I’ve had an interest in menswear for a while now. I’m pretty sure it began in middle school, when I first started attending prep school. We had a restrictive dress code, and while it wasn’t quite Gossip Gil status, it did require that we make an effort to look “nice”.

As Melanie so amusingly noted on her blog, Oh, Wie Schön ist Panama?, looking nice does not simply mean putting on a suit. And putting on a suit doesn’t mean you look nice. The suit must fit well. It doesn’t have to be expensive – ya’ll know I advocate getting the best bang for your buck- but it should fit properly, and no one knows more about the proper fit for a man’s suit. than the legendary Tom Ford.

I am very much so impressed with Ford’s creations for Spring ’09. The slim lines of his suits are fresh spin and there is heavy emphasis on the skilled tailoring. The body doesn’t get lost in the layers of clothing- instead it is elongated and complimented by the suit’s lines:

What I like best about Ford’s designs is that they are anything but boring thanks to his color palette and subtle use of print and texture mixing. His clothes are suitable (pun unintended but accepted) for Midtown bankers, fashionable loan sharks, and the professional minded hipster alike. Ford, who once said,

If I was ever going to become a good designer, I had to leave America. My own culture was inhibiting me. Too much style in America is tacky. It’s looked down upon to be too stylish. Europeans, however, appreciate style.

now seems determined to bring his European sensibilities to American menswear. I for one am glad he had a change of heart and I’m sure Chuck Bass would also agree.

I’m sure that this is not the last time that I’ll mention my love for Tom Ford- the man responsible for reforming Gucci and making it respectable. He is one of my favorite designers and I have tremendous respect for all that he has accomplished throughout his career.