Men's Second Style

In my previous “Winter formals” post I featured some contemporary but classic men’s formal-dress items by edo Tone. You may still be searching for the perfect suit to wear, though, if the formal winter festivities you’ll be attending are a little less conventional, a little more…gothly. If that’s the case, I dare say you may need look no further than the Revenant Suit by Allegory Malaprop. Although sloe-eyed Frosty here seems indifferent to its charms, not to mention my own, I can assure you that it’s a remarkable piece of sartorial engineering indeed. It has, in fact, already prompted unsolicited compliments (the best kind) from unexpected quarters. You really must take a closer look.

The whole ensemble is rather mind-boggling, really. The jacket’s sleeves have closures at the shoulder that can be worn tightly or loosely laced, and the jacket itself can be worn open or closed. Wide prim cuffs are a more subtle reminder of the suit’s formality, while optional tails are impressively grand. Although the tails are provided on the skirt layer rather than as a flexiprim attachment, so they don’t sway with your movement, they still provide a sense of dimension and depth when properly fitted. The jacket can also be worn short and cropped, without the tails, and looks wonderful either way.

The sleeveless waistcoat (vest) is marvelously detailed, with wide, notched lapels and death’s-head emblems on the buttons. This same design is also used for the top button of the linen dress shirt, which through the magic of layering can be worn neatly tucked or casually untucked. The high-waisted pants have optional sculpted cuffs that look loose rather than crisp, but not rumpled or “slouchie.”

As if all this bounty were not already enough, you also get matching gloves with long and short cut-off fingers.

All clothing pieces are provided on every imaginable layer for a positively dizzying array of wear options. Some clothing items in the suit’s folder may seem surprising at first–how are we supposed to wear something described as an “untucked shirt” on the pants layer? Play around with the pieces, though, and you’ll see that there’s definitely a method to Allegory’s madness. That “untucked shirt” on the pants layer is worn over pants on the underwear layer and allows you to wear the shirt untucked along with the jacket. It’s kind of like magic.

Permissions are M C T. The Revenant Suit is priced at L$700 and available in your choice of Sepia (my own favorite), Ghost and Noir. Allegory has also released Revenant as as a dress set for the ladies or more adventurous and sexually confident gentlemen.

Available at Schadenfreude (Lloyd 39, 50, 24).