The Look goes on...

[Kingstonian]

Have a rollable Panama with black band. I don’t roll it and it is getting old now with a few cracks. Useful in Summer. Have a tweed bucket hat for Winter. Keeps rain off better than a flat cap.

 

[Kingstonian]

Have a rollable Panama with black band. I don’t roll it and it is getting old now with a few cracks. Useful in Summer. Have a tweed bucket hat for Winter. Keeps rain off better than a flat cap.

Given I don’t roll the Panama if I was buying again I would choose one with a different crown and a pinch at the front. I think they look better.

 

[Kingstonian]

I don’t wear headgear as a matter of course. Cold and rain and sun protection are deciders. Wearing a hat unnecessarily draws attention to yourself.
My father and his contemporaries did not do so. He did get a big cap with ear protectors for the freeze of 63 but he only ever wore it for that.
I suppose some, like Hyacinth Bucket’s husband, continued with trilbies and kept Dunn and co in business for a while but it was dying out.
My uncles in Ireland wore caps but they were farmers and it rained more over there than here. In context, it was a good, authentic farmer look and better than what they wear today; though I doubt those hipsters who adopt the clothing of manual workers will start wearing dark suits with wellies, flat caps and long raincoats.

 

[Thin White Duke]

Just to bump the thread (from last week) ...

 

[Jimmy Balantyne]

Yeah, it's true, you need an inherent sense of style to pull off the old Titfer.

 

[Clouseau]

Guys, if you wanna have a look at MrK's entry and mine in the FC, here it is :

Friday Challenge: Dress Like a Star

One of my favourite movies is the relatively less well known Les Saveurs du Palais, which aside from a subject close to my heart, a warm tone seldom found in independent movies and a certain delicateness of touch and manners that does wonders to lift your spirit, also features the inimitable...

www.styleforum.net

 

[Thin White Duke]

I wrote a long dissertation on the blog about the story behind this suit ...

 

[Clouseau]

I wrote a long dissertation on the blog about the story behind this suit ...

View attachment 1216442

This is an interesting article.
I experimented the same thing with a RTW sharkskin suit. As i am tall, the seller proposed to mix trousers and jackets of different sizes. The fit was better indeed, but i realized later that there was a slight difference in fabric, so that from a distance the sheen of the jacket and trousers was a tad different. TBH i have the impression i am the only one who noticed it, and i still wear that suit from time to time (that was very cheap so i don't complain too much).

I also agree that quite often simple is best. You already had a good experience with Jason's tailoring services, but wanted to go for something that looked classier, and it was a mistake.

Your last words "Caveat emptor" pretty much sums it up indeed.

 

[covskin]

I wrote a long dissertation on the blog about the story behind this suit ...

Should have gone to Burton's mate...

 

[Thin White Duke]

Should have gone to Burton's mate...

Haha might have saved me a load of hassle - and a sack of dough too!

 

[Kingstonian]

I wrote a long dissertation on the blog about the story behind this suit ...

View attachment 1216442

“But when the dust had settled it rankled me that I had spent so much on a bespoke suit that was not only far from perfect, it gave me less pleasure to own than a simple off-the-rack Suitsupply suit which was half the price.”

This experience was a key reason why Marks and Spencer captured much of the suit market from MTM shops in the High Street like Burton, John Collier & Hepworth. The constant too and fro to fix various issues then settling for something that was not quite right. Then Marks started to offer a well cut suit that you could try on and happily walk away with on the same day. I remember my father abandoning the High Street tailors for those very reasons. That said, the range of cloths and choice of style then becomes very limited.

 

[Mr Knightley]

Haha might have saved me a load of hassle - and a sack of dough too!

Well, I have just read your dissertation and what a cautionary tale it is @Thin White Duke !

My own experience has been similar, regrettably. I started off with MTM at the tender age of 14 when my dad took me to John Collier one Saturday morning in the spring of 1967. As a family we were to have some professional pictures taken to celebrate my parents' 20th wedding anniversary and hence my first 'proper suit'. I don't recall much of the process of ordering, fittings and collecting the suit but do remember my dad chose the fabric (he was paying). It was a very safe navy with a fine self herringbone. I loved it. The fit seemed wonderful to me as a boy more used to Foster Brothers and school uniforms.

I know you have seen this pic before but...

As I became a little better off, having been happy with John Collier, Burtons and Hepworths' MTM offerings, I ventured into full bespoke trying two Mod-approved tailors in my home town of Chelmsford. And what did I find? Thankfully, I only ordered a pair of trousers from each. But each pair was disappointing in its own way.

The first pair were a beautiful sliver mohair with faint grey and tan stripes. At the first fitting they were much too big all over. When I eventually collected them just before Christmas 1970, planning to wear them on Christmas Eve, I found, just like @Thin White Duke , that they were virtually unchanged!

The next pair were gabardine in a kind of pale taupe colour. They were much better and fitted superbly but the flared style I had requested (by now it was autumn 1971) was not quite there. They still had what was, I assume, a house style that was pretty much straight cut - perhaps a very slight flare in evidence after much toing and froing:



Then the 1970s got into full swing and the 'need' for classic menswear was on the wane and OTR suits from Take 6 and Stanley Adams became the thing.

But many years later, about 10 years ago, I returned to bespoke tailoring and found that the age-old problems still dogged the overall experience...

But as @Kingstonian remarked you do give up exclusivity of cut and fabric when you abandon bespoke. So, is it worth all the challenges?

 

[Thin White Duke]

Well, I have just read your dissertation and what a cautionary tale it is @Thin White Duke !

My own experience has been similar, regrettably. I started off with MTM at the tender age of 14 when my dad took me to John Collier one Saturday morning in the spring of 1967. As a family we were to have some professional pictures taken to celebrate my parents' 20th wedding anniversary and hence my first 'proper suit'. I don't recall much of the process of ordering, fittings and collecting the suit but do remember my dad chose the fabric (he was paying). It was a very safe navy with a fine self herringbone. I loved it. The fit seemed wonderful to me as a boy more used to Foster Brothers and school uniforms.

I know you have seen this pic before but... View attachment 1217312

As I became a little better off, having been happy with John Collier, Burtons and Hepworths' MTM offerings, I ventured into full bespoke trying two Mod-approved tailors in my home town of Chelmsford. And what did I find? Thankfully, I only ordered a pair of trousers from each. But each pair was disappointing in its own way.

The first pair were a beautiful sliver mohair with faint grey and tan stripes. At the first fitting they were much too big all over. When I eventually collected them just before Christmas 1970, planning to wear them on Christmas Eve, I found, just like @Thin White Duke , that they were virtually unchanged!

The next pair were gabardine in a kind of pale taupe colour. They were much better and fitted superbly but the flared style I had requested (by now it was autumn 1971) was not quite there. They still had what was, I assume, a house style that was pretty much straight cut - perhaps a very slight flare in evidence after much toing and froing:

View attachment 1217325

Then the 1970s got into full swing and the 'need' for classic menswear was on the wane and OTR suits from Take 6 and Stanley Adams became the thing.

But many years later, about 10 years ago, I returned to bespoke tailoring and found that the age-old problems still dogged the overall experience...

But as @Kingstonian remarked you do give up exclusivity of cut and fabric when you abandon bespoke. So, is it worth all the challenges?

It’s an interesting debate eh?
I think for Mods back in the day due to their one upmanship they were always coming up with flashy details so anyone could tell their suits were made bespoke not off the rack.
I’m not competing with anyone and I’m not bothered about buttons on the trouser hems or gauntlet sleeves so when I see something I like the fit is the big thing. If I can get a good fit off the rack or with slight tweaks I’m good to go. If I want something more custom in future my first port of call will be Jason at Thick As Thieves as he’s got my fit dialled in.
Was it Foo or someone else on here who said when you go bespoke it takes about ten commissions before they get your fit dialled in to perfection?

 

[Yorky]

Never had any problems with MTM, you just need a tailor who knows what he's doing, and is willing to listen. But I must admit that I stopped getting MTM about 20 years ago when I packed in going to mod events and weekenders. The one exception was my last wedding suit 16 years ago, a nice brown 3 ply mohair number, which sadly must have shrunk as it doesn't fit me anymore.?
I once bought some black jumbo cord material from Leeds indoor market, and got my tailor to make me a knee length double breasted coat, and the ex wife a shorter version of the same style. It still fits me but hasn't been worn for over 20 years.

 

[Clouseau]

They just opened a Suit Supply store in Paris, a brand that TWD mentioned.

SuSu was all the rage in SF until relatively recently, i remember that until around two years ago all the posers (ooops posters) of the CM WAYWRN seemed to buy a new one every week.

Well i've been to the (flashy) shop and to tell you the truth i was not impressed. I don't know if the quality went down recently but well...
Ugly cuts, ugly materials, OK a bit of gloss and glitter and then what ?

I think the alterations are included in the price, but it's the case with almost all the shops selling suits here anyway.