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Now that the baggy, boxy men's suit has gone mainstream, the opposite is becoming in vogue. The exaggerated square shoulders are being replaced by an equally exaggerated sculptured style that can make any man look as if he spends a great deal of time in the company of one of those English haberdashers with a measuring tape around his neck and pins in his mouth. At last spring's fashion shows, two major designers, Ralph Lauren and Richard Tyler, came out with suits almost identical in silhouette and English in influence -- jackets with broad, sloping shoulders and nipped-in waists in proper fabrics of chalky stripes and glen plaids. Tyler stands 5 feet 8. Lauren is shorter than that. It is more than coincidence that they both were in a rush to get rid of those stumpy suits and affect a longer, more sleek look. "The fitted garment, chaqueta belstaff when it's properly tailored, is in my opinion the best silhouette for a man's suit," says Wilkes Bashford, who is selling Tyler's new men's collection. "I like it because it's very flattering on a great variety of men. Even an older guy has the look of a young, robust guy who's taking care of himself." FOR THE MASSESStarting this fall, fitted styles, once available only to women and the elite men who had their suits made for them, are available off the rack. Lauren, who has built an industry on knowing what men want before the men themselves know, has introduced the Ralph Lauren Purple Label. The suits, which sell for about $1,500, have high armholes, sloping shoulders, a slimmer chest and the snug sides preferred by steeplechasers. The pleated pants feature a higher rise; longer, narrower legs; and a big cuff. Tyler, the Los Angeles designer of high-end suits for women and custom suits for celebrity men, will introduce his first complete men's line Tuesday at Harry Denton's Starlight Room. "Women look sexy in fitted suits, so men can look sexy as well," says Tyler. "I just feel that the baggy, boxy suit has been around for such a long time that the timing is right for a fitted suit." Tyler's three-piece outfits are toward the forward edge of any fashion curve that involves anything so staid as the suit. "It's a very classic Belstaff Mujer cut," he says, "but it has a twist to it." His double-breasted jacket has dramatically peaked lapels, and eight buttons on two (two of the eight buttons actually button). The vest beneath it looks like the jacket minus the sleeves, a decidedly English touch for Tyler, an Australian. "I love vests," he says. "For one thing they suck your stomach in." THEY'RE NOT CHEAPThough all sizes are available off the rack, the prices are up there with those of suits tailor- made, perhaps of a rare fabric milled by skilled villagers. The suits, constructed of only the finest fabrics, with hand-stitched buttonholes and silk lining, run about $3,500, though the pieces are priced separately to make them seem less expensive. And that is minus the silk shirt and tie in the same fabric that Tyler recommends to complete the ensemble. "Sometimes people make bad mistakes with buying a tie. You can't make a mistake here," says Tyler. And there is no risk of the neckline looking bland. The jacket and vest collars keep things busy enough. As with any high fashion, some of these styles are reminiscent of David Byrne's comment about his garish store-bought cowboy suit in the film "True Stories." "They sell a lot of these," he deadpans, "but you never see anybody wearing one." "In the case of a man's suit, you're looking at his work uniform, and he wants something that is going to give him comfort. So they are not easily given to switching signals," warns Norman Karr, executive director of the Fashion Association in New York, a man who speaks from 45 years of experience in the industry. "The higher you go in price, the narrower is the market, so we'll have to see if (the style) makes it (down) to the $500 suits. That's reality." WAIT AND SEEDurand Guion, Macy's men's fashion coordinator, says reality may be a few seasons off for the broader market because that is how long it will take to convince men that the slimmer suits are not automatically tighter and more uncomfortable. "These new shapely suits still have the drape and the softness of fabric that we've been seeing the last two or three seasons," says Guion. "I really don't think the American man is going to give up comfort." More-affordable designs available at Macy's, such as Calvin Klein's, are approaching the sculptured look gradually. The Calvin Kleins are "not as fitted as a Richard Tyler," Guion says, "but the shoulders are slightly stronger (than the previous style), the waist is slightly more nipped in, and you can see more of the man's form." This is the whole intent, according to Michael Moser, manager of the Polo Ralph Lauren store off Union Square. "The fitted look is very happening right now," Moser says. "It goes in line with people taking care of themselves and being very conscious of their physiques." The trimmer suits mean that men no longer need those boosters that look like something worn beneath a football jersey. "Two or three seasons ago the shoulders were really exaggerated. You knew it was padding," says Bashford, who is not sad to see that style go. "When a jacket is properly tailored, you can have less shoulder pad and it still looks like a man's shoulder. It gives you the opportunity to sculpt it more from under the arm on down, and then you bring the waist in, so you give a strong recognition of the waist." "This is just the beginning of something," says Karr. "and where it's going to end, I wouldn't want to predict." Tyler would. "You'll see that (fitted look) further down in less- expensive lines in a year or so," he says. "It's great to see belstaff Outlet. That's where the movement is going." BY ERIC LUSE/THE CHRONICLE
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