Suits you: Chuka Umunna's stylish tailoring (and why it gets our vote)
Let’s park the political quagmire for now. Whatever your thoughts on the newly formed Independent Group, it’s hard to argue (although I’m sure Twitter will try) that one of its main pioneers and rumoured leader Chuka Umunna looks the business.
Where Jeremy Corbyn is dishevelled, Umunna is sharp, where the Labour leader’s man-of-the people stance makes him look uncomfortable in a suit, Umunna looks at home and at ease in precise tailoring. You wouldn’t catch the latter in an allotment-ready anorak laying a wreath at the Cenotaph. All of which matters because, in the case of politicians, what you wear conveys a message as to your intent; whole teams are devoted to the colour of a tie.
On Newsnight this week, a particular moment was caught on camera that was telling – and swiftly went viral on the social media-sphere. Barry Gardiner MP reaches across and pats Umunna’s be-suited arm, to which the Independent Group member looks down in bemusement. Well, it is a very nice suit, a continued wardrobe theme for Umunna who has had to come out swinging in the past about the fact he wears expensive suits.
Weighhouse suit in wool, ￡1,395, Thom Sweeney
He credits his love of proper tailoring to his father who, after arriving in the UK from Nigeria, attempted to tackle prejudice in the Sixties by making a point of looking polished and presentable. And Umunna follows suit, pun intended, in beautifully tailored jackets and trousers that are lean and slim cut to make the best of his slender frame; there’s tactic in this too in that it helps him look dynamic, athletic and youthful.
He wears minimal adornment with his suits too, which helps him look contemporary and unfettered; not the swollen captain of industry with his old boys’ club braces, tie pins and pocket squares.
Soho A Suit To Travel In, ￡1,200, Paul Smith
He’s been criticised in the tabloid press for his patronage of Savile Row – he’s a fan of Alexandra Wood Bespoke, one of the few female tailors on the Row, with made-to-measure suits that start from ￡1,100 and bespoke suits for much more. But I would argue that a) he looks great, and b) he shows why an expensive suit is an investment. It’s architecture for one; a good tailor can take an off-the-rack suit – it doesn’t have to be bespoke or Savile Row – and shape it to your frame to draw the eye to certain points.
And thinking about cost per wear, you’re looking at a garment shaped and sculpted for you that you’ll wear on a weekly basis; take it back to the tailor and have it relined, trousers mended, jacket shapes tweaked according to size.
Jacket with matching trousers (trousers not pictured), ￡995, Gieves & Hawkes
And because it’s a hefty outlay to start with (again, think of how many times you’ll wear it), many tailors – including Gieves & Hawkes – will allow for payment in installments; Gieves allows you to split it when you buy and when you pick it up. So whether you agree with Umunna’s mission statement or not, there’s no reason you can’t emulate his informed and considered style agenda.
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