S.E.H Kelly

[LA Guy]

News on the balmacaan front!

We have some samples of cloth incoming from the mill in Donegal, which I'll endeavour to share in the coming days.

They'll be mostly herringbones — the same weight as the barleycorn design we used last year. However, the yarns can also be used to make other designs, such as a plain-weaves (which with the yarn being spun in Donegal is anything but plain).

Hopefully we'll find some consensus here and can make some balmacaans -- longer! maybe with an optional belt like how they did in gentlemen's outfitters way back when! -- together with the forum later in the year.

And on the subject of the balmacaan, he is the current version, newly photographed at the workshop.

View attachment 1556676 View attachment 1556677 View attachment 1556678 View attachment 1556679 View attachment 1556680 View attachment 1556681

This is going to be epic.

 

[sehkelly]

This is going to be epic.

The pressure!

Palpations galore.

 

[sehkelly]

Keeping up the uncharacteristically keen pace with new releases for the warmer weather, the popover "went live" yesterday.

Brighter colours than usual ...

Plus a pocket which opens in two different ways (also known as "two pockets on top of each other").

We have honed the fit, so it is closer to our normal shirts, and have changed the depth of the neck opening, which now also has two buttons rather than one (so can be buttoned higher to look potentially smarter).

The cloth is the same linen suiting as used in several years previous. It is very much in the "doesn't look like much but wait 'til you've live it with" category of cloth — it is much less crease and shrink-resistant than any other linen we've ever encountered, mostly on account of being top-grade linen wrapped up in a package of sanforisation and mercerisation during finishing.

It is substantial, so isn't something I'd eagerly wear in the height of summer, but any time between now and July, and the early weeks of August, it really comes into its own.

 

[oulipien]

Plus a pocket which opens in two different ways (also known as "two pockets on top of each other").

Is it two pockets or one pocket with two entries?

 

[sehkelly]

Is it two pockets or one pocket with two entries?

I thought I was being blase in my description when I wrote that sentence!

To quote a more reliable source (me on https://sehkelly.com/popover-in-linen-suiting-in-horizon-blue/ yesterday) — "There's a patch on the left side as worn, which houses two pockets. The larger but less obvious of the two is accessible from the top of the patch; the other has jetted entry. They're separate pockets, if that's unclear. The former is the more secure of the two, given its proximity to the large flap above."

 

[10dence]

I thus suggest instead you get bigger pockets, or leave the cap on your head at all times.

Bigger pockets are always on my wishlist. It's not too late to add them to your spring offerings is it?

 

[sehkelly]

Bigger pockets are always on my wishlist. It's not too late to add them to your spring offerings is it?

I can't speak specifically off the top of my head, but they are, as a general rule, trending in that direction!

 

[RozenKristal]

We're on the case with that one. Every winter we inch closer to actually trying to make one, I promise!

Time to sell my longer version inverallan...

 

[sehkelly]

Time to sell my longer version inverallan...

I dare say whatever we design, whenever it is designed, will be substantially different to those glorious titans of the knitwear world.

 

[RozenKristal]

I dare say whatever we design, whenever it is designed, will be substantially different to those glorious titans of the knitwear world.

After owning the 10 ply sweater and looked around some of the well known brands I possess, I think SEH has already joined the giants

 

[sehkelly]

That's too kind.

Speaking of knitwear, though, we have the polo shirt, v-neck, and cardigan coming back in a few weeks, all of them in cotton. We've honed the shape and fit as usual, and of those three, the cardigan has undergone the most extensive revision, which is to lower its break by about two inches.

Plus a t-shirt — a knitted one, two-ply cotton, fully fashioned, and quite different to what most people think of when they think of a t-shirt. I think we need a new name for it, in truth!

I've been wearing one for a few weeks, along with the new watch cap in cotton, and quite enjoyed it. It's the first "under layer" we've made, and which it's substantially heavier than a typical t-shirt, it's nice to wear with an open shirt right now (like, a corduroy one) and then perhaps with a jacket in the spring.

Hardly sartorial rocket-science, I know, propounding the idea of wearing a t-shirt with a jacket, but in the world of S.E.H Kelly, it's a step forward, and it opens up a few new options.

 

[WizardVigilante]

Just snagged the slim, small in sand. Was there a return? I could have sworn I was cursing the gods a while back that you were all out. I have them in umber which my wife lovingly refers to as my airship captain pants.

 

[sehkelly]

Just snagged the slim, small in sand. Was there a return? I could have sworn I was cursing the gods a while back that you were all out. I have them in umber which my wife lovingly refers to as my airship captain pants.

You didn't imagine it, Captain.

I'd set aside a pair to photograph but not got around to putting them back into stock.

Thanks!

 

[sehkelly]

Afternoon all

Here's an update on the previously mooted balmacaan project with Styleforum (codename: Balmacaan Project with Styleforum) ...

It is no longer mooted. Rather, it is definite and it is happening.

For anyone not privy to discussions thus far, we will be making a special version of the balmacaan along with and alongside Styleforum. The balmacaan proved the most popular choice among the people here on the thread when the idea was introduced last month, and in particular, a version slightly longer than our current offering (below).

The next step is the fun part: picking cloth.

I've been in discussion with the mill in Donegal which supplies every year the cloth for our balmacaan, and received this week a selection of tweeds with a herringbone design. These are all the same weight (and indeed, exactly the same quality) as the barleycorn tweed used for the balmacaan above.

Again, herringbone was a popular suggestion when the idea was first discussed here last month. However, we're by no means wedded to it, and the only governing criteria for the cloth for the balmacaan are the weight (the weight must be coat weight, i.e. about the same as used previously) and from the same mill (we're loyal) ... that's it. The herringbone seems to have wide appeal, but nice alternatively might be a plain version of the cloth, since the Donegal yarn is already alive with those neps and burrs of colour. Or, indeed, a barleycorn again.

What do people think is the best way to go forward? One of those voting polls? Perhaps some more photographs, closer, of the tweeds here, and a description of the colours for any members for whom descriptions would be useful? Bigger swatches of a handful of them? I am at your service!

I was thinking if we can trim the selection eventually down to a final three, we could make mock-ups of the balmacaan -- i.e. a collar and front -- before a final vote and then ... we make some coats (after the summer).

Paul (and Sara)

 

[moimael]

Afternoon all

Here's an update on the previously mooted balmacaan project with Styleforum (codename: Balmacaan Project with Styleforum) ...

It is no longer mooted. Rather, It is definite and it is happening.

For anyone not privy to discussions thus far, we will be making a special version of the balmacaan along with and alongside Styleforum. The balmacaan proved the most popular choice among the people here on the thread when the idea was introduced last month, and in particular, a version slightly longer than our current offering (below).

View attachment 1568026 View attachment 1568025 View attachment 1568024

The next step is the fun part: picking cloth.

I've been in discussion with the mill in Donegal which supplies every year the cloth for our balmacaan, and received this week a selection of tweeds with a herringbone design. These are all the same weight (and indeed, exactly the same quality) as the barleycorn tweed used for the balmacaan above.

Again, herringbone was a popular suggestion when the idea was first discussed here last month. However, we're by no means wedded to it, and the only governing criteria for the cloth for the balmacaan are the weight (the weight must be coat weight, i.e. about the same as used previously) and from the same mill (we're loyal) ... that's it. The herringbone seems to have wide appeal, but nice alternatively might be a plain version of the cloth, since the Donegal yarn is already alive with those neps and burrs of colour. Or, indeed, a barleycorn again.

View attachment 1568020 View attachment 1568022 View attachment 1568019 View attachment 1568023

What do people think is the best way to go forward? One of those voting polls? Perhaps some more photographs, closer, of the tweeds here, and a description of the colours for any members for whom descriptions would be useful? Bigger swatches of a handful of them? I am at your service!

I was thinking if we can trim the selection eventually down to a final three, we could make mock-ups of the balmacaan -- i.e. a collar and front -- before a final vote and then ... we make some coats (after the summer).

Paul (and Sara)

Amazing!

I'm partial to the second or third swatches on the left (brown/black, brown/dark brown) or eventually dark grey (is it dark grey on the top row?), but wouldn't be against a plain Donegal or barleycorn either. A poll is probably the way to go.