The Italian Touch

WHAT TO WEAR: The Italian designer suit that looks like it belongs in a Godfather movie. It should be double-breasted with extra-wide lapels and made of a slouchy tweed fabric.

HOW TO DO IT BIG: Get the one by Giorgio Armani, Italy’s master of menswear. But be prepared, it’ll cost you. The double-breasted suit with the “bowed” lapel, as the designer calls it, is made of soft wool herringbone and costs $1,150. The white cotton snap-down collar dress shirt is $210. (The snap holds the collar tips together for a smaller, neater effect.) A printed silk Armani tie is $75. Suit, shirt and tie sell for $1,435 at I. Magnin, Neiman Marcus and the Armani boutique in Beverly Hills.

HOW TO DO IT BUDGET: Shop at the $99-dollar suit store, Kings Fashions, in downtown Los Angeles. Don’t let the huge selection confuse you. Look carefully through the floor-to-ceiling racks--there must be hundreds--and you probably will find a suit with the fit and style of expensive Italian labels. The one pictured here is double-breasted with a Club UOMO Sport label. Actually, it’s made in Romania, not Italy. But who would know? It’s almost pure wool (has some rayon) but looks like a soft wool tweed. The price is $99. The cotton snap-down collar dress shirt is $50, by Studio Tokyo at Traffic, in the Beverly Center. The silk tie by Style Counsel is $48 at Wright’s, Manhattan Beach. The total: $197.