Ask to try on a black suit at a traditional tailor, or even a less traditional one, and you’re likely to be steered in the direction of something midnight blue, charcoal or even dark brown. Not black. Most men’s outfitters, especially in the UK, would never recommend a black suit for anything other than a funeral. There’s black tie, of course, but that’s a different thing altogether —and never to be worn unless the occasion strictly ask for it. For the most part, formal menswear codes dictate that black is for widowers.
This spring, fashion says to hell with such diktats. They’re not just for funerals, actually, or security guards that treat the Wetherspoons door like it’s the West Wing. They’re to be worn everywhere, and to everything. The proof? Two-piece suits can now be found in an array of cuts and silhouettes and styles, all united by one thing: any colour, as Henry Ford liked to say, as long as it’s black.
Brands have tried to make us see the light (or, in this instance, the dark) for a while now. Italians, true to form, do it much, much better. The boys of Dolce & Gabbana, all Sicilian and angular and annoyingly self-assured, have reclined, for many years, in sun-dappled campaigns wearing razor-sharp black suits for fantasy afternoon lunches with mama and papa. And, more recently at the S/S ‘21’s “luminaire”-inspired show, the same Italian marque put its signature black suit on a strong course of steroids; brawny lapels, a slightly sexy fit, and a troika of brooches so big and bejewelled that they’d put any moneyed ambassador’s wife to shame. Over at Dunhill, creative director Mark Weston added a clean litheness to what is, sometimes, a suit that can be overbearing; jackets were boxier, and seemed to hang off the body as opposed to drowning it. The “drip” Twitter-happy menswear types are rarely given a definition, but that austere tailoring from Dunhill comes very close. And you know it’s a thing when Paul Smith, a man that built an empire on the back of a very colourful stripe, joins the funeral procession with his own pitch black suits.
And everywhere else. Because these days, misery has value in menswear terms. It’s not just for miserable calendar entries either. The boldest sort of men have even elected for a black tie on a black shirt on a black suit; strong, risky, but a wonderfully misanthropic sucker punch to both the scourge (the scourge!) of colour, and the Old Ways of dressing. For now though, you can settle for a simple black suit without fear of reprisal at the next meeting, or boring dinner, or your best friend’s wedding. Or don’t. Your funeral.
A version of this article appears in the Spring 2022 edition of Esquire, on sale now. Subscribe here
