S.E.H Kelly

[sehkelly]

What about a coat-weight vest? A woollen alternative to puffer vests, if you like.

I made such a garment with a donegal herringbone I had left over from a coat I made in one of the London Lounge cloths and I quite like it.

Another idea I really like.

We have our "waistcoat" which I've been keen to see in a woollen cloth for quite some time.

Made in very thick cloth, though, I always find waistcoats and vests a little ... inert, somehow. Like sturdy little objects rather than items of wear. Still, this is a great idea. Cheers.

 

[sehkelly]

Some new watch caps arrived at the workshop over the weekend — newly knitted from our hard-working and increasingly full-time (as the jabs sweep the nation) friends in the south-west.

Two colours here, tricky though it is to discern. Dark grey and dark green.

We've never made them in cotton before, and rather like the boatneck from last year, I like seeing the chunkiness of the eight-ply tuck-stitch unmasked from behind the woolliness of lambswool.

 

[sehkelly]

... and speaking of the car coat (I've been practising segues) I took the opportunity to photograph it in its "on human" state last week.

You can see how the stay-wax cloth very quickly starts to do its parchment-like crumpling by comparing the body (freshly pressed) with the sleeves (freshly pressed and worn on the body for two minutes).

I'm keen to try this in other materials, such as the aramid weatherproof ripstop we often use for raincoats, but also maybe something woollen, later in the year.

 

[WhyUEarly]

@sehkelly Paul, for the SB3 jackets, is there a throat latch button behind the lapel so the jacket can be buttoned all the way up like the old military uniforms? That's always a fun little vintage detail that makes jackets infinitely more practical in very cold weather. I don't see the detail often outside of Ralph Lauren.

 

[Eyechild]

Another idea I really like.

We have our "waistcoat" which I've been keen to see in a woollen cloth for quite some time.

Made in very thick cloth, though, I always find waistcoats and vests a little ... inert, somehow. Like sturdy little objects rather than items of wear. Still, this is a great idea. Cheers.

View attachment 1586167 View attachment 1586168

I always find it interesting that waistcoats (to my mind) have this air of percieved prissiness to them, when in lots of ways they can be really practical layering pieces. I have a couple in Harris Tweed, and though I originally bought them to go with unstructured tweed jackets I now wear them with other bits like duffles, peacoats etc and Oxford shirts. On a chilly day they keep out the cold remarkably well and the pockets are surprisingly servicable for stashing odds and ends such as headphones, lighters etc. I have Brown's Beach vest that is much more casual and I'll wear with denim jackets, though in truth that's more of a jerkin.

Still. My rotating-in of waistcoats as semi casual wear come the colder months does always seem to elicit comments along the lines of "ooh you look smart", so I do think most folk still mentally file them as objects of dandyish curiosity, rather than functional, everyday garments.

 

[sehkelly]

@sehkelly Paul, for the SB3 jackets, is there a throat latch button behind the lapel so the jacket can be buttoned all the way up like the old military uniforms? That's always a fun little vintage detail that makes jackets infinitely more practical in very cold weather. I don't see the detail often outside of Ralph Lauren.

The SB3 does not have that, no. I like that feature on jackets with classic notch lapels, which I guess are the default style and the true, pure ancestors of the original military uniform. But since the SB3 (a) has a sort of peak lapel, and (b) with the collar and lapel edges held together with duck stitching, it doesn't lend itself very well to fastening across the front. It can be done, but it doesn't really work well enough for us to make a feature or option out of it.

 

[sehkelly]

I always find it interesting that waistcoats (to my mind) have this air of percieved prissiness to them, when in lots of ways they can be really practical layering pieces. I have a couple in Harris Tweed, and though I originally bought them to go with unstructured tweed jackets I now wear them with other bits like duffles, peacoats etc and Oxford shirts. On a chilly day they keep out the cold remarkably well and the pockets are surprisingly servicable for stashing odds and ends such as headphones, lighters etc. I have Brown's Beach vest that is much more casual and I'll wear with denim jackets, though in truth that's more of a jerkin.

Still. My rotating-in of waistcoats as semi casual wear come the colder months does always seem to elicit comments along the lines of "ooh you look smart", so I do think most folk still mentally file them as objects of dandyish curiosity, rather than functional, everyday garments.

I do like them, and agree entirely ... but seldom wear them. I think waistcoat sounds more prissy than vest, and my own personal hangups extend I think from either snooker players (not that there's anything wrong with snooker players) or three-piece suits with lots of purple satin, which I seem to remember haunting formal occasions in my youth.

But a good, solid woollen vest (the scratchier the better) — I'm all for that, in theory if not personal practice.

 

[nemononame]

I do like them, and agree entirely ... but seldom wear them. I think waistcoat sounds more prissy than vest, and my own personal hangups extend I think from either snooker players (not that there's anything wrong with snooker players) or three-piece suits with lots of purple satin, which I seem to remember haunting formal occasions in my youth.

But a good, solid woollen vest (the scratchier the better) — I'm all for that, in theory if not personal practice.

I think if you call it a gilet, then it sounds more sportsman like and less accountant like, you know, like a professional cyclist or French hunter might wear one (I've got no idea if the word is actually French or what hunters wear). I also think gilet connotes something that is mainly outerwear and not to be worn as part of a three-piece suit.

Whatever the label, it would be terrific if it were a bit longer to keep the small of the back warm and, yes please, made of tough wool just to drive home the point that it is mainly for outdoor, active use -- you know, to add a bit of warmth without getting in the way, like the way puffer vests were originally used before they were glommed on to by finance/corporate fellows hoping to feel adventurous.

 

[sehkelly]

Cheers!

Lots of food for thought. Much obliged.

(Gilet connotes mid-noughties football manager to me.)

 

[sehkelly]

We are back on track with Project Balmacaan.

So ...

What's the best cloth in this pile?

 

[sehkelly]

Just kidding.

Before we go to a final vote, it would be great if folks here could speak out on their favourite(s).

And, to jog memories, Project Balmacaan is the making of a balmacaan (https://www.sehkelly.com/balmacaan) in one colour, possibly two, with the folks here on the forum.

The cloth is tweed from County Donegal in Ireland, in either a standard herringbone or a wider variant. The former is the same weight and quality as the (barleycorn) balmacaans in the link above; the wider variant is slightly lighter in weight.

So far, the consensus is that the coat will be longer (around 43").

Full size here.

Full size here.

 

[sehkelly]

And if sways people at all, it is increasingly likely that we make a dark grey version for our website (in the barleycorn pattern) plus one other, in either dark green or dark brown.

 

[asewonder]

In order of preference:
Standard 5
Wide 8
Standard 3
Wide 3

 

[sehkelly]

In order of preference:
Standard 5
Wide 8
Standard 3
Wide 3

Cheers.

For reference / context, Standard 5 is the herringbone version of https://www.sehkelly.com/shop/coats/balmacaan/balmacaan-in-donegal-tweed-in-walnut/.

 

[espen]

Wide 7
Wide 2
Wide 6
Wide 1
All to say, I think the wide swatches are more fetching.