Unfunded Liabilities: a/k/a The Cloth Thread

[DorianGreen]

Take an objective look at the silhouette he wears.
Proportions are not balanced.
Jacket length cuts him off and make his legs look shorter. Make the jacket one to two inches shorter; would better express the look he is trying to achieve.
Full trousers can and should have shape. That’s whats missing visually.
If you impose this design concept without balance that is complimentary to the client‘s build or body type it‘s unflattering and costume like.
Not knocking the style, just the execution.

I would agree, a look has always to be adjusted to the customer's shape, what looks great for one can look bad for another.

I love his trousers, but I'm not so fond of his jackets: as you said, they are a little too long (and too boxy to me). The gorge looks a little too low too. Everything though very congruous for the 40s style he's pursuing.

 

[DorianGreen]

Good to great looking trousers, all Atelier Caid.

 

[JIMIG]

Hey. Two questions regarding high twist fabrics:

1) Looking for a high twist navy fabric for a 3-season suit. Must be a classic navy, matt, with good texture (I don’t mind a bit of scratchiness) and hold a crease well. I am in a cold climate, so I don’t worry about overheating. Have been looking at fresco III, fresco 3-ply, ascot 4-ply, finmeresco 4-ply and crispaire. If anyone has a clear favorite (with specific swatch code), please let me know!

2) Considering a heavy high twist fabric for a FW mid-to-dark grey odd trouser. A substitute for flannel. To be used in the office (with just a short walk from the car, so no issue with freezing). Are there any of the above mentioned bunches that could serve this function, and provide enough texture so that it would not look out of place with a Shetland sweater or a tweed SC? If so, any specific swatches to recommend?

 

[aristoi bcn]

Hey. Two questions regarding high twist fabrics:

1) Looking for a high twist navy fabric for a 3-season suit. Must be a classic navy, matt, with good texture (I don’t mind a bit of scratchiness) and hold a crease well. I am in a cold climate, so I don’t worry about overheating. Have been looking at fresco III, fresco 3-ply, ascot 4-ply, finmeresco 4-ply and crispaire. If anyone has a clear favorite (with specific swatch code), please let me know!

2) Considering a heavy high twist fabric for a FW mid-to-dark grey odd trouser. A substitute for flannel. To be used in the office (with just a short walk from the car, so no issue with freezing). Are there any of the above mentioned bunches that could serve this function, and provide enough texture so that it would not look out of place with a Shetland sweater or a tweed SC? If so, any specific swatches to recommend?

Why high twist? Living in a cold climate a high twist (open weave) appears to be less than optimal. I like my Frescos but I live in central Europe and wear mine around 4 months a year. Flannel, 7 to 8 months a year. Fresco 3 ply drapes like steel but it is super scratchy and feels heavier than what its weight would suggest. The problem with this cloth is that it doesn’t keep you warm in winter nor cool in summer.

 

[JIMIG]

Why high twist? Living in a cold climate a high twist (open weave) appears to be less than optimal. I like my Frescos but I live in central Europe and wear mine around 4 months a year. Flannel, 7 to 8 months a year. Fresco 3 ply drapes like steel but it is super scratchy and feels heavier than what its weight would suggest. The problem with this cloth is that it doesn’t keep you warm in winter nor cool in summer.

Yeah, good point.

Like you, I am wearing flannels most of the year. But I like the texture and performance of the RTW high twists I have tried, and I thought maybe some bunches might have the potential for near year around use.

 

[Socks_mtg]

Why high twist?

As a UK resident, so less than the ideal climate for it, a lot of the properties of high twist are very appealing:

Sharp, travel well, resistant to wrinkling.

With most people only really walking from a car park to a heated or air conditioned office, I feel like the downsides you mention on temp regulation might not be such a problem?

Fox air as a bunch speaks to me - even in a far from tropical climate 😂

 

[aristoi bcn]

As a UK resident, so less than the ideal climate for it, a lot of the properties of high twist are very appealing:

Sharp, travel well, resistant to wrinkling.

With most people only really walking from a car park to a heated or air conditioned office, I feel like the downsides you mention on temp regulation might not be such a problem?

Fox air as a bunch speaks to me - even in a far from tropical climate 😂

If you are only walking from a car park to a climatized office, the upsides you mention, which I agree with, do not compensate for the disadvantages: itchiness and breathability (no breeze indoors), properties that do provide an advantage in a warm to hot climate and in circumstances where the same garment will be worn more than one day in a row and where there is no possibility of ironing it.

Don’t get me wrong, I think high twists have their place (I have 3 suits out of it, 3 sportcoats (ok, mock lenos) and 7 pairs of odd trousers, all bespoke and covering all weights and compositions of the Fresco book, but since I moved from a Mediterranean city to my current central Europe location, I don’t wear them as much as to justify them being the backbone of my wardrobe they once were. High twists don’t tolerate well getting wet neither so if it’s rainy you would need to iron them pretty regularly.

Milled wool twills, worsted flannels, heavy wool gabardines, cavalry and venetian twills and whipcords are in my experience more suited to central-north european climates than wool open weave high twists.

 

[ZRH1]

I think “quite pretentious” is being polite.

A bit of mansplaining? He was downright rude. Look past the messenger if you will, but his behavior on this forum is enough for me to say no thanks.

Yes. One of his more polite proclamations here. Oddly he was nice and engaged in actual conversation when he first joined the forum, then he became a self proclaimed expert and no one could talk to him. He knew better than all.

I have to be careful with what I write here, I once pointed out a cultural aspect of business in Korea that I showed our long standing partners in Seoul and Busan and they all wholeheartedly agreed with me, yet I was told here I was being racist towards Koreans.

It reminds me if that sketch by an Australian satire based loosely on the Office, where the HR department was livid because of an employee apparently being offensive to Mexicans and when the employee wanted to draft an (unnecessary) apology to the Mexican embassy, the HR lady replied "forget the damn Mexicans, it is social media reaction of people worried about the rights of the Mexicans we are worried about".

 

[P-K-L]

You went all in on that Rangoon

All correct bespeakers did

 

[Concordia]

A new-ish source for year-round, durable suits: Smith Abacus. There is a new book out with a lot more patterns. Not pure high-twist in the Fresco/Air/Finmeresco mode, but a good staple for business and travel.

 

[diodati]

Take an objective look at the silhouette he wears.
Proportions are not balanced.
Jacket length cuts him off and make his legs look shorter. Make the jacket one to two inches shorter; would better express the look he is trying to achieve.
Full trousers can and should have shape. That’s whats missing visually.
If you impose this design concept without balance that is complimentary to the client‘s build or body type it‘s unflattering and costume like.
Not knocking the style, just the execution.

@Despos, You clearly need to stay humble and learn.

Questioning the proff! Lol

 

[Texasmade]

@Despos, You clearly need to STAY HUMBLE AND LEARN!!!

Questioning the proff! Lol

ftfy

 

[symphvaria]

Okey is so prolific now that I’ve had people IRL ask me if I know who he is just because I happened to be wearing tailoring that day. Truly terrifying times we live in.

 

[kylepw]

Maybe Okey is having something of a midlife crisis with the clown pants (or trying to hack the algorithms?), but I'd argue he's done more good than bad in terms of educating and spurring interest in the classic menswear space.

 

[epsilon22]

Okey is so prolific now that I’ve had people IRL ask me if I know who he is just because I happened to be wearing tailoring that day. Truly terrifying times we live in.

He's the twitter instagram menswear guy.