Pinstripe coat w/solid color trousers

[Fastuni]

[QUOTE="Tomasso]
I think the look comes off much better when the jacket has peak lapels. Though I can't really explain why...
[/QUOTE]

Agreed, Peak lapel SB with odd trousers looks good! Actor Ernst Wilhelm Borchert in Berlin 1946:

Photo by Abraham Pisarek

 

[Two Types]

Here's Henry Hall (1930s dance band leader, famed for his work with the BBC Dance Orchestra) wearing a striped double breasted jacket with cream flannels:

know you can't see the stripes clearly, but they are there. And I think it works.

 

[Metatron]

Agreed, Peak lapel SB with odd trousers looks good! Actor Ernst Wilhelm Borchert in Berlin 1946:

Photo by Abraham Pisarek

Great photo, this chap played in the first post-war German film 'There are murderers among us' have you seen it Fastuni?

 

[Fastuni]

Yes, it is a great film - and the first one with Hildegard Knef. The German title is ¨Die Mörder sind unter uns", the English title was shortened to "Murderers among us".
Probably the most genuinely noir German film.

 

[Fastuni]

A pre-war example (ca.1936-39). Notch-lapel pinstripe suit jacket with flannels.
It certainly was more accepted than many imagine.

http://www.deutschefotothek.de/documents/obj/71217934/df_hauptkatalog_0212693_003

 

[Rabbit]

late 30s to early 40s worsted wool jacket with corduroy trousers

And I agree about peak lapel SB jackets. There's something that makes them work much better than notched lapel SBs for the pinstripe/ solid combination.

 

[herringbonekid]

nice colour combo Rabbit,

i'm not entirely convinced by the "peaked lapels work better than notch lapels with odd / solid trousers" hypothesis... but then i'm someone who thinks that peaked lapels work better than notch lapels in virtually any situation.

 

[Luftwaffles]

I often wear my 1930s chalk striped jacket with cream trousers and brown shoes. I personally think it looks quite nice.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Extraordinary. I wouldn't have thought of corduroy (because I don't own any) but the cut of the trousers makes them work.

Usually I am far closer to what Luftwaffles is wearing. It's the safe and classic look imo.

 

[Fastuni]

Rabbit, if you don't mind the comparison: you have a resemblance to Bertie Wooster (both the looks and panache).

 

[Rabbit]

Flo, I wear the straw-colored corduroy and a moss green one very often in the winter, combined with an odd jacket. I love the contrast of corduroy fabric and the rougher worsteds, and with tweed, too. Suede shoes are perfect for that. I think in terms of texture and fabric first - color & pattern only comes after that.

Edit: This is the same jacket with moss corduroy, Harris tweed overcoat and VS black cherry.

Rabbit, if you don't mind the comparison: you have a resemblance to Bertie Wooster (both the looks and panache).

If you're referring to the "Wooster-Jeeves continuum" then yes, I'm more towards the Wooster end of that spectrum.
I've read most of Wodehouse's Jeeves stories, by the way.

Oh, and that pinkish pastel suit will be the craziest. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Metatron]

Rabbit, I echo FFF's remark in that I'm pleasantly surprised by the combination. I created a rule in my mind that corduroy should not be paired with anything dressy.
But you make it look great. There's always something 'new' to try! Can I ask who made the trousers?

i'm not entirely convinced by the "peaked lapels work better than notch lapels with odd / solid trousers" hypothesis... but then i'm someone who thinks that peaked lapels work better than notch lapels in virtually any situation.

For me it works like this: peaked lapels are for looking sharp and ermmm... edgy, and notch lapels are for looking rugged and/or dependable.
I think a pinstriped jacket with peak lapels works better separately, because it is inherently more detailed and let's say, individualistic, so it's less in need of the rest of the set to look right.
I've noticed that on the rare occasion that I see a pinstriped sports coat, it tends to have peak lapels.

 

[Guttersnipe]

It's very hard to avoid that orphaned coat look with most striped jackets.

One look works okay is a blue toned pin or chalk stripe coat with cream flannel pants. I believe Cookie even posted a period pick with that exact ensemble. I've seen tons of vintage photos showing seaside vacationers sporting this look, although something tells me that the fellows in such pics are just pairing their suit coats with odd trousers rather then wearing "purpose built" sport coats.

However, if the coat is made of a nubby or patterned weave fabric with a subtle stripe, the odd striped jacket can work quite well. Here's a good candidate for a striped sport coat:

 

[DesertDan]

Am I the only one who thinks the wallpaper in this photo is awesome?
Now, back to your regularly scheduled thread....

A pre-war example (ca.1936-39).

http://www.deutschefotothek.de/documents/obj/71217934/df_hauptkatalog_0212693_003

 

[Rabbit]

Rabbit, I echo FFF's remark in that I'm pleasantly surprised by the combination. I created a rule in my mind that corduroy should not be paired with anything dressy.
But you make it look great. There's always something 'new' to try! Can I ask who made the trousers?

The trousers are from Aero Scotland. In hindsight I could have saved some by having the corduroys made by Luxire to my own pattern. Needless to say I bought those before switching to Luxire for my non-vintage odd trousers.

P.S.:

 

[herringbonekid]

It's very hard to avoid that orphaned coat look with most striped jackets.

there may very well have been some men who frowned on the idea back in the day; men who would only wear a proper 'sports' jacket with cream or grey flannels, but for the majority i imagine that a suit jacket was simply a handy alternative if they didn't have many (or any) odd sports jackets to choose from.

it was so commonly done that i would regard it as 'period correct' attire today.

 

[Rabbit]

As Guttersnipe pointed out, it's useful to distinguish between different pinstripe patterns. The "ordinary" pinstripe consisting of one single, clear-cut stripe is obviously a suit cloth, although the combination of navy pinstripe and cream flannels does work rather well.
The what I would term "complex pinstripes" are a different matter. To me, it depends entirely on the specific pattern. For instance, I have a late 30s DB suit in this cloth:

Seller's pic (I don't have a better one at the moment) showing that the mixture of blackish and grey yarns with alternating red and blue wide-spaced stripes blends into a grey-blue from a few paces away:

It works as an odd jacket, but it certainly looks better as a suit.


The jacket I posted earlier, on the other hand, even looks like it was made as a sportsjacket, including contrast buttons.

Seller's pics:

In other words, I can't put my finger on what makes a pinstripe suit cloth look good as a sportsjacket, leaving the jacket cut aside for the moment. For me, some complex pinstripes work and some don't.

HBK, from what I've heard it used to be quite customary to wear parts of a suit separately as a combination during the 20s and 30s. The concept of an odd jacket designed as such is apparently a more recent one in history than the custom of wearing combinations.

 

[Guttersnipe]

there may very well have been some men who frowned on the idea back in the day; men who would only wear a proper 'sports' jacket with cream or grey flannels, but for the majority i imagine that a suit jacket was simply a handy alternative if they didn't have many (or any) odd sports jackets to choose from.

it was so commonly done that i would regard it as 'period correct' attire today.

Looking at period pictures, I think you are absolutely correct. Even reasonably well off men - who by standards of the day were middle class - often had rather limited wardrobes. I've read in a of places that it was common for men who wore suits daily to have just two or three. So surely mixing and matching was done.

HBK, from what I've heard it used to be quite customary to wear parts of a suit separately as a combination during the 20s and 30s. The concept of an odd jacket designed as such is apparently a more recent one in history than the custom of wearing combinations.

In the mid-19th century the term "suit of clothes" meant a set of clothes that in aggregate was worn together. It in no way implied matching of any sort, although matched sets were certainly worn. By the turn of the century, however, the concept of matched cloth items making up a suit was in existence. By the 30s, the concept of odd jackets designed to be worn with non-matched pants was firmly established.

 

[Metatron]

Looking at period pictures, I think you are absolutely correct. Even reasonably well off men - who by standards of the day were middle class - often had rather limited wardrobes. I've read in a of places that it was common for men who wore suits daily to have just two or three. So surely mixing and matching was done.

This is interesting. Do you think it was due to a different perspective on fashion, in that they bought 'one good thing' and stuck with it for as long as possible?

To perhaps reinforce the idea that this style was embraced, not just out of necessity, this screenshot is from the movie Shop around the corner.

The character is introduced in the trailer as being suspiciously elegantly dressed for his modest salary.

 

[Guttersnipe]

^^^ The fellow in the boater seems to pull of the odd pinstriped jacket alright ^^^

This is interesting. Do you think it was due to a different perspective on fashion, in that they bought 'one good thing' and stuck with it for as long as possible?

To some degree, yes. The price for a mid-level suit in the 30s or 40s, as a proportion of average salary, was not insignificant. Being that a new suit represented a fairly substantial periodic purchase, men certainly expected them to last several years at least. Period advertisements for clothing commonly pitch items as excellent value for the price. However, on a socioeconomic level, the peoples' standard of living was just a lot lower 80 years ago. For example, today living in a SRO apartment (meaning: single-room occupancy; no kitchen; bathroom down the hall) carries a certain disreputable connotation, but this used to be a very common living situation for young bachelors and single women.