Show us your suits

[Jovan]

No new pictures in that suit, although I took some in a 60's collegiate Mod-ish suit. It's like a gray worsted flannel.

Great suit, and beautiful girlfriend you have.

 

[Mr. Rover]

It looks like it fits you quite well, Ray. I don't recall, did you manage to argue the tailor into getting the buttons set higher & wider apart?

bk

p.s. You always seem to have a stunning girl on yer arm. And the new avatar is great. Those things'll kill you (women and cigarettes).

I got him to set them wider, but still not perfect. I was oblivious of how much button height affected the drape and fit at the time, so nein to that too. Oh, well...some of those style heartbreaks you go through when you're developing your look. [huh] I've since learned to beat tailors over the head with a paddle to get exactly what I want.
Btw, I'll make sure I tell Sylvia how many compliments she's gotten here I thought this thread was about the suits! :eusa_doh:
Slicebread, great suit! Vintage 3-piece suits are hard to find, and it's a great color, too! Even though the suit was a disappointment, how was the hat?
Gonesolo, the first thing I look for, other than union labels, is skeleton lining. And make sure you don't mistake 3/4 or 1/2 lining to skeleton lining. Skeleton lining usually has butterfly lining at the top of the back.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Is there something wrong here? YES!!!! The suit I believed to be modern turned out to be vintage (not exactly sure on date but its gotta be 1940's) . Also, the suit was advertised as a size 38 with a 34x34 pair of slacks. The jacket is more like a 36 and the slacks are more like a 28x28(I also highly doubt that this suit is linen...). I was quite pleased to find a vintage suit when I least expected it. My real problem lays with the other suit. The suit I believed to be 1940's is FAR from it. The label reads ACWA 1949. If what I believe is correct...That means this suit was made AT EARLIEST by 1949....

Now, I did contact the seller about this discrepency but he hasn't yet responded. I got it just today so I suppose I'll give him/her time to respond. I expect to get a full refund INCLUDING return shipping. Is this a fair demand? Has this happened to any of you before?

As the seller said: The pics don't lie! The lack of lapel buttonhole, the cut of the lapel, the buttons and the label all scream modern (well, 70s). You're lucky i didn't see that one in the modern suits section. I would've snapped it up to sell. Actually, looking at the measurements it would've fit me. yikes that's a great great great deal for that suit . . . 39 union tags, you say :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap That's the kinda deal i love! eBay's great sometimes . . .

bk

 

[slicedbread]

As the seller said: The pics don't lie! The lack of lapel buttonhole, the cut of the lapel, the buttons and the label all scream modern (well, 70s). You're lucky i didn't see that one in the modern suits section. I would've snapped it up to sell. Actually, looking at the measurements it would've fit me. yikes that's a great great great deal for that suit . . . 39 union tags, you say :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap That's the kinda deal i love! eBay's great sometimes . . .

bk

I can understand how it would be obvious to someone who has dealt with these clothes for awhile, but to me it's not obvious at all. I never was even able to read the union labels until i received my "brown 3pc linen suit" and immediately knew I had something completely different (but infinitely better) in my hands.

By the way, the hat is nice though it doesn't fit me. I'm a 7 1/4. Anyways, I'm still fighting the good fight trying to get my money back...He wants me to pay return shipping. I think not. If he refuses to pay for my shipping then I'll take it up with paypal. And if all goes with with paypal then I will donate the hat to anyone that wants it and I spose I could drop the suit to a goodwill or perhaps my school's theater...

 

[Frederick Chook]

Second fitting at my tailor! Two-piece DB with an odd waistcoat - in this picture seen being worn by the chair in the background.

 

[cookie]

Donegal Tweed Suit

Here's another that's just about to be trimmed from my wardrobe. Made by Desmond's of California, it is in dark brown Donegal Tweed. Very nice indeed. 3 patch pockets on the front of the jacket, and 1936 or 1939 union tags. A beauty in size 40 S (i'm guessing; short-ish jacket, anyways).

Various shots of the jacket lining

The trousers are unhemmed on this one. pics to follow.

bk

I referred in the JJ Gittes thread to an awesome Donegal jacket he wore in the Two Jakes. This reminds me of it. You do not see that quality much outside of the Emeralds Isle

 

[Baron Kurtz]

sadly, no you don't. 'specially not of this vintage. I have a sports jacket that is in a wild Donegal (lots of bright orange flecks) from probably the mid 40s. It's a crazy jacket. I love it. Another one languishing in a vacuum pack somewhere in London.

bk

 

[Grace]

And here's something for the ladies...

lol I almost spewed coffee out of my nose!

So Baron-does Donegal just mean bright orange flecks? Or flecks of any kind? I have a late 50s suit that has bright orange flecks, and I've got a mid 50s dinner jacket with bright blue flecks.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Well, Donegal tweed would be any tweed woven in Donegal. The famous one is the flecked kind (all colours of flecks, my jacket just happens to be rich in the orange flaecks in a kind of windowpane pattern). They're often quite a bit subtler & less crazily colourful than the one shown above.

bk

 

[benstephens]

Hi All,

Have been away for a while. No pictures yet, but last weekend I picked up a 1930s Black pinstripe suit, single breasted with a double breasted waistcoat. Interestingly the jascket only has a one button fastening, something like a single breasted Tux.

It is a bit long, although it has been taken down, so I am going to take it up and it should fit fine, although the jacket is a little bit tighter than I would like, although, that is being rectified!!

Ben

 

[Grace]

Thanks for clarifying, Baron!

Ben-Pinstripe? *swoon* please do post pics as soon as possible!

 

[manton]

Donegal is a tricky term to pin down. It was oringally a specific weave/pattern that originated in Donegal. But now other places weave that pattern, and Donegal weaves other things.

Classic Donegal is a tweed that uses woolen (fuzzy and rough) yarns, but the weave is tight enough that you can make a suit out of it. With most tweeds, it is not advisable to make trousers because they will scratch like hell while they last, and wear out quickly: the worst of all possible worlds.

The classic pattern is a sort of large scale nailhead, rather large dots of a lighter color on a darker ground. It doesn't have to be flecked, though flecking (or "heather") is a characteristic touch of Donegal weavers.

 

[Jovan]

One button suits are better if they're in solid colours to me somehow. But that's me. I have noticed a number of one button jackets in the old movies I've been watching, like the Spanish version of Dracula. It's a pretty cool style if you can pull it off. I don't know if I could, given how tall and thin I am.

Ben, make sure you don't take too much off the bottom of the jacket. You may throw off the balance of the pockets and buttoning.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Classic a tweed that uses woolen (fuzzy and rough) yarns, but the weave is tight enough that you can make a suit out of it. With most tweeds, it is not advisable to make trousers because they will scratch like hell while they last, and wear out quickly: the worst of all possible worlds.

Don't i know it. Boy they're itchy. I'm currently in the process of having all my tweed trousers lined.

The classic pattern is a sort of large scale nailhead, rather large dots of a lighter color on a darker ground. It doesn't have to be flecked, though flecking (or "heather") is a characteristic touch of Donegal weavers.

manton, that said it better than i ever could. Grace, it describes the fabric above perfectly. In the last pic of the Donegal suit you can see the nailhead-like pattern and the flecking that makes it Donegal.

bk

 

[Matt Deckard]

I have a couple pair of tweed trousers and yes they are scratchy as hell. though that is something I am used to and i am sure our ancestors were used to as well. Nothing is nicer than when a lady comes up to me and tells me how wonderful it is to see a man wearing real tweed.

If it's not rough it's not real tweed. I prefer it unlined as well. I have some dense tweed from the 30's and they don't wear out nearly as fast as what I have had modern. Most tweed sold today isn't what it used to be. It should be hard and dense. I'm not into the loose stuff that easily rubs away.

It's easy to seperate good tweed from what's used in most modern jackets and trousers when you are at a thrift shop... the vintage usually weighs a couple pounds more.

I bought a hat 5 years ago from Lock hatters and the tweed was impeccable. I tried to order another and they said they were unable to source the same wight material as the fabric was from an old mill and that was their last of the lot. Anywho... hold on to your old tweeds before the industry makes them all light and fluffy.

There are a few companies using the heavier tweeds... just wish they would make full suits again.

 

[benstephens]

Hi Jovan,

Fortunately the jacket is the right length, all that has happened is someone has taken the sleeves down and increased the trouser length at some time, so I am only going to shorten it back to how it was made.

Kindest Regards

Ben

 

[Jovan]

Oh. I thought you were referring to jacket length for some reason.

Good luck, and share pictures when you get that done.

 

[Benny Holiday]

New acquisition

Looks kinda Benjamin Siegel to me, nice 40's styling. Fresh from the usual auction site, from which these pics were 'borrowed':

There will be some pics of me in that suit when it arrives, and some of my other suits, coming soon. I managed to get some pics of my beltback jacket and one of my 40's loafer jackets with the new digital camera, but I've been slogging it out in 104 degree heat every day and after a busy afternoon haven't wanted to don a heavy wool suit in those sort of conditions.

 

[slicedbread]

Ah, I was watching that suit as the time winded down...I wondered that perhaps this wonderful piece would slip away without any bids...I'm certainly glad that it did not!

 

[Jovan]

Good find. I wouldn't wear it myself though.