The unofficial Drake's London Appreciation Thread

[othertravel]

In other news, found a decent alternative to the Drake’s mod toe boot. Here’s the drake’s

Crosby Moc-Toe Chukka Boot Light Brown Roughout Suede with Rubber Sole

100% Leather. Made in Italy.

www.drakes.com

and here is my humble alternative for $30 (Saks’ house brand at heavy discount):

 

[NikInLondon]

Some examples of Boglioli, where I think this issue comes up a lot.

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Since the jacket is very soft, you end up getting a very soft, rounded shoulder. Which can look great if you have broad, square shoulders. Or if you just have a cool vibe about you. But on some guys, it doesn't look very flattering.


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Compare that to the sport coat above. This photo isn't ideal because the model is stuffing his hands into his pockets, which is puling the jacket down. But you can see from the buttoning point up that the shoulder line is a little more extended, which creates a V-shaped silhouette. This is The Armoury's Model 3. It has a bit more room in the chest and a canvas that extends through the shoulder. It's still very, very soft (no padding). But with a little more structure, you can extend the shoulder just a tad, which I think looks more flattering.


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This is a Solito sport coat with a 1-ply shoulder pad. Simon has fairly sloped shoulders, but the single ply brings things up a little and extends the shoulder line by just the tiniest amount


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Here's Steed. 1.5 ply for the shoulder and a much heavier chest piece. You can see more shaping through the chest as a result. The chest looks a bit rounded, whereas the Boglioli above has little to no shape.

If you have narrow shoulders or wide hips, a very soft, unstructured jacket can make you look pear-shaped. This is especially true if the jacket is short.


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But sometimes very soft jackets, even short ones, also just work out. Here's one from Barena, which has no structure whatsoever. I'd characterize this more as a casual jacket than tailoring, but I think the idea is similar.

I don't think soft jackets are bad, but they don't look great on everyone. And the more structure you take out of a jacket, the more it's going to fit like a shirt.

Amazing, thanks for your thoughts - Nik

 

[Dadacantona]

In other news, found a decent alternative to the Drake’s mod toe boot. Here’s the drake’s

Crosby Moc-Toe Chukka Boot Light Brown Roughout Suede with Rubber Sole

100% Leather. Made in Italy.

www.drakes.com

and here is my humble alternative for $30 (Saks’ house brand at heavy discount):

View attachment 1463550

That looks more like an alternative to the Paraboot Michael.

 

[Psyko]

Is this season's D - 43 more ' square' over the shoulders, as well as cut slimmer and shorter than previous season's? Or is it just the product shots on the website making it look that way? It might just be that the model wearing the current jacket wears a smaller size.

New:

Old:

 

[Jon 1981]

Hello SF
I wonder if you could assist me on a grenadine tie query?

Is a Drake's handrolled grenadine tie any different from another handrolled grenadine tie?

I say this because there is a guy selling brand new handrolled grenadine ties on ebay for £55. So is there any difference or are Drake's marking up because its Drake's?

Thanks in advanced

 

[dieworkwear]

Hello SF
I wonder if you could assist me on a grenadine tie query?

Is a Drake's handrolled grenadine tie any different from another handrolled grenadine tie?

I say this because there is a guy selling brand new handrolled grenadine ties on ebay for £55. So is there any difference or are Drake's marking up because its Drake's?

Thanks in advanced

The "quality" of a tie can differ in any number of ways. Perhaps most important is the material used for the interlining, which is the material inside that determines how the tie sheds wrinkles and the shape of the knot. There's the way the tie has been cut in terms of shape (also can affect the knot). There's the quality of the stitching. There are also small details such as the material used for the keeper and tipping.

Hard to know whether there are differences without seeing both.

 

[polyfusion]

Tried on the rust games blazer today and the size / fit was ludicrous on me. Looked absolutely huge, like I had shrunk or was wearing my fathers clothing as a boy.
Anyone else had this problem? Or had to size down with this item?

for anyone else that sees this - I sized down on the games blazer in the end and it worked very well. Still comfortably fits with room in the chest but looks much better. Perfect on shoulders too. Maybe not quite enough space for all the layering drakes does in the lookbooks, with say an Oxford has a lambs wool jumper under, but could possibly be ok. Looked a lot better on me than the above size. Stuck to regular size in trousers though.

 

[markphilly]

Where are the alternative and less expensive ties made? Are they hadmade or hand rolled? Where does the fabric originate from? Those can also make a very big difference in the cost of anything. These factors obviously may not make the ties better or worse. I do try to buy good from smaller, artisan makers rather than products that may not be responsibly produced. I personally have never regretted buying a Drake's tie. But, if I did, I also know I could sell them second hand for a fair amount as well.

 

[bism416]

I grabbed some "Easy Day" regular fit shirts from the end of the factory store (R.I.P.) sale and quite like them.

I've found a smattering of their shirts on eBay some do not have the "Easy Day" tag, I think they are from before the launch of the sub-line but after the purchase of the shirt factory. Anyone have experience with both? Is the fit appreciably different?

 

[circumspice]

Easy Day I believe are generally priced cheaper

 

[hpreston]

I grabbed some "Easy Day" regular fit shirts from the end of the factory store (R.I.P.) sale and quite like them.

I've found a smattering of their shirts on eBay some do not have the "Easy Day" tag, I think they are from before the launch of the sub-line but after the purchase of the shirt factory. Anyone have experience with both? Is the fit appreciably different?

Easy Day I believe are generally priced cheaper

I have a couple easy day shirts (both chambray) and several regular line shirts (non easy day). I can’t tell the difference.

Agree with @circumspice that easy day items are generally less expensive. Maybe it was choice of fabrics??

 

[Leanderthal]

Anyone know if this is real? Is this a thing?

 

[dylantheroberts]

Anyone know if this is real? Is this a thing?

View attachment 1467196

I think I saw something about this on their Instagram stories a few weeks ago.

 

[SimonC]

It’s probs whatever they didn’t shift when they closed the factory store

 

[RogerC]

As I understand it, it's going to be an every-once-in-a-while factory store pop-up at lower overheads.