JUMP(SUIT) FOR JOY?
Is it ever acceptable to don a boiler suit? Stephen Doig looks to the Churchillian attire for answers
In the game of fantasy dinner party guests, the great matriarch of Italian fashion, Miuccia Prada, wouldn’t initially seem to have much in common with the late Sir Winston Churchill. Except he may have unwittingly laid the groundwork for her spring/summer 2018 men’s show in Milan, when she debuted a series of nylon and silk jumpsuits for men.
The esteemed gentleman might have balked at the tomato red colours and cartoon prints, but it’s in part thanks to his style oeuvre that the jumpsuit became a part of the sartorial landscape at all. Churchill clocked the all-in-one boiler suit that was the uniform of handymen working in his garden at Chartwell and, impressed by its practicality, had it adapted by his shirtmaker, Turnbull & Asser.
In grey flannel and pinstripe, he reasoned that it would be the easiest thing to throw on during an air raid. And while current times are (only marginally) less tumultuous, there’s no denying that the jumpsuit, boiler suit, onesie, whatever one might term it, is back. Ralph Lauren took his cue from the Churchill military template in a version with epaulettes and sharp pleats, worn with slippers.
Alexander Mcqueen covered a jumpsuit in scribbles, while Hugo Boss created a denim version. Which begs the question; off the catwalks, are men ever going to slip themselves into an all-inone affair? Putting aside the juvenile animal onesies with puppy ears (or better yet, incinerate them) – are properly made, neatly proportioned jumpsuits ever appropriate attire?
The figures would suggest so; online e-tailer Mr Porter sells out of them, as is the case for a £500 Dries Van Noten number that has been snapped up. And while Sean Connery’s Bond looked raffish in his short version – a chic sky-blue piece in towelling that he wore in Goldfinger
– for every 007 there is the fresh hell that is a brand like Romphim, a frat boy enterprise selling romper suits for grown men (I use the term loosely), with the added incentive of the chance to join their online “Rompsquad”. When the revolution comes, at least we’ll have a list of where to start.
Which brings us back to whether it’s legitimate; your best bet is to embrace the militaristic, utilitarian aspects of the jumpsuit and opt for versions with touches that nod to uniform – I have a friend who buys his from vintage army outfitters. And it’s crucial to combine it with clothes and accessories that are pared-down and masculine, as opposed to “playful”; no sandals, for example. Opt for Oxford shoes or – if you want to ape Churchill – dark-hued slippers, and pair with a utilitarian jacket in denim or cotton.
The aim is prime ministerial, not prize fool.