While informal attire has been all the rage since the pandemic, every stylish gentleman needs a solid foundation of suits, sport coats, shirts and trousers—but where to start? Enter Alan Rouleau of Alan Rouleau Couture (alanrouleau.com), who has been Boston’s leading luxury tailor since 1987. Outfitting everyone from Iron Chef Ming Tsai to former Patriot Dan Koppen, Rouleau shares his top five suit essentials for every man’s closet.
When building a wardrobe for daily needs, Rouleau suggests starting with three to four suits, two to three sport coats, three to five trousers, jeans and at least six to 12 shirts.
Navy and Gray Suit
“Building a wardrobe starts with basics. … Begin with a navy and gray suit, tailored to you, preferably with a fine herringbone or faille cloth that is a year-round fabric. These choices in texture allows for a drapier fabric, perfect for travel and tend to wear better than a solid plain cloth.”
Solid-Color Shirts
“Shirts should begin with whites (even white on white patterns), blues (from light sky blue to a deep French blue), into pinks, lavenders, ecrus and pale greens depending on your skin tone and use for the shirts. You definitely need one French cuff to be worn with cuff links for a dressier occasion. The rest can be an assortment of different cuff s and collars to be worn with or without ties.”
Patterned Shirts
“Once you have enough solids, you then can choose from stripes, plaids, checks, texture and windowpanes. This will round out your shirt collection to accessorize the rest of your wardrobe.”
Sport Coat
“This part of your clothing you can mix and match. Th e classic choice again is to choose a navy-blue or black sport coat, preferably a texture. Add a signature custom lining and choice of buttons with hand stitching and handcut sleeve buttonholes for your own unique look.”
Trousers
“You have basically six different color palettes for solid trousers: black, gray, navy, earth tones (tan-khakibrown), neutrals (taupe) and green (olive, hunter, jade), with many other colors to choose from. Every sport coat should match up with at least three of these colors plus jeans."
Photography by: HERMES RIVERA/UNSPLASH
