New Suits?

[Big Joe]

Are there any new suits out there that could be a substitute for the real thing from the 30's or 40's? Where would one find such a garment?
I'm looking for Cagney or Gangster look.

Big Joe

 

[Daniel Riser]

My recommendation would be to find twenty year old Pierre Cardin. I have seen a few suits that are cut EXACTLY like thirties suit, three pieces, double breasteds... they're out there.

 

[thegmanifesto]

You could always go custom.

mpm
The Guide to Getting More out of Life
www.thegmanifesto.com

 

[Matt Deckard]

They don't make them like they used to, and from my experience even the tailors who say they can make a copy of the old stuff can't.

Ralph Lauren's patterns are bolder and close, though the cut is often wrong The armholes are too low and the fabric way too soft.

 

[Daniel Riser]

Yeah but these foreign Cardin suits, never sold in America, these things are really close. They were made specifically for the European market. Now you won't find them with saddlebag pockets or half belts but... they are still the closest "modern" suit I have seen.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Some of the Banana Republic blazers are pretty 30's, and some are so 1998.

 

[Veronica Parra]

My recommendation would be to find twenty year old Pierre Cardin. I have seen a few suits that are cut EXACTLY like thirties suit, three pieces, double breasteds... they're out there.

Dan is right about the cut, and even the wools are similar. Naturally, there are some differences between the Cardin suits of the late '70s - early '80s and their early '30s inspirations. Below are some of the most notable:

-- The Cardin suits have trousers with lower waists and shorter fly openings.

-- The trousers' side pockets are slanted, whereas most (but not all) '30s trousers had vertical side pockets.

-- Finally, the Cardin suit jackets always have side vents or center vents. Nearly all early '30s suit jackets were ventless.

I find these differences fairly negligible. If you wear a Cardin suit with the right shirt, tie, shoes, hat and attitude(!), you'll pull off the look nicely.

 

[shamus]

I just got my new brooks brothers catalog. Not crazy about the suits, but they do have a few overcoats with that 40's feel about them.. and by "feel" I mean looks...

 

[Daniel Riser]

I found a couple three piece single breasted Cardins without vents at costume houses, I've even seen a belt back with skeleton lining.

They definitely beat giving $1,000 to a tailor that may, or may not, know what he is doing.

Regards,

Dan

 

[Veronica Parra]

I stand corrected, Daniel. By the way, it was a lot of fun meeting you and Lauren at the Vintage Expo. We look forward to repeating the experience! All the best, -- Marc and Veronica

 

[Daniel Riser]

It's a loyalty thing. Those were the suits that got me through my young years of loving the "vintage look" but it is I that stand corrected because talking to Matt Deckard about these he mentioned that in the mid nineties the costume houses started "modifying" suits like the Cardins for period films, and it was the late nineties that I saw these... so the drinks are on me :cheers1:

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Get a picture of a suit you like and send it, along with your measurements, to MyCustomTailor.com. Specifiy the fabric you want. They'll do a knockoff.

I have a 3-piece linen suit that actually is a a knockoff of Barbour jacket, Barbour pants, and a traditional 6-button vest. It looks like something out of Death on the Nile or The English Patient

 

[Daniel Riser]

PICS PICS PICS. Pics man PICS!

 

[Nathan Flowers]

Agreed, you can't tease us with a description like that... Where are the pictures?!

 

[Solid Citizen]

Yes, I just went to their web site sounds interesting BUT the pics they have up are not clear enough, they have a 1940's model suit but lapels are way too small & it just doesn't look or feel right. At around $450.00 for these suits any mock-up you send them for a custom job is going to cost a lot more. Peter

 

[DanielJones]

Hear hear!!

Pictures are a good thing. Right Daniel?

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Daniel Riser]

oooh touche' Mr. Jones

 

[DanielJones]

I couldn't resist.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Senator Jack]

I went over to Luigi's here in NYC yesterday. I had had a few shirts made for me there and they do quality work and the fabric is tops. I wanted to have a new shawl collared white dinner jacket made because my 40s vintage one has a stain that no one seems to be able to get rid of. (I thought that's what cleaners were for.) Though they already had the exact pattern as my vintage they're asking $795 just for the jacket. If I want tux pants to go with it, it's another $225. Of course, that's fitted. I tried on one they had on a rack and I have to say the cut, fabric, stitching were fantastic. I could see someone picking this up at an estate sale 50 years from now and it would still have its shape. They're also making DB high-button with high armholes for $1,200.

For me, construction is very important. I like tight stitching which is not what you get from Banana Republic. As I wrote a few weeks back, I went in there for the first time to check out a suit and it was falling apart on the mannequin. And that suit was $500. Can anyone make comparisons between mytailor.com and the quality vintage I'm used to? I'd love to take a gamble on having a suit made (and I'm still thinking about IndyM's Washington too) but it's a tough decision to make without actually seeing and feeling the finished product.

Regards,

Senator Jack