Tracee Ellis Ross is one of the best-dressed people alive. You know this. We know this. But typically, guys have been sheltered from her domination because she so often sticks to womenswear. But we have bad (good?) news: Ellis Ross has entered the world of menswear. It is over for all of us. It’s so over.
Kidding! Kinda! Ellis Ross was in LA yesterday to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live! She’s currently promoting her new show, Solo Travelling with Tracee Ellis Ross, and she decided to do it in a stone-cold tailoring banger.
PG/Bauer-Griffin
Ellis Ross tapped one of menswear’s coolest and most expressive designers, Willy Chavarria, for boss-level fit consisting of a striped dress shirt and wide tie tucked into a billowing pair of trousers. When women do men’s tailoring, they’ll often mix in more traditionally feminine touches to add some contrast, but Ellis Ross decided she didn’t want to cut the fellas that much slack. She added patent leather loafers, a pair of oversized shield sunglasses and—a signature Chavarria touch—a bunch of keys clipped to her belt loop. It’s move that wouldn’t look out of place on a performative male reading The Bell Jar outside a matcha joint. The whole thing, from Ellis Ross’ use of blown-up proportions to the styling with the tie tucked, nails the suit in a fresh, new way.
And, thus, with one perfectly executed fit, the final chapter of menswear was written. Should we cancel men’s fashion week? Should we retire tailoring altogether? We’ll run down to Savile Row and let them know. Kidding (again). Kinda (again). Listen, we could let Ellis Ross run us out of our territory, or we could open our arms and learn a thing or two. Namely that tailoring is one of the most imaginative and malleable fashion sub-types out there, and that there’s always a way to make it feel fresh. Next time you’re suiting up, think of your new menswear overlord and take it just one step further. Tracee Ellis Ross would be proud of you.
This story originally appeared on British GQ.
