One of the most important part of the branding ecosystem is personal brand. And whether you choose to believe it or not, how you look does affect your overall personal brand. And nothing projects that you mean business better than being decked out in a classic business suit.
Suit Walk 2018
The core of this story is rooted around the Suit Walk 2018, which was held last Sunday morning, in the heart of the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur. This is an annual event, organised by Tailor’s Guild. The objective?… Well, it’s none other than to promote the adaptation of classic men’s wear.
Now before you go out screaming “sexist”, classic men’s wear is a term that actually covers both men’s and women’s classic fitted attire. Women actually have a choice of both classic fitted wear (for business functions) or glamorous dresses (for social events). Men, unfortunately, only have the classic fitted wear. And since they both originated from the same source and serves the same purpose, it was conveniently grouped as “classic men’s wear”. So you see, there’s actually nothing sexist about the term at all…
Anyway, let’s get back to where we left off. Suit Walk is actually an annual event, organised by Tailor’s Guild. This year, Suit Walk 2018, was organised by The Selangor And Federal Territory Tailor’s Guild. But the participants to this event represent more than just the members of just Federal Territory and Selangor alone. In fact, members of Tailor’s Guild from other states of Malaysia also participated too. There was a good mix of tailors, customers, friends, and generally people who are interested in classic men’s wear.
So What Was Suit Walk 2018 All About?
What was the objective of the event? Well, it was nothing more than merely organising a group of immaculately dressed men (and women), and literary walk around the highest foot traffic area of the whole country. But the implication of this event is far more pronounced than just a bunch of people, dressed to their nines, walking around the heart of urban Kuala Lumpur.
Letting the general public see just how many well-dressed, and not to mention confident people, walk around the high pedestrian traffic area was one thing. But the subtle objective was to encourage more people to actually adopt classic men’s wear.
Classics will never go out of style. Trend comes and goes, while fashion goes round and round. But style, well, never goes out of style. What was stylish twenty years ago, fifty years ago, or even a hundred years ago, is still stylish today. But the fashion trends of the 1990’s baggy look, or the 1970’s skinny fit with oversized lapels and collars, are no longer considered fashionable today. In fact, what’s considered trendy today, like skinny lapels, collars, ties and jeans, will be outdated within a few years.
Don’t believe me?… Take a look at your grandfather’s wedding photos. I’ll bet that he’s handsomely decked out in a suit of some sort. And if somebody wears the same outfit today, he’ll still look dashingly handsome too.
By Invitation Of Sayap Bespoke Tailor
I was actually invited to attend this Sayap Bespoke Tailor from Ipoh, Perak. They’re a member of The Perak Tailor’s Guild. But hey, members of any chapter of the Guild are still considered members of this exclusive club, hence their participation in this event. And being a fan of classic men’s wear myself, I was more than happy to accept their invitation .
Sayap Bespoke Tailor is one of the few tailors who actually understands the intricacies of the classic men’s wear. It’s rather unfortunate, but not many tailors actually know the intricate details of classic men’s wear. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details… Every little thing like hand-made button holes, working cuffs, button stance, sleeve pitch, structured or unstructured jackets, etc. These are details that most “general” tailors would never discuss with their customers. Only the very best in the trade would care to share with their customers.
Bespoke tailoring can never compete with the exclusive, branded, ready made suits. How can they?… A bespoke suit made is made only to fit one body – yours. Ready to wear suits are cut to fit the “average” body shape and size. Unfortunately 95% of the people out there do not fit into the “average” body shape and size.
And What Did I Get Out Of This?…
Believe it or not, I had a wonderful day during the walk. I had the opportunity to discuss the details of the trade with the real experts in the business.
And this isn’t merely for my own interest only. I now have more content that I can share on personal branding. Contents that I never knew that I didn’t know before this. We already know that packaging your appearance is an important step in personal branding. But dressing to impress isn’t merely getting dressed up in a suit. It’s also the understanding of the history behind the classic men’s wear, and how it evolved into what it is today. Every little detail has its own little history.
My appreciation goes out to Sayap Bespoke Tailor for their invitation to participate in this event.
What’s My Take On Bespoke Tailoring?
We have to accept that bespoke tailoring will never go mainstream. Especially so in area of business wear. But then again, would you want it to? It is the exclusivity of wearing a one-of-a-kind suit that makes you stand out in a room full of young executives, most of whom would be wearing the branded, ready-to-wear uniform business suits.
And you know what?… I’m actually looking forward to Suit Walk 2019…
