Correct button stance

[imageWIS]

I was doodling around on CAD and came up with the following two drawings of 1-button SB notch lapel jackets. But, which one looks better and / or is more proper according to visual balance and "˜the rules' The one with the lower button stance or the one with the higher button stance?

Jon.

 

[Aaron]

IMO the first one looks a lot more balanced. I'll wait for the heavyweights to weigh in though...

A.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

I concur.

 

[j]

Wish I had a bigger monitor on this crappy laptop so I could see them side-by-side.

The first looks more balanced. However, if you moved the waist pockets up a bit on the second, it would look good too. The only reason it looks off balance is the pockets, IMO. I like the relationship of the button to the waistline better on the second.

Now, your task is to take that CAD drawing and make it into a Java applet that we can play with and try things out on. Get crackin'.

 

[lisapop]

Whichever button arrangement looks best on YOU is the best one.  What is most flattering for one person might be wrong for another, depending on your overall anatomy.  I own suits with both approaches, however one is a good deal more effective for me than the other.  I'm tall, and so a higher button placement for me tends to make the jacket look like I outgrew it. A lower button stance is more flattering to a longer torso. Same goes for lapel width, gorge, shoulders, etc.  They're all individual issues.
Grayson

 

[Ranjeev]

I like the first one as well. I think the gorge is too high on the second one for a one button suit. That's just my drunk opinion.

 

[Fritz]

I also voted for the first one. Lisapop makes an important point, though, IMO.

Very cool drawings, Jon. I wish I could find a way to put my occasional "sartorial visions" to paper (or screen), but I am not talented for that sort of thing.

 

[zjpj83]

I think the first one will last you longer too. The second looks fashionable with the higher button stance, the first looks more classic to my eye.

 

[Manton]

The main problem with the second one is less the height of the buttoning point in absolute terms than that the waist button does not line up with the latitude of the coat's waist.  That throws off the balance more than anything else.  It's important to note that if you want a coat with a high buttoning point, you can't simply ask your tailor to move up the waist button at the final fitting.  I mean, you can do that, but the chances that it will look right are not great.  The high button point has to be "built in" at the cutting stage.

That said, I think the top one is slightly lower than I prefer, and the bottom one slightly higher.  What I try for on SB coats is a button point that to the naked eye looks as though the waist button is exactly at the mid-point of the coat.  Place it at the real mid-point, though, and it will look too high.  The "right" point is something like (measuring up from the front bottom edge) center backseam divided by two, minus some small amount, depending on height and body shape.  2" would be a lot; 1" probably the minimum; 1.5" or 1.25" just right in most cases.

 

[Manton]

Otherwise, good looking coats. I like the gorge height, and the shape of the lapels and the breast pocket.

 

[imageWIS]

Otherwise, good looking coats. I like the gorge height, and the shape of the lapels and the breast pocket.

Thanks, they are designed in the Neapolitan style, mainly borrowed form Attolini, as is obvious by the high gorge, the fairly wide, yet curving lapels and barchetta breast pocket. The shirt collar used is based on 2 T&A-made RLPL cutaway shirts I own.

Jon.

 

[kolecho]

The main problem with the second one is less the height of the buttoning point in absolute terms than that the waist button does not line up with the latitude of the coat's waist.  That throws off the balance more than anything else.  It's important to note that if you want a coat with a high buttoning point, you can't simply ask your tailor to move up the waist button at the final fitting.  I mean, you can do that, but the chances that it will look right are not great.  The high button point has to be "built in" at the cutting stage.

That said, I think the top one is slightly lower than I prefer, and the bottom one slightly higher.  What I try for on SB coats is a button point that to the naked eye looks as though the waist button is exactly at the mid-point of the coat.  Place it at the real mid-point, though, and it will look too high.  The "right" point is something like (measuring up from the front bottom edge) center backseam divided by two, minus some small amount, depending on height and body shape.  2" would be a lot; 1" probably the minimum; 1.5" or 1.25" just right in most cases.

Manton,

The general "formula" that you outlined is indeed useful, but does it also not depend on where a person's natural waist is? I thought that the buttonpoint/waist of the jacket should coincide with the natural waist, which in some cases may not conform to your general formula.

 

[Manton]

but does it also not depend on where a person's natural waist is?  I thought that the buttonpoint/waist of the jacket should coincide with the natural waist, which in some cases may not conform to your general formula.

Not necessarily. It's much more important for trousers to be at (or above) the natural waist than it is for jackets. A jacket's proper fit does not depend on the latitude of the natural waist, whereas the fit of trousers does.

Anyway, the waist of a jacket is itself an illusion. A jacket with a high waist can make a low-waisted guy with a long trunk look more well-proportioned. This trick can work on almost anyone, except the extremely egg-shaped, who for all intents and purposes have no waist.

 

[water]

I am curious about the "proper" middle button position on a three-button jacket where the top button is placed on the lapel roll (as seen a great deal in Italy). Should the middle button "line-up" with the waist of the jacket or should the waist of the jacket appear to be positioned between the bottom two buttons?

 

[Manton]

The waist button of any jacket should always line up with the waist of the jacket. In my opinion.