Here's how you can 'power dress' in the UAE

Pawan and Ashish of Knights & Lords on the factors that ensure you're always on top of your fashion game

Power dressing is a sartorial technique that is often used by heads of state and celebrities to make their presence felt amongst the crowd. The idea is to be the centre of attention by suiting up, but being subtle at the same time. This is done by focusing on the four pillars of suiting up - cloth, colour, fit and design.
Cloth
The selection of cloth is the first and one of the most important decisions to make. To commission a bespoke suit, select a fabric that has a very subtle texture, which makes it look plain from afar and the observer can only notice once they come closer. This is what draws the observers closer to you as subconsciously their mind is trying to find our whether the fabric is plain or textured. The textures that have traditionally been used to give this effect have been Prince of Wales checks, bird's eye, pinhead, herringbone or glen plaid checks.
Colour
Your subtly-textured cloth selection should be coupled with it being in the right colour for it to have the appropriate effect for power dressing. You should opt for darker shades of grey and blue but with a hint of a different colour within them. When you visit a bespoke tailor, you shall notice that when you compare all the grey fabrics they have, some of them will have a slight hint of blue or brown in them. Similarly, the blue fabrics will have a hint of grey or sometimes, even a subtle green in them. Choosing these kinds of colours sets you apart from the vast majority of people who would usually opt for a regular navy, midnight blue or charcoal grey since your blue or grey suit will look slightly different from theirs but in a very subtle manner.
Fit
This is one of the basics of setting yourself apart, whether you are practising power dressing or not. Whatever you wear should not compromise on fit. It should be a perfect balance of aesthetics and comfort in a manner that you look and feel completely natural in your suit. This can easily be achieved by opting for a bespoke handcrafted suit over a ready-made off-the-rack suit. Historically, the best performing kind of fit has been achieved using the Drape Cut method of suit-making and is still used by heads of state and royalty for power dressing.
Design
The trick here is to use a traditional design that has been around for centuries but is not commonly used in today's time. Going for a well-fitted double-breasted bespoke suit will definitely make a powerful statement over others wearing single-breasted suits. If you feel the double-breasted jacket is too powerful for your personality, then opt for a bespoke single-breasted suit with a double-breasted waistcoat. This style is still being championed by most members of the Royal Family of England. If both these styles are too powerful for you, then opt for a bespoke single-breasted suit with a slightly larger peak lapel. This will bring people's attention upwards and have their eyes fixated towards your upper body and face, drawing more attention to you.
While historically heads of state, royalty and celebrities have used power dressing for different reasons, it is still used today by sartorially mature people to make a mark for an important meeting, a seminar when they are addressing a large crowd or simply for special occasions that will be a turning point in their lives. Having the four pillars of power dressing in mind will certainly ease you through these life-changing and important occasions and equip you in a manner that will make your presence felt and your mark remain.

Meet the authors
Pawan and Ashish are bespoke tailors at Knights & Lords, a bespoke tailoring house in Dubai. They are inspired by the alchemy of craftsmanship and bespoke tradition aimed at re-designing the wearer's inner architecture. They have learnt the traditional craft of bespoke tailoring from Savile Row, London - considered to be the spiritual home of bespoke tailors even today. Visit www.knightsandlords.ae or email bespoke@knightsandlords.com.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com

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