The Amazing Blazer Suit - Page 4

"Blazer suit," eh? At first I thought this would be a sarcastic look at some gawdawful thing with brass buttons such as the better dressed of my two brothers-in-law occasionally wears.

There was a feller that called himself "Nicholas Antongiavanni." Wrote a book I liked very much called The Suit. For months, it sat, Bible-like, on my beside table. In it, Mr. Antongianni promulgates this dictum:

"True blazers must have metal buttons; a blue jacket with horn buttons can be most elegant, but it is not a blazer." (page 138)

Care to comment, Manton? Do you actually have the temerity to disagree with that eminent sartorial authority, Nicholas Antongiavanni?

Sounds like someone's flip-flopping in this election year.

or wear short sleave shirts with their tweed suits

Ah, I see. I'm just not girly enough.

But kidding aside, I don't completely hate patch breast pockets. Mainly, I hate them on me. And being an egomaniac, that's all I think that matters.

Also. Also. Look at the sloppiness of his tie. Shameful. Those were the bad old days when people didn't use fabric glue and Teflon coating to keep everything elegant. For what it's worth, I think you've got a great thing going there, Manton. You bring off each look with style. I'd like to make a neat analogy in which, say, your deep charcoal three-piece "funeral suit" is compared to a Derringer or a bolt-action rifle, good only for a powerful shot now and again, whereas this concoction is a 20-round Glock, durable and versatile, but the words just aren't coming out right. I do think the three-piece is brilliant in its own way, though. And thanks for taking the time to take all those pictures. Somebody's gotta learn the masses.

Well we've had some pretty silly debates on MC but this one is edging on surreal

Apparently to get the circumference of the sleeve cuff to defy gravity when one takes pictures of one's self in the mirror or to lift a fork to one's mouth. The point of MTM is to get a shirt to one's own preference, not the preference of some anonymous poster on a clothing forum.

My favourite travel 'suit' is a similar concoction with patch pockets and a (single) horn button. I favour a welted breast pocket. When on a flight I wear the blazer with jeans or chino's and it works perfectly. I also have three pairs of matching trousers. Two flat front straight leg side fastening, and one single pleat in a wider cut for belts and options. I find it gives me a lot of versatility in a tiny piece of luggage. Manton, I see in your first photo that you chose a black belt (and footwear, obviously) with the 'suit' combination. I understand that it dresses up the look, but with my own "Blazersuit" I could not get to grips with the black leather and horn button contrast. Perhaps I suffer from OCD but I much prefer the look sans-belt and with black shoes. Would appreciate your thoughts on that. It goes without saying that IMO the brown belts in the subsequent photos are for more appealing to the overall aesthetic. I dont want aggravate the cuff discussion, but I have always felt the shirt cuff and coat-sleeve should act in unison. If one 'rides up' due to gravity or otherwise, they should both behave accordingly - staying true to your chosen proportion. I believe this is the true nature of bespoke, it is controlled perfection in imperfect conditions. I dont see anything wrong with Mantons proportions. In my case I tend to have my coat sleeves quite narrow with high arm holes. This tends to keep slippage to a minimum, but my shirts have to be cut narrower to prevent them from dissapearing into the coat sleeve. I hardly think this blogger is the bastion of sartorial knowledge, but he posted some time ago about this and it struck me that his subject had a great execution of sleeve proportion. http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/...ve-length.html

Am I the only one who can see the implications of matadorpoeta's incisive observation.

Wake Up! Imagine the ramifications if this is allowed to spread. Disappearing shirt cuffs...what next? disappearing arms?

For God's sake, act now! Take a stand!

If it weren't for posters like this you'd all be allowed to run riot. We need rules and this is one of the most basic ones.

Why can't anyone see it?

Moreover, the best bespoke clothes should be beautiful in a way that transcends mere detail. Nothing is 'perfect'. Fixating on the little things can be as blinding as it is illuminating.

But I thought the circumference of my sleeve cuffs were perfect!

..

This does NOT work. Now I've ruined a perfectly good shirt trying to get the stains out of my shirt cuffs.

Next time, I'll try stapling it to the suit instead. Always a perfect 1/4" cuff reveal?