Vintage Suitings: Discussions of, and sourcing modern equivalents, etc.

[Mario]

I already told him that we are obviously living in the wrong neck of the woods. It's next to impossible trying to find stuff like that around here - and if you do it would surely come at a premium price. That's Berlin for you...

 

[herringbonekid]

the last three fabrics look particularly good.

 

[Two Types]

2.5 meters of teal & brown fabric for at least a pair of trousers (maybe enough for a 2 piece suit):

1.7 meters of cream flannell with navy "sprinkles", perfect for flannel slacks (possibly "Oxford bags"):

Well done. The teal & brown would be great as a sports jacket. And the flannel will make a splendid pair of Oxford Bags (please, nothing wider than 24 inch cuffs).

 

[Fastuni]

Thanks to all!
To our Berliners... to make things equal Munich is much costlier in every other aspect - and we have no "Vintage scene" worth of mention. At least not comparable to other German areas. That could be the reason for this old stuff being unwanted. Then again it may just have been luck... [huh]

@Two Types
Yes a sports jacket (maybe one with double cinches/pleats at the front) might be a better use for this fabric than a pair of odd trousers.
Paired together with grey or cream flannel slacks it sure would make a great combination.

As to the flannel... hmm... on the one hand I am (as a reader of the great Oxford Bags thread) aware of the usual width of Oxfords. Yet 24 inches is already the width of my French DB suit (and also of another French 40's suit I occasionally wear).

Just for the sake of some extravagance I'd fancy for this flannel 25 inches, but only this and nothing more.

 

[Two Types]

I was just worried you might want to make some monstruous 42 inch bags!

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

http://www.metmuseum.org/Collection...=20&pg=1&ft=riding&deptids=8&pos=8#fullscreen

zoom zoom:nerd:

 

[Fastuni]

Great link - what a fabric!


However I would have firmly placed this fella in the 70's.
http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/80097314?img=2

 

[Fastuni]

Got hold of another bunch of period suiting fabrics... all between 3 and 6 meters, so plenty enough for at least one three piece suit per fabric.

Dark green (mix of black and green) with white pinstripes:

Brown with light blue and grey-greenish stripes:

Brown with chevrons, structure stripes and white pinstripes (I think I'll turn this into a Mid-30's peak lapel SB):

Dark brown pinstripe:

Light-brown with red pinstripes and a quite peculiar "pixelated" pattern... anyone seen this kind of fabric before? I also am not sure what kind of suit would look best with this fabric...

Also some unused lining material for sleeves, vests and pants.
Those with patterns have a kind of stiffening waxen finish, which probably will soften when steam ironed.

Best Regards

 

[fluteplayer07]

Absolutely love the dark green fabric. (If you'd consider selling, I would be interested.)

 

[cookie]

http://www.prohibitionclothing.com/

 

[Two Types]

Does anyone own a prohibtion jacket? Or has anyone handled them? If so, let us know what they are like.

 

[Fastuni]

By the pictures and info given they look like modern jackets with 30's inspired back and pocket styling.
I rather like the backs - but the lapels, sleeves, front construction and shoulders are to my eye not much different from contemporary fashion.

But after all it's vintage inspired - not replica.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Obviously I don't know it, but I suspect, as always, the hand of Hemrajani or someone similar in the construction of those jackets. [EDIT] Yes, indeed that info is in their FAQs.

I wouldn't expect too much of these suits, therefore. But, you gets what you pays for. $550 for a Far East made jacket that looks essentially like a modern jacket with some pockets tacked on seems very high, though.

 

[Guttersnipe]

By the pictures and info given they look like modern jackets with 30's inspired back and pocket styling.
I rather like the backs - but the lapels, sleeves, front construction and shoulders are to my eye not much different from contemporary fashion.

But after all it's vintage inspired - not replica.

Agreed. I rather like a lot of specific details, but from every angle, there seems to be something that looks a little off. Certainly the lapels leave a lot to be desired, and it seems like the back of every jacket features double vents, which aren't exactly typical of 30s "fancy back" suits.

The trousers actually looked especially mediocre to me. Specifically, the appear to be conventional modern suit pants with vintage inspired details added on them.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

No sources, but I have access to analytical scales so I'm taking tiny snips out of my suit hems and weighing them up to get an idea of the actual weights of the fabrics. First up is a British Harris Tweed jacket, dated 1946. Weighs 503.7 g/m^2, or 14.8 Oz/m^2. If calculated on the basis of the running metre at vintage (apparently) 140cm width, it weighs 704.2 g/m or 20.7 Oz/m.

In the linked thread there are some good discussion about the challenges of finding modern suitings that are the equivalent of vintage ones:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?63402-Vintage-Suits-Reproductions

That vintage suits are made of heavier weight wool than modern ones is taken as a given by vintage enthusiasts. Recently, I began wondering exactly how heavy vintage suiting tended to be. Convention seems to be that vintage suitings were quite heavy, however, after recently looking through a book of modern English coatings and comparing those weights (16 - 20 oz) to my own vintage collection, I began wondering exactly how heavy vintage cloths really were.

Here is a guide from 1948 (note: 12 oz is set as the baseline for medium weight; this is much lighter than I would've expected):

I find it interesting that this suggests that vintage mid-weights were 12 oz, which is significantly lighter than conventionally assumed in vintage circles. Good non-super 12 - 14 oz suitings can be easily had today.

Does anyone else have any info on suiting weights from the period? I'd love to learn more!

 

[herringbonekid]

sounds correct Baron. Harris Tweed is still 19-20 oz a metre for the standard weight stuff.

you must be measuring the sample incredibly accurately if you're then scaling it up to work out the metre !

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Yes, they are very accurate scales (at work, obviously, not in the house). I can measure down to 0.1 milligrams (0.0001 g). Since I can calculate the area of the piece of fabric, I can then scale up to whatever dimensions I wish. 1 cm square is easiest, then it's just weight x 10,000 for weight per square metre, or x 14,000 for weight per running metre.

I got some samples of modern Harris Tweed in the mail, and they all measure in at around 12-13 Oz/m^2

 

[herringbonekid]

I got some samples of modern Harris Tweed in the mail, and they all measure in at around 12-13 Oz/m^2

are you sure that's not a lighter weight range ?

i have some samples from this place:

http://www.harristweedshop.com/tweed-harris-herringbone.html

...and they're as heavy as vintage Harris.



p.s. most of my vintage Brit fabrics are a tad wider than 140cm, but not much. about 58"-60" or 150cm

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I guess they must be [huh]. Several of them feel as thick as vintage Harris, but clearly not as dense. From a different place.

 

[Tomasso]

No sources, but I have access to analytical scales so I'm taking tiny snips out of my suit hems and weighing them up to get an idea of the actual weights of the fabrics. First up is a British Harris Tweed jacket, dated 1946. Weighs 503.7 g/m^2, or 14.8 Oz/m^2. If calculated on the basis of the running metre at vintage (apparently) 140cm width, it weighs 704.2 g/m or 20.7 Oz/m.

Good to see that fancy Big 10 education going to good use..........