Interesting website -- tom james

[johnnynorman3]

For all those who are interested in the differences, but don't want to cut open their own suits, Tom James site does a pretty good job of detailing with illustrations the difference. Click on the different lines of suits and you'll see -- and also see that those Tom James suits on ebay might actually be a pretty good deal.Tom James suits -- click on different models for illustrations

 

[j]

Those are really great pictures. Thanks for the link-- I will be studying it furiously tomorrow.

 

[Alias]

Geez, I wish these pictures were in larger sizes or higher resolution. I'm squinting at the text here.

Very interesting, though. I didn't know canvas could be so complex. I always thought it was just a layer of horsehair or whatnot sewn into the garment to give it shape. I didn't know about all of this flannel felt, cold-water dipped stuff.

 

[johnnynorman3]

What I found interesting was the difference between the highest line (forgot the name) and the Royal Blue line, for example. The Royal Blue has a full canvas front, but the highest line has a full canvas front AND pad stitching in the lapels. So, I think that people on this board often conflate the two -- or at least assume that pad stitching in the lapels and full canvassing go hand in hand. In fact, as the Tom James construction details make clear, they do not. While full canvassing will give the suit a nice drape and longevity, it seems to me that the pad stitching in the lapels is what is going to give the lapels "life" -- that is, a nice beautiful roll that non-pad stitched lapels aren't going to have (they'll still roll, mind you, but not as elegantly). At least this is what it seems to me.

Additionally, it is interesting to note that the half-canvassing is common in the lower lines. Some posters here have noted that most suits nowadays are at least half-canvassed -- with the good half being the chest area -- and the James website seems to corroborate this fact.

 

[HRHAndrew]

Thanks for the link, very intersting to look at. Does anyone know of the price points of the different levels of suits? Also, does anyone know what the fabric quality is?