Unwanted folds in jacket

[carldelo]

I have a new Halston suit, 3 button, double vent purchased last week at Filene's Basement in NYC. It's quite nice, all wool, dark charcoal with light blue pinstripes. The problem is this - the jacket has soft vertical folds on both sides of the front opening, a couple of inches from the edges. The folds are in the same position as the seam between the jacket fabric and the interior lining. The jacket has these folds while hanging, and to a lesser extent while I'm wearing it. I'm pretty sure they are just the result of gravity, and the fact that the jacket is large (46R) and the fabric is fairly supple. They are obtrusive enough that I will return the suit prior to tailoring if it seems they can't be removed, as they create an odd-looking 4 inch wide column of fabric down the front of the suit.

So: Has anybody else had this problem? Will pressing the jacket reliably remove the folds? Any other suggestions?

Thanks, Carl

 

[kpreed]

Nice! I have had the same thing and pressing only made it the same. What I do now is press it when needed then before putting it on I us my hand steamer on them, so far no problems. Just my 2¢.

 

[carldelo]

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe this is an excuse to buy a small hand steamer.

 

[Dinerman]

They're a great tool to have. Great for use on hats, too.

 

[carldelo]

They're a great tool to have. Great for use on hats, too.

Yet another reason to get one - any suggestions on a hand-held model? It's a NYC apt, so the rolling models are going to be too big.

 

[Tomasso]

Something sounds off about the jacket. It doesn't sound like something that can be corrected with iron or steamer (which many tailors swear against). Ask your tailor to try to fix it before he removes tags and begins alterations so if unsuccessful it can be returned.

 

[carldelo]

Something sounds off about the jacket. It doesn't sound like something that can be corrected with iron or steamer (which many tailors swear against). Ask your tailor to try to fix it before he removes tags and begins alterations so if unsuccessful it can be returned.

I hadn't heard that steaming a suit was a bad idea, but I guess over-steaming wool could certainly be a problem. I will talk to my tailor. The folds are maybe not as obtrusive as I thought - my wife doesn't think they're a big deal, and I did miss the effect in the (badly lighted) store and dressing room. I'm not sure I could photograph it properly.

It's possible the underlying construction of the jacket is not high enough quality to keep everything hanging as it should, given that the fabric is fairly lightweight and has a nice drape. I have a silk/wool sports coat that does more or less the same thing, I chalk it up to fairly heavy fabric that is very flexible. It's such an odd light blue-green color that I rarely wear it, and therefore haven't obsessed about it.

On the other hand, it's possible that the suit was wedged in between two other suits on the rack at Filene's for two years with the jacket folded back on itself. The effect is worse on one side than the other, and I could convince myself that this is the cause - a good pressing should fix that, I imagine.

 

[Tomasso]

It's possible the underlying construction of the jacket is not high enough quality to keep everything hanging as it should .

That was my thought but without a photo.......[huh]

 

[carldelo]

That was my thought but without a photo.......[huh]

A flash photo isn't cutting it - I'll try it again in daylight and report what my tailor thinks - more on the morrow....

 

[birkie]

I imagine the jacket was constructed using fused interfacing. Could the creases be caused by the interfacing material, rather than the suit material itself (wool, I assume)?

 

[carldelo]

In taking pictures of this problem (thanks T), I think I may have figured out what's going on. Here are the photos (clickable):




The fold is worse on the left hand side of the jacket. On this side, the ends of the exterior breast pocket, the interior breast, cigar and cellphone pockets all line up vertically. The relative inflexibility of the welting along this vertical line is creating a natural fold in the jacket. On the interior photos, the fold actually appears much worse.

It also appears (see the last picture) that the left side of the jacket was, in fact, folded under for a long time while on the rack. When I fold it under, it hangs there quite easily. It feels as though this fold has been actively set into the material, probably because it has affected the lie of the interfacing (which I'm fairly certain is fused). Laying the jacket flat, the fold remains, and it feels like there is material bunched up under the fold.

This last fact makes me think it is not easily fixable, so I think this suit has to go back. I may not bother taking it to the tailor. Too bad, because it fit better than most I've tried lately, with an ageeably high trouser rise, which is becoming harder to find these days.

 

[Fifty150]

I think that you can have the jacket fitted to your body, and pressed. The suit should look better on you than it does on the hanger.

 

[carldelo]

I think that you can have the jacket fitted to your body, and pressed. The suit should look better on you than it does on the hanger.

Right now it looks worse on me than it does on the hanger. I'm not sure what you mean by fitted - I think it would be too expensive to have the interior of the jacket opened up and resewn to fit me.

 

[Fifty150]

Take it to a tailor. If it's not cost effective to have it fixed, then return it.