Tommy Shelby Suit

What are Tommy Shelby suits for men and how to wear them?

Tommy Shelby is a character in the Peaky Blinders TV criminal drama telling about Thomas Michael Shelby, depicted by Cillian Murphy, an Irish actor. He is the brother of Arthur Shelby, who is played by Paul Anderson. The series is loosely based on the really existing street gang of the same name, Peaky Blinders, which was active between the 1890s and 1920s. The scofflaw gang was specializing in multiple crime types, which included legal and illegal gambling & bookmaking, robbery, racketeering, violence, killing & mutilating their enemies, and other lawbreaking behaviors. They have seized over several other rivalry gangs to become a leading gang in their native city of Birmingham before being overtaken by an even more powerful gang, the Birmingham Boys, circa 1920.

In the series, Tommy Shelby’s gang takes another time period of activity, beginning in 1918 and ending in 1929 (the sixth season of the series that is TBA right now will span through an even farther period of time).

And now we are telling why Tommy Shelby’s suit and the style of Peaky Blinders are so popular in the modern era.

Who is Tommy Shelby and how Tommy Shelby’s suit is described?

Tommy Shelby is one of the TV show protagonists and, nearly the same as ‘twas in the real gang, he is dapper. The entire gang differed from other gangs and regular people with a recognizable appearance composed of distinctive apparel (other gang members would also recognize one another by apparel – if they didn’t know one another in the face):

• A 3-piece suit made of tweed or corduroy, with notched lapels
• Collared shirt of a white or light tone
• A peaky hat with or without a visor
• Chained pocket watch
• Notch-lapel overcoat to wear during the cold time of the year.

Although these might seem ordinary for many modern people per se, the thing and the distinctive feature of the clothes is how exactly they are made and worn. And we’re getting into details about the Tommy Shelby suit down below.

Description of Tommy Shelby suit

Thomas Michael Shelby preferred two types of clothes for his suits: tweed and corduroy. Although sometimes, we could see him in the TV show wearing silk, this was not typical for his style. Both tweed and corduroy are practical materials: made to last, warm enough for the cold climate of Birmingham (which is never hotter than +21 °C but isn’t lower than +1 °C), and, when custom-made for a body, looks very elegant and can be worn on various events. It is also excellent for everyday wear, which T. Shelby actually does in the show.

The appearance of the style of the entire gang in general and of the Shelby brothers, in particular, has made a huge influence on modern fashion in the 2010s and 2020s.

A jacket of Shelby-style suit is made of pure wool or with inclusions of other materials to make it fit more elegantly and make the wear more lasting (these additions would include artificial fabrics of modern days, basically, making it more elastic and stretching than if it was made of only pure wool). It is usually single-breasted, with or without internal lining, with a standard notch of lapels, many outer and inner pockets (usually, 4+2).

The vest of the Tommy Shelby suit is usually with the same number of pockets, V-neck, button closure, and accommodates a watch chain. Trousers are made with buttons or a zipper (the latter is to simplify zipping although it was not the case in the 1920s), with straight-cut (instead of the bell-bottom trousers inherent to the style of the real gang of that name), with two front pockets and 1-2 pockets on the back.

Additionally, there must be a solid-colored or checkered/lined shirt of classical cut, which is nearly always white but can be of another light color (pastel at all times, never dark). A pocket of a jacket is decorated with a handkerchief and the upper left buttonhole could be with a boutonniere. A tie must be in the tone to the general color of the image and could be fastened to the place with a tie clip of some shiny metal of silver, bronzy, or gilding hues.

Two things are the most important ones in the Tommy Shelby suit’s style:

1. The gamut of the apparel is composed of dark and calm colors like gray, blue, brown, and variations of those. There must be nothing shiny or screamingly colorful in such a style – no red, orange, yellow, light green, sky-blue, or white. The only white thing is a shirt that must be with a club collar. The only shiny thing is a tie clip.
2. The look must fit the body perfectly, would it be made-to-measure or tailor fit. It would be absolutely silly to wear a Tommy Shelby suit, which does not fit the figure, as it will look clumsy, baggy, and bulgy. Bad, in general. The Tommy Shelby suit’s distinctive feature is that it looks wonderfully fit on Tommy, which allows him to be a dapper every day without visible effort.

Is Tommy Shelby suit for everyone?

First of all, Tommy Shelby suits aren’t for everyone. Your body has to be fit and proportionally built to make such a suit favorably underline your shape. If you’re – excuse us – fat, chubby, or thin as hell, then this choice is just not for you.

Shelby-style suits can be worn every day and for any weather. They are considered a non-official style of informal outerwear and might not suit those offices, which recommend only black, gray, blue, or dark suits made of classic modern fabric (wool, silk, viscose, polyester). Shelby-style suits are classically made of tweed, which is a dense woolen fabric, which makes it not suit strict-style offices. But otherwise, it is a perfect choice for various outdoor activities and is considered everyday wear since the fabric it’s made of is moisture- and wear-resistant. Tommy Shelby suits are made to last and they can serve their masters a decade or longer if worn and taken care of properly.

They suit various informal occasions and are a part of the elegant street fashion of modern days (the 2010s-2020s) all over the world, not only in Great Britain or the English-speaking world. Tommy Shelby suits aren’t only for easy strolling but also for intensive labor outdoors and for such demanding physical activities as cycling, running, or shopping.

Tommy Shelby suit’s color options

The main thing about the Tommy Shelby suit is being in restful colors, which, as said above, are gray, blue, and brown. These are, however, basic, which can be expanded with such variations:

• darker and lighter hues
• dark green if it looks very calm and pastel, closer to grey
• black color is only expedient if one or two items of the three-piece Tommy Shelby suit are made of it: waistcoat or pants + jacket; otherwise, it would be too gloomy and as if for mourning days, which is not the nature of Tommy Shelby suit
• the tweed fabric can be plaid, herringbone, Donegal tweed, or windowpane. But it is undesirable to be of houndstooth pattern.

What we in the Happy Gentleman store offer to lovers of Tommy Shelby suits

The Happy Gentleman online store offers our buyers an ample choice of suits and accessories fitting them: 8-panel hats, ties, tie clips, footwear, belts, suspenders, gloves, handkerchiefs, bowties, and mechanical pocket watches. Although suspenders are preferred to the belts in Shelby’s style, if the first just isn’t yours, you can easily opt for the second to enjoy your image and the feel.

What are Tommy Shelby suits for men and how to wear them?
Who is Tommy Shelby and how Tommy Shelby suit is described?
Description of Tommy Shelby suit
Is Tommy Shelby suit for everyone?
Tommy Shelby suit’s color options
What we in the Happy Gentleman store offer to lovers of Tommy Shelby suits

Check out more information about Peaky Blinders Clothing