Vested Interest

Suddenly sleeves seem very 2004

September 19, 2005—No longer content to play third fiddle to the suitcoat and pants, the vest has begun to venture out on its own, at least on more fashion-forward types. During last week’s New York shows, scores of guys—including this gent in a Marc Jacobs rendition we noticed at Tuesday night’s Cloak show—sported the look. "It's such a great layering piece," says Kevin Harter, fashion director of Bloomingdale's in New York. "It looks great over a white shirt with a skinny black tie, just very elegant." Meanwhile, downtown vintage boutique What Comes Around Goes Around is selling forties-, fifties-, and sixties-era vests as quickly as they take ‘em in.

Over on the Left Coast, Los Angeles-based stylist Cher Coulter, who has worked with everyone from Orlando Bloom to the well-dressed if not always well-behaved Jude Law, says her clients are embracing the trend. She recently outfitted Jared Leto with a black vest of her own creation, a reworked number liberated from a vintage three-piece suit. For us noncelebrities, Coulter recommends matching a pinstripe vest with a weathered T-shirt, L.A.-rock-star style. Of course, the look’s not for everyone. But even if your style is more boardroom than recording studio, you can still get in on the sleeveless action…. Also big for fall: the three-piece suit.