, I’m drawn to simplicity. Rather than compete to wear the loudest and brightest suit in the room, I want to wear something quiet and simple. I know what I like about a suit in terms of fit and design: single button, peak lapels, no belt, no flaps, and a softer shoulder with a roomy chest.

And I’m more interested in what tailoring and styling looks like today rather than in the past. I’m opting to leave dress shirts behind in favor of solid black knits. In this post-necktie world I’ve turned to cashmere turtlenecks, long-sleeve polo shirts, and cotton-silk crewneck textured tees.

The experience of wearing a black suit feels quite liberating for me. And dare I say looks chic, too.