2 button suits with high button stance?

[demeis]

Do people like the looks of 2button suits with a high button stance to look more like a 3 button? I was debating about getting one today, loved the color but didn't really like the way it looks. In my opinion it looks well cheezy. Any thoughts?

 

[Manton]

Cheezy. Well, I never. I like it a lot, if the coat's waist is placed correctly, and the gorge is high. If the button is simply slapped high but the waist is low, it will look very bad. The coat has to be cut for a high button stance. It's not simply where you place the buttons. In my opinion, it's a good look because it is proportional on the tall and elongating on the short. I don't think low stances really help anyone, though they don't hurt the truly tall all that much.

 

[demeis]

Maybe it was the suit, but usually canali's fit me perfect. The top button was right below my sternum(SP?) and the button at my naval. Then the jacket started to open at the button and it created a weird look. I have never tried one till today but i've seen one worn before and it looked far from elegant to me maybe i just can't change and am used to the 'tradition' 2button suits.

 

[lisapop]

I don't especially like it. Oxxford made my MTM suits with the higher button placement and it just doesn't feel right, although it is the current style. I'm a traditionalist and prefer the traditional button placement. Turns out the traditional button placement results in a more properly-fitting jacket for. I'm 6'2" tall, and the lower button placement results in a more elongated lapel that is more flattering to my physique. Others may feel the higher placement "suits" them.
Grayson

 

[Manton]

Maybe it was the suit, but usually canali's fit me perfect.  The top button was right below my sternum(SP?) and the button at my naval.

Okay, well, that's way too high.  I'm talking about maybe 1/2" to 1" above the natural waist, as opposed the standard 1/2" below.  The bottom button should be something like 4.5" (at least) below that.

What you describe sounds like some of the coats one sees in really old photos of the duke of Windsor (when he was PoW).  He appears to be wearing two-button suits with super high-button stances, with the top button as high as the top button on a three button, and the bottom button spaced far below. He would only button the bottom button.  It looks odd and sort of antique to my eye.  Though I had lunch the other day with a friend who gets his coats made sort of like that, and his did look smashing -- on him.  It's an unusual thing, though.  Personally, I would not do it for myself.

 

[HitMan009]

I don't think low stances really help anyone, though they don't hurt the truly tall all that much.

Manton,

This maybe just me but I must disagree somewhat. When I asked Mr. Chu of WWChan to position the button stance at just a bit higher then my natural waist which hits just above my navel, the look became much more striking then the first suit I got with the button stance on the relatively high side. I clearly believe a high gorge with a longer line then the part after the top button, to clearly offer a more balanced looking suit. If the button stance is too high where as it basically divides the suit into two equal parts to be no better then a 3-button suit. Just to mention, I like you prefer 2-button over 3-button suits. But not low low button stances like the crazy Armani's of the 80's. At the natural waist or just a tad above I find is the best policy. As always disagreements and agreements alike are welcomed.

 

[demeis]

Rereading my post the best way to describe it was a 3 button missing the bottom button.  I actually asked that of the saleswomen when i tried it on and she its supposed to be that way.  Manton or anyone else can you post a picture if you have one of how a high button stance on a two button should look?  All the ones of seen as mentioned in my post have been way to high like 2 buttons trying to immitate 3 button suits. As for a button stance to low it looks worse than to high, i bought a used canali off of ebay for $45.00 and well it was from the early 90's (bad pics made it look better) and the top button was at my waiste. I guess the button stance has to be perfect for the wearer, which makes sense.

 

[Manton]

By "high" I don't mean "way high" or "fashion house high". I mean simply: marginally above the natural waist, whereas for a lot of tailoring traditions, somewhat below the natural waist is standard. Depending on a person's height, we are talking about differences of no more than two inches here, and often less than that. It's subtle -- not so subtle that you don't notice if you pay attention. But subtle enough not to jump out at you like the suit demeis described.

So, HitMan, I think we may agree after all.

 

[Manton]

Manton or anyone else can you post a picture if you have one of how a high button stance on a two button should look?

I am, alas, not that good with pictures, and even if I can find them I often can't post them. But I will try.

 

[demeis]

it looked something like this http://images.andale.com/f2....617.jpg

 

[naturlaut]

I like it. I'm 5"10, and I usually have the button almost exactly at the middle of the coat --- which happens to be about 1" over my natural waist and 1" to 1 1/2" below my rib cage. Gorge is also relatively high, though might not be as high as some RTW Isaia you see, but I find the proportion pleasing. I think the Americans like to have a lower button stance than the English. Also, when the stance and waist is cut higher, the coat looks longer, hence the elongated look.

If you are not especially tall (like I am), cutting a lower button stance will allow only about 10" skirt, which is not helpful in portray your height. To further help the silhouette would be the placement of the two side pockets, but I am still experimenting and consulting my tailors on that one.

 

[Manton]

Yeah, that's a 3-button with the bottom button missing -- not at all what I mean when I wax rhapsodic about a high button stance.

The duke's (and my friend's) had the bottom button significantly lower.

 

[brooklyn]

it looked something like this http://images.andale.com/f2....617.jpg

To me that looks like a very high stance? I prefer to have a high 2 button stance. I do prefer to have 3 button suits but when I had my mtm suits done I requested to have a high 2 button stance for something different. I believe it is more of a european style which I also prefer as well.

 

[Millerp]

Yeah, that's a 3-button with the bottom button missing -- not at all what I mean when I wax rhapsodic about a high button stance.

The duke's (and my friend's) had the bottom button significantly lower.

So do you button both buttons on
a 2-button suit like this?

Just doing the top button or just the bottom button
would look kind of weird.

I guess we need to bend the "rules" here.

 

[Brian SD]

By "high" I don't mean "way high" or "fashion house high".

No fashion house has done this - not that I know of anyway

They all prefer low stances. Every designer suit or sports jacket I have ever owned or even tried on has had the buttoning button be within 1" of my belly button, many directly on top of it.