The Devil Wears Peak Lapels: Keanu Reeves & Al Pacino’s Killer Suits in The Devil’s Advocate. 4k

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]No other movie in the '90s makes you want to wear a suit quite like The Devil's Advocate. If you haven't seen it before, it's a legal thriller starring Keanu Reeves as hotshot Florida lawyer Kevin Lomax and Al Pacino as his soon-to-be mysterious boss.

[00:00:14]It's big-city ambition, temptation, and enough shoulder padding to satisfy Al Pacino.

[00:00:19]The suit, as we often say, is a modern gentleman's armor. And here, it is the devil's favorite weapon. I do like drawing the obvious comparison between the devil and lawyers. And what's not to love? It is full of late '90s tailoring that still looks sharp today. It's one of those films when you see it, you think, "Maybe it's about time I started dressing like a man." But a word of warning, if you want to dress this well, you may have to sell your soul. And keep watching because we've got an excellent Prince of Darkness, sorry, I mean Prince of Wales suit coming up. One absolute shoe crime and Al Pacino's shoulders doing things that are a lesson to us all.

[00:00:49]Hi, I'm Michael and welcome to my channel for the love of suits, soon, very soon, to be for the love of style.

[00:00:55]If you're new here, I look for inspiration on how to dress well from the best-dressed men on the screen.

[00:00:59]I drop a new video every week in which I try to find inspiration on how to dress well from the best-dressed men on the screen.

[00:01:05]The film follows Kevin Lomax as he leaves small-town Florida for the bright lights and the dark suits of New York City. His wardrobe tells the story better than the script, starting light in Southern and ending up full corporate devil. Costume designer Sara Edwards nailed the slow corruption through her tailoring. So, let's dive in. Right from the opening, Kevin is wearing a classic Southern lawyer suit. Lightweight beige tones, a tropical weight wool in this case rather than the classic linen, both perfect fabrics for the Florida heat. It says local successful lawyer that wins every case he ever tries, but still shops at the best menswear store in town. Shows his origins perfectly, approachable, not intimidating, and he's still genuine and sincere and true to himself. There's nothing wrong with what he's wearing. It is perfectly suited to the environment he lives in. And he's probably still dressed better than most men in town. Fast forward to New York and things start to get interesting. But he's not there yet. This is a sharp casual outfit. A suit jacket thrown over a t-shirt with a pair of jeans. Relaxed but still smart. The brown herringbone sports coat still gives off vibes of that country gentleman but has a little bit of big city flare thrown in.

[00:02:08]Herringbone as I've mentioned many times is a timeless classic pattern. It never goes out of style and adds texture and interest to any clothing that you're wearing.

[00:02:16]The excellent brand Prince of Wales suit is sophisticated dressing done right.

[00:02:20]Subtle check pattern, great drape, and a white shirt underneath keep it clean.

[00:02:24]His silhouette is perfect. Structured shoulders, tapered waist for the manly look. It's the kind of suit that makes you stand tall no matter what your body shape is. This suit has gravitas. But his tie is very weak showing that he hasn't made it all the way to New York just yet. It's doing nothing for him.

[00:02:39]Brown and black can work very well together but not in this instance. I have to point out the major clash between the very brown suit, the black shoes that do not go with it, and then the brown leather satchel. Your leathers don't have to match perfectly but a large brown satchel like this mixed with black shoes does not go very well. And this very lovely brown suit definitely deserves a nice pair of dark brown shoes. I know in the movie his mother is a Catholic so definitely three Hail Marys for this sin. Thankfully, he sorts the tie situation out very quickly. This is a much stronger tie and a cleaner more confident look. You can see the New York influence is already starting to creep in.

[00:03:14]If you've enjoyed this video so far then please hit the like button and subscribe. And many of my subscribers have pointed out how even though they're subscribers, they're not seeing my videos come up in their feed. So please hit that notifications bell. It doesn't mean you'll be annoyed by extra notifications, it just means my videos are guaranteed to show up in your stream. And please watch the video to the end. It really makes a difference to the algorithm. Also, I've stopped including mid-roll ads to make the videos more enjoyable for you. So if you feel like helping the channel, please hit that join button below and become a member. There's an extra full video every month and other perks, too. And today I'm wearing my own Prince of Wales suit. It's a brown glen check with a blue overcheck. The blue overcheck allows me to wear any kind of cool color, especially it will work well with blue shirts. Not every suit is an easy match for shirts. This is quite a dusty dull brown, and it means I have found that most blue shirts I buy in stores are a bit overpowering. It took me some time to track down some pale blue dusty blue shirts to go with it perfectly. I'm wearing a dark red silk tie and a white shirt. This is a rather heavy fabric at 14 oz, which means that it drapes very well and is perfectly suited to the London and Dublin weather, but you wouldn't wear this suit in the heat.

[00:04:19]This is made from a Holland & Sherry fabric called Intercity, and it was made by my favorite tailor in Shanghai, RJ Clothing. It's not a cheap suit, and they're not a cheap tailor, but they're worth the extra money. And now the transformation is complete. Conservative New York lawyer suit. Darker, sharper, more serious. The color palette of his wardrobe has shifted from light southern lawyer to full-on corporate power player. It's a visual metaphor for his moral slide in this movie. And it works brilliantly, but do not worry, you do not either need to be a devil worshiper or a corporate lawyer to wear a fabulous suit like this. Throughout the movie, the fabric gets heavier and darker.

[00:04:49]Exactly what you'd expect when you're working for the literal prince of darkness. However, if you do live in a cold climate in a large city, darker colors are going to go better with the environment. And now we meet the man himself, if you can call him that, John Milton played by Al Pacino. The first outfit we look at here is very interesting. We meet him at a party, and this is the devil dressed down for party mode. He has on a relaxed but very slick and very impressive party outfit. A brown peak lapel jacket with a round neck black t-shirt or sweater underneath. Classic Al Pacino big shoulders again, and that peak lapel gives a little bit of extra devilish swagger. It's not structured Savile Row restraint, it's pure I own this room energy, and possibly your soul as well.

[00:05:27]Here we see brown and black done very well together, unlike Keanu Reeves' area rug. There's a fabulous contrast between the brown suit and the black shirt. It works very well, and it's bold without trying too hard. I feel a little ambivalent about the peak lapels with the round neck sweater underneath. It's a bit of a contradiction. If I were going to wear something like this, I would prefer to go with a notch lapel to keep up that relaxed look. But if you're as confident as Al Pacino, you can definitely carry it off.

[00:05:51]And it is New York, so we get to look at some very nice outerwear here.

[00:05:54]A couple of below the knee overcoats, as every man should be wearing. Very similar overcoats, one in black and one in camel. These are two classic menswear colors. The kind of below the knee overcoats that make you want to stride rather than stumble about. Michael Caine would definitely approve these coats.

[00:06:09]These are the finishing touches that turn good suits into an unbeatable look.

[00:06:12]I must say at the time I was quite disappointed with the movie itself. The theme, the actors, the story, everything in it was right down my street.

[00:06:19]Unfortunately, that street ran right into a dead end alley. The plot is over the top, the sexy scenes are a little too cheesy, but the tailoring won't let you down. It's '90s power dressing at its most tempting. So, what do you reckon? Is the brown Prince of Wales to your taste, or would any of the other suits suit you better? What do you think about Al Pacino's party outfit? Let me know in the comments which is your favorite outfit and why. Thank you for watching to the end, it really makes a difference. And if you haven't already, just a reminder to subscribe, hit that notifications bell, or even join and become a member. And I'll see you in the next one, where we tackle another cinematic wardrobe. And until then, keep dressing like the gentleman you are, even if the devil tries to tempt you differently.