Spezzato
Spezzato: adj. /spe’tːsato/ Broken / Origin: Italy
Spezzato is an advanced dressing technique for the stylish men all over the world. It has been around for a long time but has been acknowledged as a fine art and used by more and more gentlemen only recently.
In this blog, we will not only take you through the concept but also offer you some tips on how to make this Italian idea work for you.
We all know that a two-piece suit comprises a coat and dress trousers. If we add a waistcoat to it, it becomes a three piece. The usual way of getting a suit tailored is to get all these two or three pieces from the same fabric
(click the link to know more about suits and what works for you).
Spezzato breaks this very rule of conventional dressing and allows mixing of colors and fabric-weaves to create a non-monotonous suit ensemble.
Spezzato is an advanced dressing technique for the stylish men all over the world. It has been around for a long time but has been acknowledged as a fine art and used by more and more gentlemen only recently.
In this blog, we will not only take you through the concept but also offer you some tips on how to make this Italian idea work for you.
We all know that a two-piece suit comprises a coat and dress trousers. If we add a waistcoat to it, it becomes a three piece. The usual way of getting a suit tailored is to get all these two or three pieces from the same fabric
(click the link to know more about suits and what works for you).
Spezzato breaks this very rule of conventional dressing and allows mixing of colors and fabric-weaves to create a non-monotonous suit ensemble.
Some of the advantages of Spezzato are the following:
By way of mixing, one can make four combinations from just two suits. This means just doubling your suit wardrobe by spending carefully. The best example to demonstrate this is mixing navy suit pieces with the pieces of an ash grey suit.
It breaks the monotony of a regular dress code and offers a creative expression.
It saves the hassles if one of the pieces (usually it is the trousers) wears out faster. The other piece can still be utilized with the appropriate complimenting piece.
Unlike a classic single color/pattern suit, Spezzato suits offer a look which is more dandy, unstudied and relaxed. This can open many doors, provided the combination is chosen carefully.
So what are some ground rules of Spezzato
Fabric Weave & Design
It is important to have the weave and the fineness of the material of the combination pieces almost the same. A heavy weave pattern or a coarser jacket material as compared to the trousers material is also well accepted but the reverse may have to be planned with a lot of caution.
Another vital point is to choose the fabric mix very carefully if both the pieces have to be of different cloth. One can’t wear linen trousers, which is strictly a summer material, with a wool jacket or for that matter a formal wool jacket with cotton trousers.
Pinstripes and herringbone patterns are normally kept out of Spezzato. They look good only when they run from the top collar of the jacket to the trousers hem.
Contrast works best
A safe Spezzato is when the colors and the patterns of the jacket and trousers are a complete contrast to each other. For instance dark colored jacket and light-colored trousers or check pattern jacket and solid plain trousers. Normally jacket is the one which carries the bolder pattern.
Fit
When a regular suit is made, the fitting of the coat and the trousers are made to suit each other whether it is a slim fit or a relaxed one. While forming a Spezzato combination one should be careful not to mix two different fits as it will clearly look like an imbalanced mismatch. Always combine garments of similar fit for the purpose.
Three Piece
A three-piece Spezzeto suit offers even more possible combinations. So if you apply a little creativity and caution, you can have so many options:
Jacket & Trousers-Color/Pattern A & Waistcoat-Color/Pattern B
Jacket & WaistCoat – Color/Pattern A & Trousers – Color/Pattern B
Jacket – Color/Pattern A, WaistCoat & Trousers – Color/Pattern B
Jacket – Color/Pattern A, WaistCoat- Color/Pattern B & Trousers –
Color/Pattern C
What should you avoid
Pairing a formal jacket with denim lowers or casual cotton chinos. Use coarser threads like tweed or cotton, corduroy etc to work with such lowers.
Pairing a comfortable fit jacket with slim fit denim or vice versa
Trying to match jacket and trousers of completely different color family or of colors who are too close to each other.
Last Word
Spezzato is a great concept which every gentleman should apply to manage his wardrobe but with a lot of planning. It improves the return on investment and also brings out a stylish flair in one’s personality. However if done carelessly, it has a power to turn an otherwise nice jacket into a part of a shabby ensemble.
By way of mixing, one can make four combinations from just two suits. This means just doubling your suit wardrobe by spending carefully. The best example to demonstrate this is mixing navy suit pieces with the pieces of an ash grey suit.
It breaks the monotony of a regular dress code and offers a creative expression.
It saves the hassles if one of the pieces (usually it is the trousers) wears out faster. The other piece can still be utilized with the appropriate complimenting piece.
Unlike a classic single color/pattern suit, Spezzato suits offer a look which is more dandy, unstudied and relaxed. This can open many doors, provided the combination is chosen carefully.
So what are some ground rules of Spezzato
Fabric Weave & Design
It is important to have the weave and the fineness of the material of the combination pieces almost the same. A heavy weave pattern or a coarser jacket material as compared to the trousers material is also well accepted but the reverse may have to be planned with a lot of caution.
Another vital point is to choose the fabric mix very carefully if both the pieces have to be of different cloth. One can’t wear linen trousers, which is strictly a summer material, with a wool jacket or for that matter a formal wool jacket with cotton trousers.
Pinstripes and herringbone patterns are normally kept out of Spezzato. They look good only when they run from the top collar of the jacket to the trousers hem.
Contrast works best
A safe Spezzato is when the colors and the patterns of the jacket and trousers are a complete contrast to each other. For instance dark colored jacket and light-colored trousers or check pattern jacket and solid plain trousers. Normally jacket is the one which carries the bolder pattern.
Fit
When a regular suit is made, the fitting of the coat and the trousers are made to suit each other whether it is a slim fit or a relaxed one. While forming a Spezzato combination one should be careful not to mix two different fits as it will clearly look like an imbalanced mismatch. Always combine garments of similar fit for the purpose.
Three Piece
A three-piece Spezzeto suit offers even more possible combinations. So if you apply a little creativity and caution, you can have so many options:
Jacket & Trousers-Color/Pattern A & Waistcoat-Color/Pattern B
Jacket & WaistCoat – Color/Pattern A & Trousers – Color/Pattern B
Jacket – Color/Pattern A, WaistCoat & Trousers – Color/Pattern B
Jacket – Color/Pattern A, WaistCoat- Color/Pattern B & Trousers –
Color/Pattern C
What should you avoid
Pairing a formal jacket with denim lowers or casual cotton chinos. Use coarser threads like tweed or cotton, corduroy etc to work with such lowers.
Pairing a comfortable fit jacket with slim fit denim or vice versa
Trying to match jacket and trousers of completely different color family or of colors who are too close to each other.
Last Word
Spezzato is a great concept which every gentleman should apply to manage his wardrobe but with a lot of planning. It improves the return on investment and also brings out a stylish flair in one’s personality. However if done carelessly, it has a power to turn an otherwise nice jacket into a part of a shabby ensemble.
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