The world is divided into two types of men: those who know how to wear a suit and those who don't. Spotting the difference between the two doesn't require a keen fashion sense: it just takes common sense.
A man may wear a suit, but that does not mean he looks good in it. He will buy what he thinks makes him look his best, but quality materials are not enough to guarantee he will be his best. What separates the well-dressed man from the one who is not is comfort. Until a man feels at ease in his suit, there is no amount of money he can spend on designer names that will give him what he most needs.
Look at those men who are at ease with what they are wearing. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson may be nearly two metres tall and weigh almost 20 stone, but it probably took some time before he felt comfortable lifting grown men over his head wearing a black Speedo. The same applies to a man who goes to work in a suit. It takes time to develop that comfort zone.
Bruce Cutler, the New York City mob lawyer, wears a suit well. Conversely, his biggest former client, John Gotti, did not. No doubt he had his clothes cut exactly as he demanded and the fabrics were most likely of the highest quality, but he rarely looked comfortable. He appeared uptight and the suits looked tight. He had the flashy ties and the colourful pocket handkerchiefs, but there was a lack of comfort that was always evident.
Jason Statham looks confident in a black suit in his Transporter movies. He looks good – perhaps because he has the physique from more than a decade as a member of Britain's National Diving Squad – but also because he has an ease about who he is. An impressive build, however, is not enough. Sylvester Stallone, certainly a man with a nice body – even if it is supplemented with Jintropin – looks more like Gotti in a suit rather than Statham.
Watch the red-carpet broadcasts from the Oscars or the Baftas and look at those well-paid actors and see if you can spot the difference between these two types of men. Of course, all are wearing the latest fashionable cuts and designer labels, but look at how the trousers of some men pool at their shoes or how their jacket sleeves are too long or their shirt collar gaps around their neck or their tie is not pushed all the way up. Not knowing how to wear a suit is the result of not being comfortable in one.
So the next time you put on your suit, ask yourself this simple question: am I at ease with what I am wearing? Until you can answer yes, you won't look your best.
Michael Jabri-Pickett is the news editor at The National
mjp@thenational.ae
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
