NBecause England’s acute desperation has metastasized into the more manageable state of chronic frustration, we can hope we can all agree that Spain simply produced the classiest outfit.
It was that bold flash of red that caught the eye – great use of width too. But it was the overall shape of the ensemble that was most impressive, everything measured with millimeter precision. Spain looked composed throughout, up to and including when the trophy was finally captured. Yes, success is just the kind of things we do, was the basic message. With a word? Royal.
In contrast to our princes. A perfectly strong effort, boys – but safe, very safe, very narrow too, without light and shadow, without the confidence of born winners. And so it proved throughout the match. Our boys looked tense, nervous, sweaty under the collar, overshadowed by the occasion itself.
But let’s not fall into accusations. There’s no shame in losing to such an obviously superior performer – and Princes William and George were clearly no match for Spain’s King Felipe VI. Who knows, maybe our royals will come along one day?
For now, however, the Spanish monarch is simply in a class of his own. In football, as in menswear, Spain is the new Italy, the place one envies for elegance and class.
It was cult American menswear commentator Derek Guy (who has over 1 million followers on his X @dieworkwear account) who first championed King Felipe as the dominant force in the men’s fashion game.
After the 2023 Wimbledon final, Guy subjected the King’s outfit to a forensic analysis that quickly went viral. “It’s very rare to see this level of tailoring these days, even among the rich,” he noted.
The general effect, he explained, is that of command; Felipe always appears at ease with himself and the situation. But this dash belies the almost mathematical precision of the cut of his suits: jackets that end almost exactly halfway between collar and shoulder; coats that end halfway to the floor; pants always in regular proportion creating a seamless whole (Please note, you gain extra tailoring points by calling it a “coat” rather than a jacket).
The “roll” of Felipe’s jacket fabric has come in for particular praise (most menswear is too flat these days). Also worth mentioning is the monarch’s excellent shoes – the monk’s double shoes! – and a perfectly stylish family too. Queen Letizia is similarly admired for women’s clothing.
You might argue that this is very good for the King of Spain. We are not all 6ft 5in heads of state of the elegant tapas kingdoms of Iberia who are very good at football.
But Spain was not always so elegant or so successful in football. Many extremely rich men dress extremely badly – so it’s not just about the money. Additionally, many men of lesser means imitate those men as well, resulting in a general mess of menswear. Among the contemporary noires: very short coats, very tight shirts, very short sleeves, very tight trousers under very tight jackets, all of which contribute to an overall image of male sway and discomfort.
We could add some peculiarly British blunders to this litany. Skinny ties, for example, as our former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has prominently worn. As is often the case, this trend is an overcorrection from an earlier trend, the era of the “footballer in marriage” fat joint.
King Felipe? He opts for the classic four-in-hand method, resulting in a wide but not too wide tie that also hangs with a bit of asymmetry. They fall.
However, a tie of any kind is seen as quite eccentric these days. In recent years, Zuckerbergian hoodies and Bezosian blazers have become normalized as workwear, to the point where most men only wear suits when forced to. Certainly not at football matches.
The pandemic-era shift to working from home only accelerated the shift away from formal wear. Gareth Southgate epitomizes the move towards what is apparently known as “soft power dressing”.
He has long since ditched the vest that became the unexpected sartorial hit of the 2018 World Cup for a white 45 M&S x England zip-knit polo shirt, apparently chosen to introduce a more ” relaxed” in the camp. “When you’re working with young guys, you don’t want to be too rigid in what you’re doing or wearing,” he explained.
No doubt. But I can’t help but feel that casual sports has its limits as a philosophy. It only gets you so far: two finals in a row, maybe. The whole point of men’s formal wear, it seems to me, is not to be rigid. And it’s certainly not about following trends – massive flared pants one season, tiny drainpipes the next. It is about acquiring wisdom and knowledge.
What kind of person am I? What kind of image do I want to project? Who should I trust? A properly tailored suit is comfortable, but it’s not just about being comfortable. It’s about being in command.