suits you

Let's talk about clothes. Not about fashion, that thing that happens with skinny women and ugly clothing in Paris, I mean style.
My dad has a closet full of suits. Awesome. Italian. Suits.
See, we used to live in Italy. And my dad, being American and having moved to Milan from England, found the best-dressed Italian guy at work (head of advertising, of course) and asked him where to buy clothes. My dad proceeded to learn the Golden Rules of men's clothing, and he handed them down to me. Some I agree with, some I do not.
And that's the first rule: you wear your clothes. You should feel comfortable in your own clothing, physically and mentally and socially. I simply do not understand women who wear shoes that they think look great, causing them so much pain that they walk like crippled infants. Not attractive.
My dad dropped some coin on clothes. Still does.
And that's rule the second: your clothes should look at least as expensive as they are. My parents were friends with a couple, rich, who liked to show horses. The wife wore dresses that looked absolutely stunning. You looked at her and thought "DAMN that thing musta cost ten grand!" And therefore, if she paid $10,000 for it, she got her money's worth. Note the corollary: spending lots of money on a brand name does not guarantee quality. I see plenty of leather purses that looks ten times cheaper than their made-up prices. I dropped a grand on a black, double-breasted Armani because when I wear it people go "Dude! That suit musta cost you two thousand bucks!" A bargain at twice the price. And the Armani label is on the inside, where it counts.
There's all kinds of suit styles. British, French, Italian...I prefer a more Italian cut, which basically means that liquid mercury should flow uninterruptedly from neck to ankle. That means clean lines from shoulder to wrist, neck to hip, waist to foot. No pocket flaps, no pants leg cuffs, no air vents. Lose the button-down shirt collars, too. What, you afraid your tie will try to fly away? Brass collar stays, please. No one can see them, but you know they're there.
Rule the Third is about accessories and jewelry: match your leathers, don't mix gold and silver. Brown shoes, brown belt. Platinum watch, platinum ring, platinum cufflinks.
There's a bunch of other little things I'm anal about (wide collars, different colored cuffs/collars on shirts, tie pins, suspenders) but most of that is just me being Not British.
Now I just have to wait for my dad to get old and decrepit, and then I can raid his closet and inherit his wardrobe.