They just don't compare

[manton]

I think the verticalness of your peak is perfect. As always you wear Art! You are most likley the best dressed gentlemen on Style Forum and the Fedora Lounge in my opinion.

Thanks, but iammatt is the best dressed man in cyberspace, IMO.

 

[Vardeman Sneed]

Who is the woman in this photo?

To answer my own question: Eleanor Powell

 

[Justdog]

Year

To answer my own question: Eleanor Powell

What year was that?

 

[Vardeman Sneed]

To answer my own question: Eleanor Powell

What year was that?

Possibly 1936. Jimmy Stewart and Eleanor Powell were in the movie BORN TO DANCE, which was released that year.

 

[Jovan]

Yeah, and she's a fetching lass. Do I need another reason to look up to ol' Jimmy's style, ever?

 

[Matt Deckard]

Sure, but I wouldn't want a closetful of things like that. A solid blue DB is a dinner party staple, in addition to being a good business suit.

I just think that at times that kind of conformity is sartorial cowardice. Come on... wear the windowpane to the dinner party once in a while!

Perhaps my aesthetic is too out of place retro, but I love it just the same.

 

[Robert Conway]

This is another great example of the vintage fits... just look at how well the chest and body is fitted on that jacket. You can just imagine him doing cartwheels because the armholes looks so close to the armpits. very comfortable and relaxed.

I recently had a very interesting conversation on this subject with a very old taylor at a bespoke house in Europe.

Turns out it's not just tight armholes that allow you to do cart wheels in your suit, it's what he described as a 'military cut'. Basically it stems from the need to be able to salute in your uniform, without the entire shoulder moving all over the place. Apparently this construction technique was carried over in to civilian clothing.

 

[Justdog]

Russian Officer Uniforms

On the topic of that Military entry, I recently watched the raising of the Russian Sub by the US back in the 60,s or 70s. Was done by reinactment on the HX channel. The Russian Officers had impecable DB uniforms designed as described with the high armholes and silhouette cut. Wonder how hard it would be to get your hands on those?

 

[Robert Conway]

On the topic of that Military entry, I recently watched the raising of the Russian Sub by the US back in the 60,s or 70s. Was done by reinactment on the HX channel. The Russian Officers had impecable DB uniforms designed as described with the high armholes and silhouette cut. Wonder how hard it would be to get your hands on those?

Well, there is a bespoke tailor in London, between Piccadilly and Pall Mall that claims to make uniforms and suits. Prices start at 800 British pounds. That's not exactly chicken scratch, but less than half of what they charge on the row.

In any case stay away from the 'bespoke' shop on Pall Mall, called Punjab. Those guys put enough padding in their suits that make you look like a couch or linebacker.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Again, a lot of drape and more thought I think on hiding the body. I guess it's the look of today's english suits, but it's pretty far from what they used to do. To me the misfit is just distracting.

Do these suits really make you want to have a suit made by their tailors?
What do you think?

"No woman really knows anything about men's clothes. How could she? After all, she's conditioned to obsolescence, to the principle that things go out of fashion. Well-dressed men know that nothing worthwhile is ever outmoded, that a superb tailor's work is ageless."

—Finis Farr, author

 

[Mr. Rover]

Apologies. The way I said that was not gentlemanly.

Let me rephrase: I think either look fine, but the floor level gives more of a widening effect. I think Manton could really rock that style, but he's got his own sense of aesthetics and I respect it.

Here's a nice '30s repro with upswept peaks. I love the belly in the lapel.

Is that from Magnoli's web-site? I haven't seen any of his suits in person yet so I can't vouch for their quality compared to A&S and A&S affiliated tailors.

 

[slicedbread]

Looks almost exactly like a suit I've recently sold:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140206373772&ssPageName=STRK:MESO:IT&ih=004

Note to any and all mods, this is an ended listing, please do not remove link. Thank you.

 

[iammatt]

Again, a lot of drape and more thought I think on hiding the body. I guess it's the look of today's english suits, but it's pretty far from what they used to do. To me the misfit is just distracting.

I wouldn't blame that on drape as much as on atrocious fitting. I have to agree that very few English suits nowadays look very good to me, but I haven't seen enough old ones to know what they are like. Nevertheless, there are good tailors outside of England, which is good because there aren't a whole lot of good ones inside.

My feeling, and I have no way to back this up, is that showing off a man's shape was a bit taboo over there. Personally, I wouldn't want a suit that didn't trace my body, and that is why I have never been interested in trying a Brit. Give me a few years to eat, and I might change my mind.

 

[Jovan]

Is that from Magnoli's web-site? I haven't seen any of his suits in person yet so I can't vouch for their quality compared to A&S and A&S affiliated tailors.

Yes, it is. I have no experience with the quality either, but the cut seems to replicated pretty well. I don't believe I compared it to A&S, but I'm sorry if I gave that impression. A better phrase would have been "good looking." Probably not nearly as well made.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I don't think that is a Magnoli suit on the mannequin, I think it is a vintage jacket going by the fabric and the contrast in the stitch used on the button holes.

Need better pics.

 

[Jovan]

Good eye you have. I wouldn't have noticed those things.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I wouldn't blame that on drape as much as on atrocious fitting. I have to agree that very few English suits nowadays look very good to me, but I haven't seen enough old ones to know what they are like. Nevertheless, there are good tailors outside of England, which is good because there aren't a whole lot of good ones inside.

My feeling, and I have no way to back this up, is that showing off a man's shape was a bit taboo over there. Personally, I wouldn't want a suit that didn't trace my body, and that is why I have never been interested in trying a Brit. Give me a few years to eat, and I might change my mind.

Why do you suppose a garment that is supposed to showcase and accentuate the body turned into something to hide the body? Sounds really odd to me, especially when you look at those old pics of England's top men in the 20's to 40's and see how shapely their bodies looked in those old suits compared to today's look. Then again, if you just think their tailors are bad then maybe I'm looking at their suits too much.

I do think that fit hit a high point in the 30's with drape and fit being more in harmony compared to the 20's when many men's clothes were just snug looking and the 40's where drape and that wafting away from your body look was in (I blame the war).

 

[iammatt]

Why do you suppose a garment that is supposed to showcase and accentuate the body turned into something to hide the body? Sounds really odd to me, especially when you look at those old pics of England's top men in the 20's to 40's and see how shapely their bodies looked in those old suits compared to today's look. Then again, if you just think their tailors are bad then maybe I'm looking at their suits too much.

I do think that fit hit a high point in the 30's with drape and fit being more in harmony compared to the 20's when many men's clothes were just snug looking and the 40's where drape and that wafting away from your body look was in (I blame the war).

I have no idea why, as I know little about tailoring history, and less about the culture and historical culture of Londoners. To my mind, drape can be included in a suit that is quite trim or fitted or whatever, they problem is, for me, that the British don't see it that way. Here is a picture from what is my favorite period of tailoring. It is a jacket from the postwar period (probably early 50s) made by the tailor shop I go to now.

I think it is a best of both worlds solution where the body remains quite fitted, but the chest has a touch of drape to it while remaining close to the body. The Italian word for drape is "the softness" which seems to be a better description of what I would like to see in my own jackets, just enough extra fabric in the chest to create a softness, but not enough to make a jacket look like it is coming away form your body.

As for fit in London right now, I think they are having a hard time finding good tailors. Every time I go down to Savile Row, I notice lots of men with suits that bunch under the collar or stand away from the collar and bunch at the small of the back. If they are having so many problems with basic fit, and I am sure not all are, it would seem that fitting something that was closer, yet not a sausage casing would be even more frought with error. In other words, I don't know that if they wanted to go back to what they used to do, they could even get back there.