Three trails once ran north from the fort at Detroit toward trading posts in the wilderness. The middle of them was called the center line, it became the road early settlers took between Detroit and Utica, and it is Sherwood Avenue today. A whole city is named after the fact that something was in the middle.
The middle is usually right
That’s worth saying, because in clothes the middle has a bad reputation. It sounds like a failure of nerve, a lack of commitment either way. It is, in fact, where almost every correct answer lives.
What that means in practice
The middle lapel width. The middle jacket length. The middle darkness of navy. Each of those has been correct continuously for a century while the extremes on either side have come and gone twice.
And it applies to money too
Signature Wool, $259 to $299, is the tier most men should buy for most purposes, and the reason so few shops say so is that nobody makes more by recommending the middle. Nobody on our floor is on commission, which is why it can be said here.
Also for Center Line: The Streetcar Ended at Ten Mile. More on style consulting, or plan your visit to our Oak Park showroom.
