The Farmington Civic Theater at 33332 Grand River Avenue opened in 1940 and is still running. It was designed by C. Howard Crane, the architect of the Fox Theatre in Detroit, which is one of the most extravagant interiors in the country. The same man designed both, and the small one has outlasted a great many grander projects by being the right size for its town.
There’s a principle in that
Ability shows more clearly in restraint than in excess. A designer who can do the Fox and then do a modest neighborhood theater without condescending to it is demonstrating more skill in the second building, not less.
The same is true of a suit
The hardest thing to get right is a plain navy suit, because there is nothing in it to distract from the fit. Every seam is doing visible work and none of it can hide behind a pattern or a color. A man who owns one good plain suit is better dressed than a man who owns three interesting ones.
Which is where to spend
On the construction rather than the appearance: half-canvassed, $300 to $500, in a plain dark cloth, cut to him. It’s the least showy purchase on the floor and the one that reads best over years.
Also for Farmington: A Governor’s House From 1867, and What Outlives Us. More on style consulting, or plan your visit to our Oak Park showroom.
