Of all the ways to wear a suit these days, pairing one with a graphic T-shirt can still feel like an unexpected style move. (At one point, it felt more likely to spot famous dudes sporting a suit with no shirt than a graphic one.) Perhaps it’s a bad taste left from the aughts when the Entourage-chic look reigned supreme: suits and blazers were heedlessly paired with Ed Hardy shirts and Von Dutch trucker hats without rhyme or reason. (It wasn’t great.) One way or another, the pairing faded into the more esoteric corners of men’s style. Last week, the look showed a fresh flicker of life when indie breakout MJ Lenderman showed up at the Americana Music Awards and proved that wearing a great graphic tee with a suit can be a next-level swerve—as long as you do it right.
It all starts with the suit. Even the biggest grail of a graphic tee can’t save a bad suit. In Lenderman’s case, his excellent-fitting number comes from J.Crew, which is currently in year three of designer Brendon Babenzien’s beloved reboot. It’s the Kenmare style, billed as the label’s “relaxed-fit” suit, offering some of-the-moment slouch without fully straying into Giant-fit chino territory. (This magazine gave the Kenmare our stamp of approval, especially for punching well above its price.) The suit is a shining example of the brand’s good, easy-wearing clothes at great prices: soft, garment-dyed Italian fabric made chiefly of cotton with a hint of cashmere for that touch of sophistication.
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Lenderman committed to all the other sartorial trappings of wearing a suit, and his look was all the better for it. He tucked in his shirt and made sure to wear proper shoes. (Plus, a belt!) But perhaps the most crucial detail is that he paired it with a genuinely great graphic T-shirt: a classic-as-it-gets Sonic Youth design. It’s also worth noting his choice of autumnal copper looks extra right as the summer heat fades into the crispness of fall.
The outfit proves that bending some rules when donning a suit remains the way to go. It’s no accident that Supreme styles its suiting with graphic tees time and time again. (If you want to play things safer, look to Jeffrey Wright, who has mastered the art of plain T-shirts and suits.) But done correctly, this is one of the most adventurous ways to wear your beloved graphic tees. If you’re going to buck traditions with your formalwear, take a page from Lenderman’s book: Make sure your graphic tee is as fantastic as your suit, and you’ll do just fine.
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