Critique My Frumpy Shapeless Overcoat

[m_wave]

Very rumpled after work am looking at altering the following Ben Sherman Crombie Coat

From this shapeless thing

To something like this (thanks bulldog clips) but I'm not sure if taking this much out of it is wise given that now the quarters are quite open and it has a bit of a morning coat look to it. Thoughts on how much alteration to width given that I like to wear jackets fairly slim (see Alfie tight) as a personal preference..

Suggestions to make this serviceable, I'm moving to the UK in 7 weeks and wish to have another coat that is wearable over there without blowing too much cash.

Excuse the messy background as I'm renovating my 1880 stone cottage at the moment..

 

[lee_44106]

Sometimes you just have to accept that an overcoat is meant to be worn over lots of something else, and therefore very difficult to do waist suppressions...etc.

Unless you do not intend to wear the coat over anything other than a thin shirt.

The second pictures shows that you are doing too much waist suppression.

Other way of achieving the look you want: starve yourself and be a bean pole.

 

[yfyf]

To be honest, it looks a lot better in the first picture. An overcoat is an overcoat. Sometimes a bit of fullness in it is nice, especially if you're going to have a suit underneat. If you are going for something closer fitting, you should try a smaller size coat?

 

[migo]

someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if you had clipped it with all the buttons closed, wouldn't that have helped with the quarters? I know you don't wear it that way, but I've seen quite a few tailors (well, all 3 I've had experience with) do this...when pinning up a suit/odd jacket, they'll fasten all the buttons and then pin. I suppose the result is the shape you want but the quarters still staying close together

 

[Holdfast]

Originally Posted by m_wave

am looking at altering the following Ben Sherman Crombie Coat

Be very careful before altering your coat in this way.

Your hips are fairly wide compared to your waist, so heavy waist suppression will make the skirt flare outwards as in the second pic. Combined with a short coat length, this can look either plain bad, or somewhat feminine, or both. If you want more waist suppression with your figure, I'd suggest first getting a longer coat to balance the hips out.

 

[philosophe]

I'd leave that coat alone. You do want to be able to walk or sit without freezing, right?

 

[ozonemania]

I don't see a jacket being worn under that overcoat. Is that how you usually wear this coat?

When I get my overcoats altered, I wear a suit.

If you want to get the body taken in, I wouldn't take it in very much... certainly not as much as in your 2nd pic. It almost looks like an elongated suit jacket.

 

[TopHatChef]

I think you need to do some house repairs. I can't comment on the overcoat. They are useless in Florida.

 

[m_wave]

Thanks for the comments thus far denizens of styleforum. I'll take some more pictures tonight wearing a suit jacket underneath and whilst I accept that I have tried to suppress the waist far too much I still feel it needs some slight alteration for me to feel comfortable wearing it.

Holdfast: Curse my wide hips and as my tailor points out regularly, comparitively large "behind".

 

[Happydayz]

way too much waist suppression on the second pic. An overcoat is an overcoat, this is true. However you can still have some shape to it. That said I think you went a bit overboard on the second pic. You have to keep in mind that an overcoat is meant to be worn over at least 3 layers - your undershirt, your dress shirt, and finally your suit. And of these the suit adds a good deal of extra fabric. And on top of all of this an overcoat is going to be made of some heavy fabric.

So it is unreasonable to expect the same sort of fitted appearance out of an overcoat that you would hope to get with a nice fitting dress shirt or a suit.

 

[FidelCashflow]

It looks 10x better in the first picture. I'd leave it if I were you.

 

[FreedBird]

I think it fits you really well. No need for alterations!

 

[JeffsWood]

Don't touch it, it looks good. Also I like that coat where did you get it....

on second thought, is the a 42? if so I don' tthink there is anyway you could get the coat to look good, I'll take if your hands and save you the stress.

 

[erdawe]

Keep in its current state, you want a good overcoat that will last you for years to come. Not something that will die to the whims of fashion.

 

[Biscione]

That's a topcoat; different to an overcoat, which is typically longer and in a heavier material.

While I've always thought that overly tight overcoats are affected, as it's better to leave them bulkier in order to wear more underneath, topcoats are less usefull as something to be worn during the cold. Traditionally, they're always more tailored in fit.

That said, your coat looks better in the first photo. I suspect that the arms are too wide and the armholes too large to allow a simple re-shaping job of any merit. A more expensive job would be worth it, but maybe you don't want to pay that much. Next time, get a topcoat in a smaller size, as they tend to look a lot better if they're a little bit tighter instead of a little bit too loose.