• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

The SwissArmySuit™: a sartorial strip tease

voxsartoria

Goon member
Timed Out
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
25,700
Reaction score
180
Originally Posted by Manton
I don't recall Scott posting any suits from A&S, just one jacket. The suits were from other firms. Of course, I could have missed it.

It wasn't a photo post, just a statement that I remember in this thread on the SRBA standards, since those included cross-stitching of buttons:

=== excerpt ===

BlackadderJanuary 30th, 2007, 07:03

Their final standards are quite a subtle comedown from Count Lippe's initial postings. I was interested to see the reference to cross-stitch buttons: I have suits from SR tailors (one of which is a member of SRBA) that have two-eyed buttons, thereby making cross-stitches impossible.

Bonhamesque January 30th, 2007, 08:05

With regard to the buttons, I know one S Row firm in particular who use the two-whole buttons and they consider it one of their 'signature features' if you know what I mean? That'll have to go out the window now I suppose.

Count Lippe January 30th, 2007, 12:50

Concerning the two hole buttons - I think that the house that uses these is well beyond reproach and has been instrumental in putting the quality standards and specifications together.

RSS January 30th, 2007, 13:01

As all my Anderson & Sheppard coats have two hole buttons ... I'd say it's safe to assume that we are referring to Anderson & Sheppard.

=== end ===

Without any disrepect intended, I'm not sure Mr. Hitchcock is necessarily the definitive source of comment on what is particularly A&S historically and what is not...for what they do now, of course, he is, and he probably has strong views generally.

Maybe if Edwin sees this he can comment on this critical issue of holes in buttons.
smile.gif



- B
 

Manton

RINO
Joined
Apr 20, 2002
Messages
41,314
Reaction score
2,879
Maybe he asked for that, I don't know. Every time I see the staff, they are wearing suits with shiney four-hole buttons. When I saw them last week, Mr. H. noticed that I was missing a button on one of my sleeves. He offered to replace it then and there, but we noticed that my coat had four-hole horn buttons, and he only had two-hole buttons on hand. He specifically said that using two-hole buttons on odd jackets was an A&S signature, whereas they used four-hole only on suits.

My first custom suit was made by Flusser in 1992, and he told me rather proudly that he trimmed his stuff the same way as A&S -- two hole horn on odd jackets, four-hole plastic or corozzo on suits. He said he used the same button supplier, even. The following year, I visited A&S for the first time, and they confirmed it.
 

voxsartoria

Goon member
Timed Out
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
25,700
Reaction score
180
Originally Posted by Manton
Maybe he asked for that, I don't know. Every time I see the staff, they are wearing suits with shiney four-hole buttons. When I saw them last week, Mr. H. noticed that I was missing a button on one of my sleeves. He offered to replace it then and there, but we noticed that my coat had four-hole horn buttons, and he only had two-hole buttons on hand. He specifically said that using two-hole buttons on odd jackets was an A&S signature, whereas they used four-hole only on suits.

Hmmm...I know that plastic buttons were standard on A&S suits. Maybe since they stocked four hole plastic buttons for suits and two hole horn buttons for odd jackets, when a customer asked for horn buttons on their suits, they would just get the two hole horn buttons which were on hand.

In other words, for horn, two holes on suits or odd jackets.


- B
 

TRINI

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2006
Messages
9,006
Reaction score
658
Originally Posted by voxsartoria
Hmmm...I know that plastic buttons were standard on A&S suits.

I'd feel cheated if I spent 2000 pounds + on a suit and got plastic buttons.
 

voxsartoria

Goon member
Timed Out
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
25,700
Reaction score
180
Originally Posted by triniboy27
I'd feel cheated if I spent 2000 pounds + on a suit and got plastic buttons.

Perhaps, but the usage of plastic buttons dates back to a time when if you wanted Teh Drape, there was only one game in town. You did as you were told.

You would wear your small humiliations like plastic buttons as a badge of belonging.

Another thing to consider is that there was a time when modern materials were considered anti-plebian, urbe versus rus.


- B
 

Manton

RINO
Joined
Apr 20, 2002
Messages
41,314
Reaction score
2,879
Originally Posted by triniboy27
I'd feel cheated if I spent 2000 pounds + on a suit and got plastic buttons.

I am on the fence about it. Part of me feels as you do, but I sometimes think that horn looks out of place with certain polished city cloth. Corozzo is nicer than plastic, but for some suits I would rather have plastic than horn.
 

Cary Grant

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2008
Messages
9,657
Reaction score
430
Originally Posted by Manton
I am on the fence about it. Part of me feels as you do, but I sometimes think that horn looks out of place with certain polished city cloth. Corozzo is nicer than plastic, but for some suits I would rather have plastic than horn.

Agreed.
 

dopey

Stylish Dinosaur
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Oct 12, 2006
Messages
15,054
Reaction score
2,487
Originally Posted by Manton
^^^ Actually, A&S uses two-hole buttons on odd jackets, four-hole buttons on suits. That used to be more common on SR as a whole.

A&S also tends to use the shiny plastic (or corozzo) buttons on suits, and matte horne on jackets. The rest of the row tends to use horn on everything.

That said, my two suits from Edwin have two-hole horn buttons.


The A&S system, including the corozzo buttons, makes sense to me. Davies used two whole horn buttons for my suit as a default.
 

J. Cogburn

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
654
Reaction score
15
Vox, now that you've had the suit for a while, a question: is the heavy fresco so wrinkle-free that you're able to take this on the road for 3-5 days without any other suit in tow?

And while I'm at it, another question; how is it in the summer? Too hot? I know you're in New England where "hot" isn't quite what it is here in DC, but if you travel, you might well have put it to a toastier summer test.
 

voxsartoria

Goon member
Timed Out
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
25,700
Reaction score
180
Originally Posted by J. Cogburn
Vox, now that you've had the suit for a while, a question: is the heavy fresco so wrinkle-free that you're able to take this on the road for 3-5 days without any other suit in tow?

It is not so much that it is wrinkle free as much as effects of being packed for travel hang out very quickly, meaning that I can skip having it pressed on arrival. I've used it as a sole suit/jacket on a three day trip.

Originally Posted by J. Cogburn
And while I'm at it, another question; how is it in the summer? Too hot? I know you're in New England where "hot" isn't quite what it is here in DC, but if you travel, you might well have put it to a toastier summer test.

Unless there is a good breeze, it is not the best jacket for walking out and about at the height of summer. I did wear it on May trip to DC during a patch of warm weather, and it worked great.

- B
 

jack220

Active Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2011
Messages
37
Reaction score
1
How are the front buttons (the larger ones in the pics) attached to the back buttons? I'm thinking of doing this, but have no idea how it is constructed... Close-up pics would be appreciated.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.3%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 61 39.1%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 10.9%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.3%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 17.9%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,207
Messages
10,579,298
Members
223,892
Latest member
cprice
Top