Cloth and other choices for DJ

[tazmaniac]

Dear all

I'd like to put in an order for a bespoke DJ soon. I already have an established relationship with an SR Tailor. I am pretty settled for an SB model with waistcoat. I might not be able to go by the shop for a choice of cloth, so I am looking for some recommendations so they can send me samples. I am also a little unclear about the styling of the waistcoat. Cloth/silk, lapels or not? Any input is welcome. I need the DJ for an event in September in Central Europe.

Thx taz

 

[kannoos]

A matching cloth waistcoat looks much sharper with a dinner suit than a silk one in my opinion. It should be u-shaped and low-cut with 3 or 4 buttons and a shawl collar (the waistcoat collar did not traditionally take silk facings like the jacket lapels). The bottom of the waistcoat usually takes points (the cutaway base usually seen on day waistcoats) but there shouldn't be any actual non-functional buttons. Also, have you considered having turnback cuffs on the coat (they can be faced with silk that matches the lapels and bow tie if you want)? Not the wimpy James Bond ones, but the ones that are actually buttoned back using the cuff buttons.

 

[kolecho]

Barathea around 13oz should be good.

 

[Will]

Can't go wrong with Lesser's 12 ounce barathea but black mohair is also nice.

 

[tazmaniac]

Does Lesser also offer something in midnight (I should think so)? As for the grosgrain, should I just let my tailor choose? Not sure about the sheen of mohair, but still, who offers a nice one? Thanks for the replies so far. The explanation of the waistcoat matches what I would've thought to be correct.

 

[tazmaniac]

any more input? I could not find a lot of specifics with the search function.

 

[Will]

Originally Posted by tazmaniac

Does Lesser also offer something in midnight (I should think so)? As for the grosgrain, should I just let my tailor choose? Not sure about the sheen of mohair, but still, who offers a nice one? Thanks for the replies so far. The explanation of the waistcoat matches what I would've thought to be correct.

Lesser has midnight, yes. And yes, let your tailor select the grosgrain.

Mohair is better used for a lighter suit of perhaps ten ounces. All the well-known houses have something.

 

[tazmaniac]

Thanks a lot Will! I will have him send some samples.

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Originally Posted by Will

Lesser has midnight, yes. And yes, let your tailor select the grosgrain. Mohair is better used for a lighter suit of perhaps ten ounces. All the well-known houses have something.
Although the quality is good, The H. Lesser formal book has a very dated, clumsy look. And 12 oz is far too heavy for a dinner jacket. Smith and Sons, Dormeuil and Holland and Sherry have much nicer books. Personally, while mohair is good for a DJ, I wouldn't get one in this fabric until I was buying my second. Mohair is not a particularly comfortable fabric and I think a dinner jacket should be something soft you can slouch in.

 

[tazmaniac]

I also thought I'd make the mohair my second. As for the differences between the Lesser book and the other mentioned ones, it's hard for me to say anything on that without having seen them. I have to say though, I would quite like to achieve an "old-fashioned" look. Whether 12 oz is too heavy, I'm not sure.

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Originally Posted by tazmaniac

I also thought I'd make the mohair my second. As for the differences between the Lesser book and the other mentioned ones, it's hard for me to say anything on that without having seen them. I have to say though, I would quite like to achieve an "old-fashioned" look. Whether 12 oz is too heavy, I'm not sure.
I am sure that 12oz is too heavy unless you trly know what youre doing and derive pleasure from cooking yourself in your own juices. As for an old fashioned look. I have come to recognize that there is more than a sizeable current of people who post about clothes who in spite of their personalities or perhaps because of them like to call attention to themselves by the backwardness of their attire. Whether this is because they think they lack presence or are so freaky to begin with, or whether they think they achieve a certain old world refinement from a period that is dead and cannot be argued with I cannot yet say but when I assert that the Lesser formal book is old fashioned I mean it in a please do not waste your money and look and feel uncomfortable sort of way. Again, this is a message for the well adjusted who might think people with experience on here have their best interests at heart, the bizarre of course are welcome to wear dinner jackets from beyond the grave to their hearts content.

 

[tazmaniac]

I don't think I need to call attention to myself by the backwardness of my attire. I'd just like to evaluate my choices.

 

[tazmaniac]

Can anyone else besides FNB weigh in if the Lesser Formal Book wears that hot? I have a suit from Lessers 9.5/10 and one from the 13 oz book. The 13 oz has a very nice, flannel-like appearance, but so far I have not been "cooked in my own juices".

 

[Concordia]

Originally Posted by tazmaniac

Can anyone else besides FNB weigh in...

You needn't be concerned by such arrant douchebaggery.

13oz barathea is likely to be warm, and if you tend to run hot in crowded rooms it will be too much so. There's no reason it couldn't work, though, if your size and/or metabolism can handle it. If you like the look and feel of other Lesser standards, you may also like their formalwear cloths.

Why not ask your tailor what he recommends? You know his track record on cloth choices and can calibrate to your own taste. Barathea is the usual choice for this assignment, but there are other worsteds that can be effective if you don't insist on a deep black finish.

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Originally Posted by Concordia

You needn't be concerned by such arrant douchebaggery.
Oh Concordia, don't be so hard on yourself. I can forgive this quality in you because you seem to have gotten something about cloth right

Originally Posted by Concordia

13oz barathea is likely to be warm, and if you tend to run hot in crowded rooms it will be too much so. There's no reason it couldn't work, though, if your size and/or metabolism can handle it. If you like the look and feel of other Lesser standards, you may also like their formalwear cloths. Why not ask your tailor what he recommends? You know his track record on cloth choices and can calibrate to your own taste. Barathea is the usual choice for this assignment, but there are other worsteds that can be effective if you don't insist on a deep black finish.
I have a few of the Lesser 13oz worsted cloths and they are not hot until I am in a hot environment. I don't think a dinner jacket has the same journey as a business suit (I also didn't know Lesser make a 13oz flannel). Usually, assuming the wearer is not a recluse, there will a lot more animation in a closed crowded environment when wearing a DJ, which is why most people prefer a tropical weight. 10 oz is about as heavy as I would go. Although I actually have a DJ made from the Lesser 11oz worsted and it is too heavy. But when I was talking about the Lesser formal fabrics, I was more concerned with the finish, which is insipid and kinda Scrooge like. If someone insists on a heavy formal cloth, Smiths book is nicer. For lighter weight, Both Holland & Sherry and Dormeuil have the most up to date, nicest cloths for formal.