Australian Members



Lowly Public Servant said:

Hey guys,

I was ironing some pants the other night, having a fight with one of the creases and trying to get it just right when a thought came to me:

Why do we put creases in our trousers? Surely it would be easier to iron all pants flat without a crease.

I have done some research and the best info I have been able to find so far has been here - http://histclo.com/style/pants/trouser/style/ts-crease.html

Anyone able to elaborate or expand on this article, or point me in a direction where I might be able to find out more info?

LPS

Click to expand...

If you ironed them flat then they would have creases at the sides.

Nothing wrong with it if you like the look.

Creases at the sides was a style and common enough at one stage. I don't like it at all, but some women's pants in particular use it to OK effect.

Or you can have no crease at all. Just iron on the round or on a shirt/ sleeve ironing board. I usually don't iron jeans , just fold them how I want them off the line. Or if I must iron them I iron in the round.

Some people like chinos without a crease.

My father used to like his suit pants creases "so sharp you could shave with them"

When he was a young itinerant labourer with no iron handy he used to fold them up carefully and put them under his mattress.

For expenses and a small fee I'm happy to come around and show how to iron stuff.

I think the key to the creases origins question is in that link. They became de riguer in the 20s when there was a trend to fuller trousers - I guess because the drape better with a crease. Trousers stayed full cut right up to the 60s, so I suppose the idea of front creases just stayed.

I think the original idea of pressing particular creases has military origins. When I was a youngster I was a naval cadet (don't laugh, its not funny!) and we had to iron our bell-bottom, wollen trousers with seven horiziontal creases (using a spacing card and lots of starch) in alternating directions so they could be folded concertina style for stowing (because ther was no hanging space on ships). Same with shirts - one inward crease vertically down the centre and two outward creases half way to the edge.

YYYYYYYMCA!

No,no - it was nothing like that!

It was all about types of boats, whistles, polishing brass, drill, knots....my parents made me do it...okay, I think I will stop right there.



fxh said:

Brown man, McClouds are pretty good.

I'd suggest it was possibly obvious you were only trying on to get sizes and then order online and they had you sussed.

No? yes?

Click to expand...

Maybe that's what they thought, but I don't think I could have given them that impression. It certainly wasn't my intention for my first pair of shoes. I told them I wanted to buy by this weekend, but I needed advice on deciding between brands and styles. They just seemed not to want to offer the level of service you'd generally expect.

At the end of the day by being so cagey and not informing customers properly you don't gain their trust and confidence and essentially drive them out of your store and into the online world anyway. If not to buy, then at least to complain about - look at me right here. As for the service I've received at McCloud's, it's been mediocre on two occasions. As for their product range, aside from the odd Loake or AS shoe, I'm not fond of high shine Church's, corrected grain leather and the rest of their in-house range and Made in Italy product does not appeal to me in the slightest, so these two factors combined mean I'll probably take my business elsewhere. That said, I'm sure they've offered excellent service to others here, and knowing how decent shop openings in Melbourne are seemingly few and far between, I may just find myself back there sooner rather than later.

Brownie, the unfortunately named Beggar Man Thief in Clarendon street has a big range of Loakes and. Few others.

^^ Or just go to David Jones. They seem to have expanded their Loakes range a fair bit lately. The fact that its David Jones means that you can try all you want and then jump on line to buy without needing to feel even a tiny bit guilty about shafting anyone.

Unfortunately they seem to have pretty much got rid of their Zegna range of shoes. I actually enjoyed looking at the pairs of Zegna oxfords sitting on the shelves. Way too many pairs of ugly Dolce & Gabbanas and patent leather Armanis.

Thanks! I'm heading to both today actually.

DJ's has some Loake's at 50% off at the moment (so about $230), which seems like a reasonable buy?



MickyD said:

DJ's has some Loake's at 50% off at the moment (so about $230), which seems like a reasonable buy?

Click to expand...

If they are Loake Shoemaker, 1880 or Loake Evolution ranges then it's very reasonable.
Loake L1 or Design Loakes can be had for $150 shipped at retail and they use lower grade leather and manufactured in India.

Might also be worthwhile checking American Tailors at the top of Bourke, as they had some lovely Crockett & Jones in the window last time I wandered past.

As an aside, can I ask you chaps for a recommendation for a tailor? Need to have the sleeves on an Isaia tweed jacket taken up - non-working button holes, but I need one of the buttons moved up, and the button-hole stitching unpicked. Lastly, I was thinking of getting the jacket length taken up, but that would require patch pockets being moved also, does this sound doable?

Thanks in advance fellas!

I've had two sets of sleeves altered in the past month.

American Tailors shortened an op-shop Zegna suit sleeve for me. $90 which included moving all the buttons and putting hand-sewn faux button holes. These sleeves were 'extra-long'...the previous owner had already moved the top two button holes and sewn in additional material at the bottom of the sleeve.
Arthur on South Yarra (recommended by Azzaro, he also does work for the Zegna boutique) lengthened the sleeves on my Pasini suit. $90 which included moving all the buttons and putting machine-sewn faux button holes.
The tailor in Docklands opposite the ANZ building quoted $30 for lengthen the sleeves but that would be just putting a false hem on the inside using extra material. No faux-button holes either.

Other people here recommend Katrina's. I've also used Illario in the conservative business dress. He's cheaper than Arthur but not as good. Arthur is a very good tailor but he always takes one week longer than he says.

If you don't need the buttons moved the shortening the sleeves should only cost about $30.

As for moving patch pockets...they may leave a mark. I would imagine that stitching leather/seude/moleskin/whatever into the sleeve would require heavy stitching..although with a tweed jacket you might get away with it.

Thanks mate, really appreciate the help. I'm close to South Yarra, so I might check out Arthur. I've heard him mentioned before, from memory, so sounds like the best person to take a punt on.

He's good as long as you aren't in a hurry. He's a bespoke tailor.

eBay round up by Selvaggio...

"If you're looking at this auction then i dont need to explain how rare/amazing these are"...


http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Carol-Ch...4689542?pt=UK_Men_s_Shoes&hash=item2eb7f39506