Designing a Custom Outfit

Occasionally, clients say they have a hard time envisioning the outfit they want to build. Creating something from scratch can be difficult for some people but there are some important lessons to know.

Contrast is king. While a totally monochromatic look can be undoubtedly cool, wearing a light color under a dark color is never wrong. Contrast can also mean texture. In the example pictured here, the Dormeuil grey corduroys (which have both stretch and water resistance) on the right have three dimensional depth to the finish of the fabric and contrast to the smooth finish of the cashmere and silk knit on the left.

Coordination of color. The suede fabric at the bottom of the picture is meant to pick up the windowpane in the jacket. This suede can be used to make sneakers, loafers, lace ups etc. A silvery suede shoe is certainly a stand out and can also compliment jeans, dark grey trousers and navy chinos.

“Prunctional.” We tend to lean into the practical, the functional. If you tend to wear dressier clothing, we may suggest not to do the knit sweater and do a powder blue dress shirt with this outfit. You’d get more use out of it. If you travel a lot, we may suggest adding more pockets (zippered or otherwise) to the jacket and pants. If you run cold, we may suggest the all cashmere knit. If you are messy, we’d suggest a darker suede shoe.

If your first thought when you glance at these four swatches is that they generally look nice together, than you’re off to a good start. In this scenario, we started with the jacketing fabric as it is the most striking. From there we worked outward and used the taupe brown knit to warm up the color scheme. Of course there are many other combinations that would be stellar, but that’s where our relationship driven set up shines. We’ll happily design an outfit specific to you and your preferences.

The knit is from our new cashmere and silk range and can be made into any of our 18 models (crew neck to hoodie to cardigan) and feels dreamy. The boucle sport coat fabric is from Drago and is 80% virgin wool and 20% silk. The Dormeuil corduroy fabric is extremely luxurious and is 92% cotton, 6% cashmere and 2% elastane with a water resistant finish. The silver suede is a chrome-tanned calfskin from Italy and incredibly supple.

Drago Jacket • $1095

Dormeuil Trousers • $495

Cashemere/silk knit • $475

Suede shoes • $350