Ask A Question, Get An Answer... - Post All Quick Questions Here (Classic menswear)

[durski]

What is the difference between a suit jacket and a blazer?
Can one wear a gray suit jacket with black trousers?

Thank YOU

 

[robert in LA]

Hi Durski,

You might find it interesting to look in wikipedia.org under their entry for 'blazer'. This is the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blazer The origin is generallyt thought to be English, though one would think that there are european equivalents. The look derives from a more casual less constructed jacket used for sports and informal wear. There is a slightly military version called a reefer, which is a bit more structured, is almost invariably navy blue or black, has gold buttons, may be double breasted and is traditionally worn, for instance, around yachting events, college clubs and the like.

Of course all of this is a generation back. These days, in the construction of off-the-rack blazers and suit jackets there is probably not a lot of difference and certainly plenty of overlap. Blazers tend to have patch pockets, be made of heavier fabrics like tweeds, perhaps brighter colors, (except for the reefer jacket which is usually a fine, dark navy worsted wood), are cut large enough to wear a sweater underneath, and are seen as practical everyday urban garments.

Suit jackets tend to have a slightly longer skirt, (althought the pee-wee herman look in suit jackets of a cropped jacket is popular for outre club wear among younger men than I am), and are generally more fully canvassed in their construction, and use, typically, very fine gage wools. The buttons are traditionally dark. In a better grade of suit with a lot of hand work the buttons will probably be made of animal horn. Suit jackets used to be made to fit close to the body. This said, there are many suit jackets in advertisements this fall, pictured with sweaters worn underneath.

Does this shed any light on things? Others will have opinions, but I think that the general consensus will run along these lines.

Best,

Robert

 

[robert in LA]

Originally Posted by kapay

I've read a lot about grey flannel suits or at the very least grey flannel trousers being essential to a wardrobe. However, I can't quite figure out what makes a suit flannel and not the more commonly understood "flannelette" which most people call flannel. And while I'm asking, what are some examples of NON-flannel suits for comparison sake.

Wikipedia has an entry on this under flannel. Flannette is traditionally a knapped, soft cotton, fabric often worn close to the body for shirts, undergarments, night gowns and so forth.

Wool flannel suiting has almost no nap and gains its softness through the weave. Flannel suits were once quite popular, in the 1950's or so. With improved climate control in buildings, the trend was to finer gage wools with more tightly spun threads.

 

[durski]

Hi Robert,

Writing to say THANK YOU for your well written response, much appreciated.

Best regards,
Durs Koenig
Forestville, CA

 

[Albern]

Originally Posted by chorse123

What is the center metal piece of a belt buckle called?

I can't for the life of me seem to find an answer, although for some reason "tine" popped into my head.

On The Materialist, he calls it a prong - http://www.thematerialist.net/facts.html.

On some trousers there is a small loop protruding from just below the waistband closure. Slip the prong of your belt buckle through that loop to keep your belt from shifting during the day.

 

[robert in LA]

Originally Posted by durski

Hi Robert,

Writing to say THANK YOU for your well written response, much appreciated.

Best regards,
Durs Koenig
Forestville, CA

Hi Durs,

It is interesting, given the importance of mens suits and jackets as design icons, and truly as a kind of history of architecture, that more is not written about this.

What is on the book shelves tends to be in the form of style manuals and not of histories. Plenty is written about the history of the design of buildings, less about the history of the design of cars, and less still about the design of mens clothing. But it this terribly important element in the history of the 'built environment' and surely we experience our clothing as much as we do the architecture of the buildings around us. Moreover we experience it more intimately.

One of the better histories of men's clothing is "Sex and Suits, The Evolution of Modern Dress" by Anne Hollander, printed in 1994. Copies are still around on Amazon. The unfortunately title was probably forced on the author by her publisher, because the books has almost nothing to say about sex, and everything to say about suits, and the orgins of their construction going back as far as the Italian renaissance, which is the first place that padding seems to have appeared to shape the profile of a male garment.

Best,

Robert

 

[Master-Classter]

^^^ Hey Robert,
I also just wanted to say great answers! I didn't even ask the questions but learned a thing or two from your answers.
MC

 

[GraphicNovelty]

Total n00b here. Anyway, so i just bought a couple Geoffrey Beene fitted sateen shirts (15 1/2/32-33) as I have a disproportionately large neck compared to the rest of my body. I'm trying on a suit I just bought from H&M (poor college student, needed a backup) with those and I was noticing that the collar looked...funny. I could just be being oversensitive, but something about it looks wrong. Here's a pic:

Any help you guys could give would be super appreciated. Thanks!

 

[binge]

GraphicNovelty, the collar looks stiff, almost like cardboard. It's a good idea to wash and wear the shirt a few times before making final judgments. The collar will tighten a bit due to shrinkage, how much depends on the shirt fabric.

 

[Invicta]

Originally Posted by GraphicNovelty

Total n00b here. Anyway, so i just bought a couple Geoffrey Beene fitted sateen shirts (15 1/2/32-33) as I have a disproportionately large neck compared to the rest of my body. I'm trying on a suit I just bought from H&M (poor college student, needed a backup) with those and I was noticing that the collar looked...funny. I could just be being oversensitive, but something about it looks wrong. Any help you guys could give would be super appreciated. Thanks!

Binge is spot on, however another thing that you are probably picking up on is the shape of the tie space in the collar. The collar on your shirt is shaped like:
_
/ \\ while other shirts have a more strict /\\ shape. It also has to do with teh angle of teh points on your collar and teh fact that it needs to be softend up a bit. It's not "wrong" just different collar styles. Nice dimple on the tie BTW.

 

[baldicusrex]

WHAT kind of suits look best on bigger guys? 5'10, 200lbs, big shoulders and chest..

 

[binge]

Originally Posted by baldicusrex

Can kind of suits look best on bigger guys? 5'10, 200lbs, big shoulders and chest..

Yes.

 

[baldicusrex]

Originally Posted by binge

Yes.
I have absolutely no idea how i wrote can instead of what...thats just weird

 

[binge]

Originally Posted by baldicusrex

I have absolutely no idea how i wrote can instead of what...thats just weird

Are you asking about particular suit jacket styles: such as single or double breasted? Or are you asking for specific brands? And when you say "bigger" do you mean bulging muscles or chubby?

 

[Mr. Moo]

Originally Posted by binge

Are you asking about particular suit jacket styles: such as single or double breasted? Or are you asking for specific brands? And when you say "bigger" do you mean bulging muscles or chubby?

Bulging chubbers.