The Anderson & Sheppard Expatriates Thread

[Andy57]

I only have one sportcoat and I have two buttons on the cuff. Three is weird.

That's the wonderful thing about bespoke. It's like Burger King: have it your way.

 

[lordsuperb]

That's weird, not bad.

I think you need a drink, you seem stiff.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

That's the wonderful thing about bespoke. It's like Burger King: have it your way.

Actually a 24 hour Burger King just opened by my home. That's very bad for bespoke!

I think you need a drink, you seem stiff.

Well, the only things I drink are also stiff, so I don't know how much that would help.

 

[Andy57]

Actually a 24 hour Burger King just opened by my home. That's very bad for bespoke!

 

[bdavro23]

Actually a 24 hour Burger King just opened by my home. That's very bad for bespoke!

Bad for you, but good for your tailor...

 

[Mr. Six]

The only thing that I would change about those above jackets is that they look short to my eye. I would lengthen them and drop the pockets to be even with the lowest button.

Also, why do they only have three buttons on the cuffs? Is that something that was requested?

jcm isn't easy to fit. Having been at the fittings for and seen the jackets in person, I think that he and Edwin have landed on an optimal length for him without messing up other things. Those are MTM, and I believe the pocket placement is part of the pattern that can't be changed. Even so, I'd worry that placing them lower would throw off the visual balance by making the top look too long. Someone photoshop it! I need red lines.

If you don't like three buttons on the cuff, there isn't much to say. But it's an option that lots of people on these forums have selected for a long time. Have you not noticed before?

 

[patrickBOOTH]

The pockets being lower would look bad unless the hem was dropped. Just my opinion. I haven't noticed three cuff buttons on the forum, only if there are four and one is unbuttoned. I still don't like it though.

 

[dieworkwear]

Also, why do they only have three buttons on the cuffs? Is that something that was requested?

Four buttons for suits and three for sport coats is pretty common among Southern Italian tailors, and especially those in Naples. I believe the style was picked up by people on the fora because of people's love for Italian tailoring.

On Savile Row, most tailors I've spoken to will do four buttons for civilian suits and sport coats, unless instructed to do otherwise. However, I've been told that "less than four" configs aren't uncommon for customers abroad.

Brooks Brothers used to do two during the heydays of Ivy Style, although I don't know if they still carry on that tradition.

In other words, the number of buttons on a cuff is often about regional detailing and, sometimes, linked to the military. It's not weird at all to have one, two, three, four, or five buttons, although it helps to have some sense of how they fit into the coat's design.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

It is interesting my parent's neighbor who is an Italian tailor in NYC (who oddly is never mentioned on here) puts five buttons on suit jackets. I am not sure if it is a Tom Ford inspiration, but I find that distracting.

I did notice that old films usually have 3 buttons, but I typically notice it in a lot of lower end suiting.

 

[jcmeyer]

My jackets start out with four buttons but I pull one out for the homies.

 

[dieworkwear]

It is interesting my parent's neighbor who is an Italian tailor in NYC (who oddly is never mentioned on here) puts five buttons on suit jackets. I am not sure if it is a Tom Ford inspiration, but I find that distracting.

Five buttons is standard for the Welsh Guards uniform, and carried over at times to blazers

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Interesting, I never noticed it on a blazer in the wild.

 

[Mr. Six]

When I see the button-less homies ...

 

[dieworkwear]

Interesting, I never noticed it on a blazer in the wild.

I think for tailors abroad, the stranger config is two buttons, which I've only known to be an Ivy Style thing. Of the three tailors I've used for two-button sport coats, all non-American, they had to measure the spacing between the buttons in order to get it right. This suggests to me that not many customers order such a thing.

 

[classicalthunde]

Brooks Brothers used to do two during the heydays of Ivy Style, although I don't know if they still carry on that tradition.

I recall reading that J. Press and Brooks Brothers originally implemented 2-button cuffs as a cost saving measure at some point, and then stuck with it after the fact as a styling characteristic. At least a couple of the J. Press models still use the configuration, and I believe BB has moved to all 4-button models now. Below is a pic I snapped of the button stance of a mid-century Ivy-style sport coat when i was thinking of having a similar cuff button config on my upcoming navy blazer. These cuff buttons seem to be much further apart from each other than the current iterations on J. Press' website.

I've always thought of more cuff buttons as increasing formality, which is why i opt for 3 on my sport coats and 4 on my suits, but 5 just seems a bit over the top (unless you're a prince or in full regalia)