What Miles Davis Can Teach You About Your Suit Game

Wearing a suit in the 1960s wasn't as much a mark of formality—it was just what you wore. And if you were part of the incredibly talented jazz elite signed to Blue Note Records, it's what you wore to perform some of the most legendary American music ever made. But it wasn't just that these guys slipped into some tailoring that made them stand out—every man with an office job then did the same thing. It was how these music masters wore suits, and what they wore them with, that distinguished them from the era's businessmen.

Instead of Mad Men Don Draper-style white shirt and dark tie, guys like Davis would instead sport a knit polo or turtleneck under their best tailoring. And instead of lace up dress shoes you'd show your socks in a pair of classic penny loafers. These were the types of style moves designer (and BNMDA alum) David Hart explored at his standout Fall-Winter 2016 presentation this week during New York Men's Day. In an age when newly-proposed menswear silhouettes are all slouchy or oversized, Hart made the case for fitted (but not restrictive). Even his hems were the anthesis of Europe's break-happy trousers, coming cropped and crisp with a healthy helping of ankle. His inspiration for the collection is rooted in the inimitable swagger of Blue Note's album covers of the 1960s, when jazz greats like Davis, Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and John Coltrane were snapped at their most stylish. But this is hardly a menswear history lesson. Not only were Hart's clothes more contemporary in feel then ever before, but Hart was also thinking about some of his own modern day muses (see: Leon Bridges, Nick Waterhouse). And while you can't get your hands on Hart's solid tailoring until later this year, the Jazz master style moves are ripe for jacking right now.

Hart's mood board