By Manish Puri.
I’ve had my eye on a dark green suit for a long time. So when Simon very kindly offered me a length of the olive flannel that he’d collaborated on with Fox Brothers, I jumped at the chance.
To give me an idea of what I was in for, Fox Brothers sent me a large swatch alongside ones of the black and brown houndstooth and the navy chalk stripe for good measure. I’m going to be honest with you – as Simon would expect me to be for any product – the green swatch was slightly underwhelming.
It didn’t help that the chalk stripe is essentially my platonic ideal of what a navy version should look like, or that I’m a sucker for houndstooth – particularly one in such an easy combination of colours. Even then, the green – despite having the lovely finish of Fox’s classic flannel – looked a bit flat in comparison to the other two.
O ye of little faith.
The final suit delivered by The Anthology is superb, and I’ve found myself reaching for it every chance I get – on the recent WM Brown Tweed Rally (where it was the garment of mine that attracted the most interest), Saturday night drinks with friends, and even dinner with my lovely ex-wife (it has her seal of approval, even if I don’t).
The colour is spot-on. More than one person has said it’s a “perfect green” – neither too bright and jewel-toned, nor too rustic. Another friend described it as a “city green”, which I like. As Simon said when the cloth was launched, it is a little “muddy” but, without wanting to start the menswear equivalent of “the dress”, I don’t think it contains quite as much brown as you might think based on close-up shots like the one below – especially when you see it fully made up and worn in natural light.
The cloth excels as either a suit or a pair of trousers. I don’t think it works quite as well as a standalone jacket, but I find that to be true of most flannels. The depth and darkness of the green makes it really versatile – adaptable to both day and evening wear and to different styles of dress.
In the daytime, I wear it more classically: with a pale-blue shirt, a crisp white shirt or (as shown here) a pale blue-and-white stripe, finished with a navy or grey tie. (Forgive me if it looks like my tie was hastily tied in a pub toilet with no mirror, it’s because it was). Finished with some black shoes, I think the suit is sober enough to wear to an office – apart from those that still adhere to the strictest of business codes.
For a little more personality, and a smidge less formality, the green also plays well with denim and chambray shirts and autumnal colours like rusty orange, burnished red and ochre. And perhaps a switch to chestnut brown shoes or boots to keep everything earthy.
However, what’s surprised me most is how well this cloth works for evening wear. I would go so far as to say the green is quite chic and a little unexpected for a night out; more interesting than navy and less clichéd than black (with no offence intended to those that wear black – I sport it in the evenings plenty too).
I love pairing it with a fine black knit polo – the one shown is cashmere and silk from Saman Amel. As the polo has quite a soft collar I tend to wear it buttoned up so I don’t lose it under my lapels during the course of an evening.
That’s not something I do very often, but, along with the belted trousers, I think it nods toward the 80s/90s Armani vibe that is so en vogue without mimicking it wholesale – my suit isn’t soft or louche enough to be confused with that look.
While hunting for an Armani reference image, I came across this screengrab in an old PS article by Simon about the style of Richard Burke (a character played by Tom Selleck in the sitcom Friends). The look is almost identical (although Selleck’s suit is more grey-green), and Simon notes “without the belt it would all be a little plain, but that belt draws it together”.
I’d say the same is true of my look too. The belt (an embossed croc with a polished brass buckle from Dylan & Sons) brings a little texture and shine to the sunken green. It’s one of the reasons that I went for belt loops – to allow me to wear the suit more simply (no tie, no pocket square) without sacrificing all points of interest.
Which brings me to the maker of the suit, The Anthology. Regular readers will know that I’ve been a happy customer of theirs since their formation. After some changes in physique and taste over the past couple of years, we’re updating my bespoke pattern which won’t be firmed up until their next London trunk show in early 2025.
However, given how keen I was to get my hands on this suit, Buzz (a co-founder of The Anthology) suggested I try their made-to-measure. Indeed, that’s one of the key features of their MTM: the relative speed of service for trunk show customers. Where a new bespoke commission will take a minimum of eight months – three trunk show appointments, which take place every four months – a finished MTM garment is delivered at the second trunk show, i.e. after four months.
For readers that are really pressed for time and have relatively straightforward requirements, the finished garment could be delivered directly to you eight weeks after the measuring appointment.
This is something I took advantage of given how well The Anthology knows my body and preferences. However, the team were eager to stress that they would still request that the client book an appointment at their next trunk show so they could assess the fit and make any alterations to the garments or adjustments to the pattern – which is precisely what I did with my green suit on their recent London visit.
Return clients can then order future commissions remotely and expect delivery in around six weeks. In those cases, The Anthology team is happy to advise on cloth choice, and that’s something I think they do really well – not just what bunches they recommend, but what specific cloths suit your style and existing wardrobe.
The MTM fitting process begins by trying fitting garments that are broadly the same as their RTW single-breasted offering and typical of The Anthology house style: slightly extended and gently roped shoulders with a lower gorge on the lapel.
There are small differences between the RTW and the MTM fitting jackets. The latter is slightly bigger in the waist, as it’s more instructive to pin something closer to a customer than to have to imagine letting it out. Interestingly, the fitting garments also vary slightly by region: Asian fitting jackets are a touch shorter in the sleeve for example.
Having tried a lot of The Anthology’s RTW (my preferred jacket size is UK40/IT50), and recommended it to anyone that’s looking for a suit that’s a level up from my suits under £1000 article, I was pretty confident we’d get a good result. Having tried the fitting jacket (also a size 40) I became very confident. You can see from the photo how clean the front looked without any pinning.
And that’s a good barometer of whether to opt for MTM or bespoke: how does a fitting jacket (assuming one exists) feel? If there appears to be a lot of issues – collar gap, fit through the shoulders, balance, comfort – then bespoke might be safest. However, if the house block passes muster as a respectable fit then MTM could well be a good option.
With the benefit of experience, I look back on my Suit Supply MTM days and realise now that the fitting jackets weren’t good templates for me. We’d size up significantly as my regular size was too slim, but that meant other elements were too big and imbalanced. They’d try and fix everything through the MTM system which (understandably) had limits on what could be changed, and while the final results weren’t terrible, it was also never quite right – like trying to ward off an invasion of fit issues with a potato gun.
Of course, it’s not always easy as a customer to make that assessment in the moment – especially if you’re new to custom tailoring. In those circumstances you’re really looking to the tailor to steer you in the right direction. Here I think it helps that The Anthology’s MTM programme is run by the same people that fit and cut patterns for bespoke customers – so they know exactly what their MTM can and can’t deliver.
I’ve written before about the importance of trust in a client-tailor relationship, and how that trust can sometimes be cemented by being told “no”. I used The Anthology as an example of a tailor that I felt would give me the right long-term advice, even if it cost them a sale in the short-term. So, I’d have faith in them to guide me on choosing between MTM and bespoke too.
The Anthology’s MTM starts at £1750, and my suit is £1980. For reference, the bespoke starting price is £2850, and that price difference reflects, among other things, the extra handwork that goes into their bespoke garments.
So, having tried the MTM programme would I continue to use it, or would I go back to bespoke?
Had the MTM offering been available when I started commissioning clothes from The Anthology in 2018 I undoubtedly would have started with that. Today, however, I think I’d stick to their bespoke trousers – I’m supremely fussy about the fit through the crotch and seat, and the bespoke trousers have always been superb and well-priced.
In terms of jackets, it’s not as straightforward because the MTM version is excellent – clean across the shoulders, comfortable in the back and elbows (two areas where ill-fitting jackets always bother me) and with nice shape through the waist. Having spent quite a bit of time and money refining my jacket pattern I’m minded to stick with bespoke, but it’s a very tough call.
The PS x Fox Brothers olive flannel is available here.
Manish is @the_daily_mirror on Instagram
All pictures of the finished suit in the main article by @JKF_Man, shot at The Torridon. Other images courtesy of The Anthology.
Other clothes not mentioned:
As I mentioned at the top of the article, I’ve wanted a dark green suit for a long time so I’ve added a few images from my “look book” below to serve as inspiration.
Please note, none of these suits are made from the PS x Fox Brothers flannel.
