1920s suits

[Baron Kurtz]

This suit is made of extremely lightweight tropical woolen material. Light grey with blue stripes. I think it dates to the middle to late 1920s.

The jacket has low buttoning, and low breast pocket placement.

The shoulder seam slopes severely backwards.

This one has an interesting dart from hip to armhole. I haven't seen this very often, though i note it on a few of the awesome suits posted above.

Minimal lining.

Absolutely nothing in the way of shoulder padding.

Flat front, wide waistband, skinny belt loops.

 

[herringbonekid]

nice suit Baron. looks like it has some strange white marks here and there ?

the internal pocket bag/cover is similar to this one from a suit sold by Marc (similar but not identical, this one has more of a 'bellows' effect), also late 20s:

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Yes, the hip pocketbags of mine are not attached to the jacket at all, except where the pocket opening penetrates the body of the jacket. They are free floating, if that makes sense.

Those strange white marks are inevitable wear and tear on this very lightweight fabric. The jacket is particluarly bad, and the trousers are badly yellowed on the thighs. It's pretty much unwearable, this suit. I don't know why I keep it.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I also think that this French suit of mine might be from the 20s (mainly because of the belt back trousers) but don't know for sure.

 

[herringbonekid]

It's pretty much unwearable, this suit. I don't know why I keep it.

patterns !

 

[Burma Schave]

Yet another '20s variation of the inside hip pocket. Tailors were creative with construction.

 

[Burma Schave]

The suit below is outside of this thread's scope, but I thought you might like seeing it anyway. It's the oldest complete suit in the collection: there's a tailor's label inside with an 1895 date. Made of the heaviest, stiffest, roughest homespun wool imaginable. The jacket buttons and vest buttons have been replaced, probably in the 1920s or '30s.

 

[Chasseur]

To find this kind of pattern in 100% heavy wools, check upholstery suppliers. They tend to stock very traditional and some rather quirky patterns. I've had lots of luck finding very, very heavy weight traditional "gun club", and other tweed fabric. [EDIT] If you're careful you can find ones that are not too rugged, and are a bit smoother and more suitable for clothing use.

Interesting Baron, I would have never thought of upholstery fabric, but it makes sense. I'll have to take a closer look at those now.

Thank you!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

This one is very interesting. Do you have a picture of the back of the jacket? I'd love to see how it's constructed!

The suit below is outside of this thread's scope, but I thought you might like seeing it anyway. It's the oldest complete suit in the collection: there's a tailor's label inside with an 1895 date. Made of the heaviest, stiffest, roughest homespun wool imaginable. The jacket buttons and vest buttons have been replaced, probably in the 1920s or '30s.

 

[Patrick Hall]

This is the best thread in a long time - the scans and the suit pics are amazing. Burma Schave, thanks so much for sharing that treasure trove with us. Wow.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I agree. Absolutely awesome. I've nicked all the pictures already …

 

[Burma Schave]

Thanks to all. I wish that everyone could see these and touch these suits in person.

Baron, I don't have photos of the jacket's back, but I vaguely remember that it has a center vertical seam. Also, the shoulder seams slope steeply down the back.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Ah. I've seen some other Victorian sack-type jackets with this kind of fancy multi-piece back (see below). These are truly fantastic suits.

I have a few more suspected 1920s suits, some British and some American but I'm running dry on this era now, tbh. I'll just need to find some more!!


p.s. Burma Schave - I see all these suits appear to be really quite small. I'll bet you'll tell me they're all 35S-R, just to torture me! I would happily wear everything you've posted in this thread. Even the more "vaudeville" fabrics!

bk

 

[Burma Schave]

Yes, they are nearly all small. The larger suits were sold before I got a chance to photograph them. Many of the remaining ones are a size 36.

 

[Burma Schave]

Ah. I've seen some other Victorian sack-type jackets with this kind of fancy multi-piece back (see below).

Again, this is outside the scope of the thread, so I apologize in advance. It's still cool, though. Dated 1900. The buttons are not original.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

AWESOME. Yes, that's the kind of back I was thinking of.


This British one belongs to benstephens, who thinks it's probably from the 1920s:

 

[Baron Kurtz]

If anyone's interested, this extremely backward sloped shoulder seam is what I look for when trying to determine whether a jacket is very old, rather than just quite old. In American gear, I don't see it very much after the beginning of the 1930s. from the 20s onward, the construction of jackets seems to evolve to have that seam drifting closer and closer to the top of the shoulder.

 

[Burma Schave]

From the 1930s backward: the older the jacket is, the more extreme is the slope of the shoulder seam. A general rule with occasional exceptions.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Yep, the inverted way of describing it is better. Unfortunately it does only work for the very old stuff, so one doesn't often get to test the theory!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I was told by the family members of the original owner that this was made in the colonies (the maker of the trousers hook closure would suggest China or Hong Kong) in the 1920s. Who knows if that is true or not. Silk.