FidelCashflow
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- Joined
- Oct 15, 2007
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For the last several months I've been on a quest to find the ultimate staple sportcoat to build my wardrobe around for years to come. After searching endlessly from various RTW brands with no luck, I decided to go with a Corneliani MTM and just commissioned it.
The requirements were:
-the design must be timeless so it can last several years
-the jacket must be low-key enough that it can be worn multiple times in a week with numerous different shirts/trousers
-the fabric must be hardy enough it can travel without excessive wrinkling
-the jacket must be wearable in all four seasons
-the jacket must be full-canvas
To me the obvious starting point was a solid navy fabric - I decided on a hopsack wool that is slightly lighter than your traditional almost-black navy. Many jackets I saw were too light blue - and those restricted the wearability to spring/summer. I found that smooth-textured navy wool fabrics looked like orphan suit jackets. Of course given that travel is a requirement - any fabric containing cotton/linen/silk was out because it's prone to wrinkle. A super 100-130 wool is the way to go - appropriate for all levels of formality, and resists wrinkles.
Originally I was planning on doing a quarter-lined jacket because I like the extra attention to detail in the construction, but after consulting with a few people, it seems that fully-lined gives the jacket an edge in terms of long term durability over several years. To offset the demure navy wool exterior, I picked a contrasting solid bright purple lining with the corneliani logo imprinted. To finish it off, I selected the most magnificent matte smoked mother of pearl buttons - just to make it stand out from the crowd a little along with the surgeon cuffs.
The shoulders will be softly tailored with minimal padding, it will be notched lapels with pick stitching throughout (although it's difficult to see on a hopsack wool), it will have patch pockets on at the waist to give it a bit of personality and a casual feel (I almost never wear a tie) - but I still went with a welt pocket on the chest because I don't like the pocket to stick out when I wear a pocket square. Of course it will be two-button, and after some back-and-forth, I settled on single vents.
Originally I was looking for something much cheaper than Corneliani MTM - I couldn't find anything this season that grabbed me from SuitSupply, I almost pulled the trigger on a SS13 Canali Kei jacket in a solid blue wool - but it was a shade too light for year-round wear. I was eye-balling Samuelsohn since I adore their Gable model since I have several in RTW - but surprisingly the fabric I wanted was quoted at $1,500 in MTM (which is quite high since their RTW jackets are typically in the $900 range) - and that's without the optional extras like surgeon cuffs. In the end I went with Corneliani MTM since I've always admired their workmanship and their products, and it came in around $2K with all the extras - which isn't much more than the Samuelsohn would have been.
Unfortunately - now comes the hard part - the waiting game - 6 to 8 weeks I'll be sure to post tons of pics when I get it!
The requirements were:
-the design must be timeless so it can last several years
-the jacket must be low-key enough that it can be worn multiple times in a week with numerous different shirts/trousers
-the fabric must be hardy enough it can travel without excessive wrinkling
-the jacket must be wearable in all four seasons
-the jacket must be full-canvas
To me the obvious starting point was a solid navy fabric - I decided on a hopsack wool that is slightly lighter than your traditional almost-black navy. Many jackets I saw were too light blue - and those restricted the wearability to spring/summer. I found that smooth-textured navy wool fabrics looked like orphan suit jackets. Of course given that travel is a requirement - any fabric containing cotton/linen/silk was out because it's prone to wrinkle. A super 100-130 wool is the way to go - appropriate for all levels of formality, and resists wrinkles.
Originally I was planning on doing a quarter-lined jacket because I like the extra attention to detail in the construction, but after consulting with a few people, it seems that fully-lined gives the jacket an edge in terms of long term durability over several years. To offset the demure navy wool exterior, I picked a contrasting solid bright purple lining with the corneliani logo imprinted. To finish it off, I selected the most magnificent matte smoked mother of pearl buttons - just to make it stand out from the crowd a little along with the surgeon cuffs.
The shoulders will be softly tailored with minimal padding, it will be notched lapels with pick stitching throughout (although it's difficult to see on a hopsack wool), it will have patch pockets on at the waist to give it a bit of personality and a casual feel (I almost never wear a tie) - but I still went with a welt pocket on the chest because I don't like the pocket to stick out when I wear a pocket square. Of course it will be two-button, and after some back-and-forth, I settled on single vents.
Originally I was looking for something much cheaper than Corneliani MTM - I couldn't find anything this season that grabbed me from SuitSupply, I almost pulled the trigger on a SS13 Canali Kei jacket in a solid blue wool - but it was a shade too light for year-round wear. I was eye-balling Samuelsohn since I adore their Gable model since I have several in RTW - but surprisingly the fabric I wanted was quoted at $1,500 in MTM (which is quite high since their RTW jackets are typically in the $900 range) - and that's without the optional extras like surgeon cuffs. In the end I went with Corneliani MTM since I've always admired their workmanship and their products, and it came in around $2K with all the extras - which isn't much more than the Samuelsohn would have been.
Unfortunately - now comes the hard part - the waiting game - 6 to 8 weeks I'll be sure to post tons of pics when I get it!
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