European Fashion Dateline

America's world of men's attire is pivoting more and more on a London-Rome axis. Time was when the well-dressed American male was swathed from cradle to grave in naught save British-influenced toggery – American fealty to Savile Row was unswerving.

A sartorial swing to sunnier climes began a decade ago, however, when the first Italian-influenced designs arrived on these shores. This minor rebellion has since turned into a major revolution, with the Continental Look virtually dominating the men's fashion scene in almost every category of apparel.

Now the British have regrouped their forces, have taken a long, hard look at why and how the enterprising, Italians took the initiative away from them, and have launched a counterattack calculated to restore world-wide prestige to Savile Row. The British Menswear Guild (a manufacturers' group) has introduced the London Line, which contains a number of marked changes from the traditional British fashion image. The changes, though, are evolutionary and, objectively speaking, not thumpingly radical. But for the conservative British tailors, it is equivalent to landing a man on the moon. In essence, the change (text concluded on page 54) consists of the British adapting to their own uses the innovations invented by the Italians. A good deal of the ponderousness associated with tweeds and brogues has been whittled down to appeal more to American tastes. Specifically, the new British look may be seen in:

Suits – Although the length of jackets will remain the same and will continue three buttoned, features will include slant-flapped pockets and side vents. One interesting variation on this theme is a whipcord sports jacket with four flapped pockets, deep side vents, and bellow-pleated shoulder yoke. The double-breasted suit, always a favorite in Britain, will be updated with a narrowed but well-proportioned overlap and smaller lapels. Trousers will be seen more and more sans turn-ups (American translation: cuffs); some will carry cross pockets which should please the jodhpur set. The most popular slacks, called "chelseas," are narrow but not stovepipe.

Outerwear – In-town topcoats will be more elegant and formal than heretofore, with an emphasis on neat geometry. The trend toward shorter lengths will continue. Even countryish coats will have a dressier air about them. Raincoats will run toward darker shades and will also have a trimmed-down look.

Hats – Headgear will be smaller and darker, with brims diminishing to the point of no return. Sports hats will trend toward the Tyrol but will be seen in blacks, dark grays and blues; whatever the color, tones will be dark. Tweed hats in every variety of material have been introduced with great success. The Delta – with its upturned brim on either side – is meeting with favor. In black, and sometimes bound around the brim, it often replaces the Homburg.

Shoes – Footwear will be lighter and narrower; even that bastion of British both-feet-on-the-ground-ism, the blucher, has been caught up in the march toward weightlessness, though the British still like a hefty look: high-risers and low boots are a definite part of the picture. There is also a strong dividing line between town and country footgear with no chance of mistaking one for the other.

Sweaters – Although the heavy-knits are still very much on the scene, there is a movement toward a lighter weight and a re-emphasis on the classic look.

Ties – Muted and minimal are the tie laws for this season. Foulards were never more in than now and are worn with just about everything.

The English silhouette is a well-defined one. Jacket shoulders are natural or soft-shouldered (light padding). There is a hint of suppression at the waist, which often creates a flare outward at the bottom of the jacket. The flare is more conservative for town clothes and more extreme in country clothes. The jacket is usually three-button, but the English put the center button slightly above the normal waistline to give freedom to the flare. Slanted hacking pockets are common, as are pronounced side vents (not mere slits) or a very deep center vent. The chest is full cut. The jacket is a bit shorter than standard American models.

The British sports jacket is a welcome and familiar sight everywhere. It is usually cut from the rugged, heavier tweeds, the traditional glen plaids and district checks. The slacks worn with a sports jacket are generally gray flannels and cavalry twills, whipcords, coverts and gabardines. All are done in a trim, slim cut but are usually single-pleated. The traditional town accoutrements of bowler, stiff white collar and fastidiously furled umbrella are still very much standard uniform for men of the city.

This, then, is the London Line, new yet sure of its antecedents, for the British bid to regain men's fashion supremacy is based on tradition. While this avoids any disastrously wrong guesses, it is also not prone to fire the imagination of the public. A step in the right direction, it still may not be strong enough to loosen the grasp of that fine Italian hand on the glass of fashion.

And the Italians have no intention of relinquishing their hold. They have always shown flair and imagination. Paradoxically, it is these traits, combined with a boldness of purpose and a disregard of rigid ideas (the very things which catapulted the Italians into fashion prominence), that threatened their hard-won status. In their search for fresh ideas, they were often losing track of the design validity. Clothing, in many instances, was being overdesigned; faddishness was setting in, affectation was on the rise. Quite often, the clothes were taking the play away from the man, a mistake the British have never made. It is to the Italians' credit that they have been flexible and resilient enough to overcome their initial errors. Rome has not been too proud to learn a few things from Bond Street, recognizing that the sleek worsted and nubby too-bright iridescent silks were losing ground to the British checks and plaids in woolens, cheviots and twists, and more substantial cloths. The Italians are now adapting their styling to these fabrics. The silk suit is still important in Rome, but the bold patterns have been toned down to quiet over-all mat weaves. The Italian silhouette is, of course, still a dominant force, with a modified Continental look the key to America's current fashions.

While the Italians are taking their cues from the British anent fabrics, their color sense needs direction from no one. Currently, a quite bright blue is being used for blazer and sports jackets and is particularly effective when interpreted in flat linen, an ideal combination for warm weather or resort wear. Orange is the big new color for sweaters and accessories; and the pink shirt (once a Brooks Brothers cliché on our shores) is making a strong bid for favor.

The shorter jacket is a hallmark of the Italians; it has just a little waist suppression, three buttons as a rule (often self-covered), slanted pockets and side vents. The vents are now medium in length or very deep. Blazers, mentioned before, are a must in the Italian wardrobe, and white flannel with blue striping is popular. Tweed interpretations, too, are on the increase. The Italian penchant for slimness in slacks continues unabated and the rest of the fashion world has followed. Even the most staid establishment on Savile Row has taken the hint and abandoned the pantaloon look.

Major changes are under way in Italian outerwear, too. Raincoats in particular have undergone a complete metamorphosis. It wasn't too long ago that Italian foul-weather gear was so over-gimmicked that it practically required a set of plans to figure out. Today, cued by the British, the designs are simple and direct. The best of Italian raincoats are styled as topcoats with a good range of rich colors, but mostly in deep browns, and lined with corduroy or foulard. The Italians have clung doggedly to their much-loved side vents.

Italian hats retain their almost skimped dimensions; velours and fake furs are becoming important for sports hats. In knitwear, the Italians maintain their leadership, but, again, have simplified, with kid mohair as a strong contender to replace the oversize, bulky mohair sweaters for casual wear.

And so we have it: the Italian Look and the London Line, and from a distillation of both will emerge the changing American Look, based on our own physical needs and patterns of living

The classic look of our American Ivy has picked up the plaids of Scotland and aspects of the Continental silhouette, the slightly shorter jacket with its more open and rounded front. The bold British weekend suit has launched a whole new category of country clothes here. Strong plaids, stripes and checks are very much in vogue. A revolutionary concept of color in American menswear has been assimilated from the Italians. Olive green, now universally accepted, is being mixed with blues, golds, reds, tans, grays and browns. And the London Line will undoubtedly beget many interpretations and adaptations by American manufacturers. Indeed, America's major fashion contribution is its proven ability to distill the best from other nations, combine it skillfully, and come up with something that is often a marked improvement on the originals.