The (Soft) Power Suit: A Tailoring Story

As Gordon Gekko (you remember him), Michael Douglas turned the bespoke chalk stripe suit into a status symbol of the bullpen. The striped braces, python-thick ties and requisite swagger a simulacrum of big lunches, bigger deals and eighties excess.

Call it a reimagining, or simply an evolution, but for autumn we’ve taken two classic boardroom tailoring styles: the single-breasted Chalk Stripe and a double-breasted Prince of Wales check with a peak lapel, key pillars of the Power Suit era, but softened for modern living. These are suits for the office, but also for weddings, weekends and, as seen in the photos below, for the cobbled streets, old colleges and cathedrals of Edinburgh as the seasons shift — worn with a relaxed, Ivy lean. 

Made in Italy from a soft wool flannel, both the Chalk Stripe and Prince of Wales check blazers are unlined and feature a half canvas construction and a soft shoulder line, jackets that are flattering and versatile, wether worn with a cutaway collar shirt and tie, a Shetland knit, a mock collar sweatshirt, or under a water-resistant raglan mac for the full rainy day commuter effect. The trousers, a single pleat for the Prince of Wales and a flat front style for the Chalk Stripe, both feature side adjusters, an extended front tab, an interior waistband and gentle taper below the knee.

These are suits that can be dressed up and broken down and have a sense of ease woven throughout. Suits that, if spied out at a Casa Lever power lunch, would have Gordon and his boys gazing admiringly over their Thursday afternoon martinis. 

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