Balance

[Holdfast]

Interesting read, Manton.

Yesterday, I saw a tall chap ahead of me in the line for coffee. He was wearing a single-breasted navy suit which had a serious fit problem that I wonder if it might be related to balance.

I see it a lot with taller, thinner people, esp. when their jacket is undone. The shoulders appear to fit OK (not great, but OK) and from chest up, the jacket appears serviceable. However the skirt of the jacket develops vertical rolls (almost pleats) similar in appearance to the first illustration but at the side of the jacket rather than the centre. The front quarters also appear to hang much lower than the back which rides up similar to that first pic.

Is this a balance issue or something else?

 

[Manton]

Originally Posted by Holdfast

Is this a balance issue or something else?

Without seeing him, I couldn't say. My guess is that the most likely explanation is that the person has a stooped posture, and the coat has not been properly balanced to take that into account.

 

[TheIdler]

Thank you, Manton, for this useful and interesting thread.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by Manton

Trousers are another matter. Hardly anyone gets trouser balance exactly right.

Nice to see that we haven't lost the old manton, though I enjoy "new manton", too.

I think you've posted on jacket balance before, but IIRC, I've never seen any posts on trouser balance. Care to continue our education with a discourse on trouser balance?

 

[Manton]

Originally Posted by thinman

Care to continue our education with a discourse on trouser balance?
I don't have any illustrations.

 

[antirabbit]

Wow, that is so helpful.
I had Despos tailor a suit for me, which did not have balance, and somehow it does now!
Despos rules.
Manton rule.

 

[grimslade]

Originally Posted by antirabbit

Wow, that is so helpful.
I had Despos tailor a suit for me, which did not have balance, and somehow it does now!
Despos rules.
Manton rule.

Sycophant.

 

[antirabbit]

hehe

 

[Holdfast]

Originally Posted by Manton

Without seeing him, I couldn't say. My guess is that the most likely explanation is that the person has a stooped posture, and the coat has not been properly balanced to take that into account.

Thank you.

I think you may be right - as I say, I've seen it a lot on taller, thinner people and some of them have "learnt" to hunch over a little over the years, I think.

 

[Cordovan]

Originally Posted by Manton

Trousers are another matter. Hardly anyone gets trouser balance exactly right.

Do you have a post on trouser balance?

I also noticed while doing some research, that your post on suit silhouettes(used to be here http://styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=5067 - at least through the HOF link) is no longer there. Is it anywhere else on the forum?

Cordovan

 

[Hard2Fit]

Good post.
Thx!

 

[Philosoph]

Manton: sartorial engineer in residence.

 

[a tailor]

Originally Posted by Holdfast

Interesting read, Manton.

Yesterday, I saw a tall chap ahead of me in the line for coffee. He was wearing a single-breasted navy suit which had a serious fit problem that I wonder if it might be related to balance.

I see it a lot with taller, thinner people, esp. when their jacket is undone. The shoulders appear to fit OK (not great, but OK) and from chest up, the jacket appears serviceable. However the skirt of the jacket develops vertical rolls (almost pleats) similar in appearance to the first illustration but at the side of the jacket rather than the centre. The front quarters also appear to hang much lower than the back which rides up similar to that first pic.

Is this a balance issue or something else?

yes its the balance. the front is too long at the top.

 

[Dewey]

In Manton's illustration, the man with the long back has a ventless jacket.

If we change that to a center-vented jacket, would the vent gape?

If the back is too long and the fabric collects in the center of the back, it seems to me that bringing in the center seam (above the vent, but not all the way to the collar) would pull up the rear of the jacket.

Is that a good guess? I wonder if a long back could be fixed this way. Or is the long back as intractable as the short back?

 

[Despos]

Originally Posted by Dewey

In Manton's illustration, the man with the long back has a ventless jacket.

If we change that to a center-vented jacket, would the vent gape?

If the back is too long and the fabric collects in the center of the back, it seems to me that bringing in the center seam (above the vent, but not all the way to the collar) would pull up the rear of the jacket.

Is that a good guess? I wonder if a long back could be fixed this way. Or is the long back as intractable as the short back?

Taking in the center back has no effect on the balance.

To correct the vent opening because of a long back you first pin up the cloth across the back at the blades, raising the back up, until the vent hangs properly. That is the amount the back needs to be shortened. You then open the shoulders and sleeves. Cut the cloth off the top of the back then remake the shoulder and attach the sleeves. Shortening at the top is the only way if you have a plaid cloth.

For a cloth that does not have a horizontal match to the pattern you can open the side seams and back armhole area of the jacket and shorten at the bottom hem of the back.