When actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay took the oath as the Chief Minister on May 10, all eyes were on his black-and-white suit. In a State where politicians have long favoured the classic white shirt-and-veshti, the blazer stood out.
Weeks later, Vijay has made this look his uniform — standing out in a sea of white at the Tamil Nadu Assembly. According to sources, his suits cost about ₹1-1.25 lakhs. Inspired by a viral shopping offer advertising the ‘CM Vijay Look’ for ₹3,999, I set out to find out how many people are switching to blazers, inspired by his style, and whether I can recreate the look, on a budget.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) Chief C.Joseph Vijay addresses after the swearing-in ceremony at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, on May 10, on Sunday.
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B
The poster — reportedly from a popular clothing brand, which on enquiry dissociates itself from the ad – publicised a combo offer called ‘CM Vijay Look’ offering a black suit, black trousers, a white shirt, a black leather belt, and black shoes for ₹3,999. On a sweltering day, I start my search in T Nagar, hoping to find out whether the blazer section of popular brands such as Pothys Hyper, Saravana Stores, Jeyachandran and Saravana Selvarathnam offer similarly competitive deals.
How much does a suit cost in these stores?
As it turns out, despite the social media buzz, there is no ‘Vijay look’ readily available for purchase. I realise that I can, however, replicate it after a casual stroll.
At Jeyachandran in North Usman Road, the look costs between ₹3,000 and ₹9,000, including a range of Linen Valley blazers, made from an Italian cotton blend, starting around ₹2,000. On the higher end, I find a five-piece suit set consisting of a blazer, shirt, vest, tie and pant material selling for between ₹6,900 and ₹8,200. At The Legend Saravana Stores, where the fourth floor has a wide range of blazer collections from many brands like Rameez Ethnics, Suit Studio and Uvaam, a basic blazer costs around ₹1,600, but I suggest you check out their range of five-piece suit sets that cost between ₹8,000 and ₹16,000.
The Saravana Selvarathnam store offers Royal Wood, where the cheapest combination includes a blazer made from Mumbai-sourced cotton blend for around ₹2,300, while a Royal Wood five-piece set costs ₹5,000.
Fair warning: Saravana Stores can be challenging with its slow elevators and packed crowds, while Selvarathnam’s air conditioning falters in the face of the afternoon heat. After multiple stops, I realised Pothys Hyper offers the most comfortable shopping experience, though the prices are higher. Otto’s five-piece suit, made in Mumbai and featuring satin in the mix for a shinier finish, is ₹8,000. Siddham Ethnic’s set of the same costs ₹9,500, while you might find a fellow shopper shell out ₹17,000 for Hallmark HMK’s suit setsourced from Jammu & Kashmir. Many of the suits available at Pothys are made of viscose, satin and matty fabric.
At the Raymond Shop outlets in Panagal Park and Pondy Bazaar, you can tailor your own suit sets starting from ₹10,000. You can choose from an array of polywool, priced from ₹600 per metre in some stores and ₹1,500 per metre in others, with the most expensive fabric at ₹15,000 per metre. Though black remains the best-selling colour, shopkeepers say they find many customers also opting for blue, maroon and grey blazers for special occasions.
The most affordable‘CM Vijay Look’
The most affordable combination of Vijay’s black-and-white suit in T Nagar includes: a black blazer costing ₹1,600, a white shirt costing ₹300, and black pants costing ₹500.
The trend of blazer wear
Nagoor Meeran, owner of the wedding suit design studio Meeran Designz, says that there was an increased demand for suits post the release of Vijay’s 2022 film Beast. “Since then, there have been requests from people referencing his look. Just a few days ago, a groom wanted his suit to be as minimal as the one Vijay now wears,” he adds.
Vijay in a still from ‘Beast’
| Photo Credit:
Sun Pictures
Most of the tailors I meet note that more people are now wearing blazers. While legacy brands like Syed Bawkher & Co (since 1904) and PN Rao have been in the business of tailoring suits for decades, they are usually in the price range of a lakh and upward. It is only relatively recently that a growing demand for suits has created a more democratic mass market.
Mohammed Ghouse, owner of Rangoon Tailor in Purasaiwalkam, says that a few decades ago, only the groom at a wedding with 1,500 attendees would wear a suit. “Nowadays, it has become just another garment, like a shirt and pants. You can get a blazer from ₹1,500 onwards now,” he says. Ghouse’s shop has readymade blazers starting from ₹2,500. “But if you were to stitch your own coat, you’d have to spend around ₹5,000 on material and ₹5,000 on stitching. On the flipside, readymade will not give you the finish you expect from tailoring,” adds Ghouse.
Meeran’s shop specialises in wedding wear, with blazer sets costing between ₹10,000 and ₹14,500. “We also have blazers costing around ₹35,000, but locals wouldn’t prefer that since it has a lot of wool and isn’t suitable for the weather here,” says Meeran.
Shahul Hameed’s Men’s Parc Custom Tailors has been running for over 40 years. “Earlier, people used to rent blazers. To break that, we started offering a blazer and pants set for ₹7,900,” he says. This is cheaper than stitching your own suit. “What we realised is that many students want to wear a suit to convocations, but they can’t spend around ₹20,000. So we minimised the cost of the fabric as much as possible.” Shahul says much of the fabric used in suitmaking is polywool sourced from Italy or Mumbai. “Western countries use 100% pure wool, but that’s not suitable for Indian climactic conditions,” he adds.
While I did not find what was promised, the social media-fuelled ₹3,999-CM look, I did discover an intriguing new wave of people adopting blazers, undeterred by the Chennai heat. From convocation halls to weddings, the suit is moving from being an exotic luxury to an attainable, aspirational outfit. And while Chief Minister Vijay may not have triggered this shift, he has become its most visible ambassador, making the black blazer one of Tamil Nadu’s most discussed looks right now.
