Are you UNIQLO?

Whether you live in SOHO or not, you should have heard of UNIQLO by now. This Japanese Brand has been slowly expanding in the West since its official opening in 2005 totaling 58 stores outside of Japan and has managed to impose itself on the US market despite it having only one store in SOHO, New York City. The amazing thing about this store is that all their items are under $100 without compromising the quality.

I had heard about UNIQLO a while back but it caught my attention again recently, when one of their suits was featured by Star Trek's Chris Pine in the June edition of GQ. I must admit I was a little surprised with how good the suit looked on the new Cpt. Kirk. Browsing around UNIQLO's website, it's a little hard to picture how the clothes they sell actually look like, when all you get is a picture of the item as if it were on a hanger. This is one of the things I find very annoying with some online clothing stores, UNIQLO included. They don't show their clothes on a real model, be it a mannequin, a hot new actor or any average Joe. It's true I can see where they could be coming from, not wanting to type-set the image of the brand by the physique, physiognomy or racial category of their models, as other brands like Ralph Lauren or Burberry do. But regardless of their reason, not seeing how the item you want to buy fits on the body is a great turn-off from actually purchasing anything. I'm surprised some clothing designers haven't done their online marketing research yet.

All business aside this azure/baby-blue summery whipcord suit is just the epitome of what a light modish suit should look like. What I like the most about it, past it slim on-the-body look, is that when paired with a white shirt the whole suit works together to bring all attention to one's face. A very interesting article I just read by GQ/Esquire writer-at-large Tom Junod talks about the influence his father's fashion tips and grooming advice have had in shaping him as a person. One of the tips that he considers most important and applicable is "always try to wear white to your face, never brown or grey". As you can see, the suit's light hued colour doesn't take all the focus, that together with the white shirt which slightly contrasts the rest of the suit and Chris' face creates a nice profile that accentuates his facial features and bronzed skin. All this at a very affordable price of $120(Coat + Pants) and little extra for possible alterations from a good tailor and you're still way under the price range of similar quality suits. You can order the coat ($79.50) and the pants ($39.50) separately or together directly from UNIQLO, by calling their NYC store at (877) 4-UNIQLO (toll-free) or e-mailing them at (917) 237-8811.