Mayfair man: from Will's blog

Interesting to see but wouldn't want to wear it. Like the covered buttons, don't care for the shape of the fronts or the overall silhouette. Maybe it's just the way he's standing, but the waist shaping doesn't flatter. Maybe the chest isn't full enough? Makes him look frail. I wonder if the quarters would close entirely if he were standing still and upright, possibly remedying my concern about the waist but giving the coat a Nehru effect.

It's a little bit Steed, but not Steedly enough.

Steed sometimes wore satin ties, often with a pearl tie tack. (Think a light blue with the contrasting pearl.) I like them on him, but the matching square here kills it for me. The B&W photo makes the tie above look silver, which I doubt it was and wouldn't like. But I am more open to other colors. Satin's at its best when peeking out above a vest, I think. A little goes a long way.

Satin ties must have been a trend back in the day. Maybe someone who was around then can chime in.

What's your overall verdict, Sri?

Everything about that suit is clean. Perhaps at the risk of looking too.. delicate. Not really loving the quarters either.

The tight hips on the coat bother me more than anything. Ick.

Divots are not a function of sleeve pitch...

really depends on the divot. some are overextension of shoulders without enough sleeve fullness. other times it's the wrong sleeve pitch.

Without a doubt, this is a professional model in a fashion photograph. As the text states this picture was taken for the IWS (International Wool Secretariat) with the aim to promote the use of wool.

At that time IWS as well as the producers of Polyester fibre (then seen as the great white hope) would commission tailors and designers to work with their materials and come up with (somewhat unconventional) designs which showed the respective materials at their best.

Some years back, I did come across the program (presented during the Cologne men's fashion fair) of a show from the early 60s, organized by the chemical firm Hoechst to promote their polyester fibre "Trevira". There were a number of famous designers of the time (I remember Hardy Amies and Pierre Cardin) who had designs in that particular show.

The suit in the photograph would have been fitted on that particular male model, but the designer/tailor would have had freedom to design what he thought might a look that would point into the future.

I think the suit looks wonderful. It has such a clean, defined, shape and the fit is great. While I don't normally like very closed quarters, here they are clearly intentional and just seem to work. The only thing that gives me pause for thought is the covered buttons; I just can't seem to get my head round those things...

Yes. I hate matching squares. The satin tie didn't offend me on first glance, but now that its been called out I think its meh. I also don't know what to think of the covered buttons; I wouldn't wear them but somehow he pulls them off OK...


Yes. When I saw the picture on ASW my first reaction was "ugly quarters." It is clean, though, and I appreciate that.


+1. I'd like to see more flair to the skirt. I bet you anything that coat is ventless; the "tight hips" you speak of is exactly why I hate ventless coats, not simply b/c they lack vents.


And ultimately, after all of the fora-esque nit picking, I think the overall effect is superb. Like the style/detailing or not, there is no argument that the fit is excellent and appropriate for that cut. It is pictures like this that snap me back to reality sometimes when I start to get too picky about fit and detailing. We mustn't forget that the overall effect is of paramount importance.

I think it makes him look like a spiv.

Spiv is a British word for a particular kind of petty criminal, who deals in stolen or black market goods of questionable authenticity, especially a slickly-dressed man offering goods at bargain prices. The goods are generally not what they seem or have been obtained illegally. It was particularly used during the Second World War and in the Post-War rationing period for black-market dealers.