The Despos Thread

Originally Posted by Bull

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Prithee tell, Foo - among the "meanings used in the ongoing debate" - you know, the "drape debate" that rages amongst a select group of internets iGent nerds like yourself - who retains the magical power to bestow legitimacy upon certain definitions and not others? Drape is - to me - like pornogrpahy to Justice Potter Stewart: "I know it when I see it."

Regardless of what you personally conjure up in your head when you think "drape," it is a a term of some definite meaning. The man you quoted had a specific meaning when he used the word, too. I didn't bestow any meaning on drape--I just tried to learn it.

Originally Posted by Bull

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Most, I think, would agree with my definition.

Come on, you should know better than this. "Most" can think lots of things, but that doesn't make them right or their opinions relevant.

Oh good gawd, Bull and Foo, can you guys please go outside for the remainder of this little "whose is bigger" competition? The rest of us are interested in a more productive conversation.

Originally Posted by Mark from Plano

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Oh good gawd, Bull and Foo, can you guys please go outside for the remainder of this little "whose is bigger" competition? The rest of us are interested in a more productive conversation.

I'm talking about Despos's coat. It's the only thing anyone has posted all day in this thread.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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I'm talking about Despos's coat. It's the only thing anyone has posted all day in this thread.

Alright, another coat to help a derailed thread: (http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum...php?f=4&t=8592)

Originally Posted by onix

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Alright, another coat to help a derailed thread: (http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum...php?f=4&t=8592)

In my opinion, if you want to see how good Chris is, you need turn no further than the work he's done for Yachtie. Y. makes some oddball stylistic choices, but the fit and cut are usually impossible to fault, as well as extremely flattering to the wearer's physique.

If I may contribute here. This style of coat is the genesis of the Polo coat worn today. The wrap coat pictured is cut a size 42 and fitted to wear over a jacket. The person wearing the wrap coat is barely a 38 chest and is wearing a shirt and no jacket. It is a rather fitted coat when seen on the proper sized person rather than the loose fit of the original article. The belt is suggested to be tied in a manner that does not hang as in the picture. The cashmere is 13 ounce jacketing and not topcoat weight. This coat was made for a fashion show at a Custom Tailors & Designers meeting. The jacket concept was taken from this article about the influence of the sport of Polo on everyday fashion.


"The most distinguished garment of all is the polo coat itself. Double-breasted and patch-pocketed, with a half-belted back, frame pockets, set-in sleeves with cuffs, and swelled seams, the camel-hair polo is the aristocrat of topcoats.
At the end of the 19th century, polo players began to devise a casual robe-like coat to throw over their shoulders between periods of play (called chukkers) in a match, to keep warm while waiting for the game to resume. At first any old sports jacket or overcoat was pressed into service, but then players started to develop ideas about how the coat should function, and these ideas came to be called "wait" coats by English tailors. Early on they were indeed just like bathrobes: an enveloping blanket-like garment with wide sleeves, and a sash closure instead of buttons. In the 1920s, when international polo matches began being held on Long Island, the English wait coats did not go unnoticed.
There was definite swagger and cavalier deshabille about them, combining as they did the comfort of a robe, the warmth of a topcoat, and the aura of an expensive and elegant sport. Highly appealing to undergraduates of the era, these new "polo" coats were soon seen sauntering down Princeton's Nassau Street, and around New Haven and Cambridge. By 1930 the polo coat had evolved to what it is today, and - as sure a sartorial barometer of success as you could find -- it was the most popular outer coat at the Yale-Princeton football game that year.
It's success can be accounted for by the peculiarly American penchant for clothes that combine elegance with comfort, that casual dressiness that has always typified the college campus. It also puts polo gear in the forefront of the casual revolution we are now experiencing."

If you want to critique something lets first start by acknowledging what it is meant to be and then how well it has been executed or how awful it is.
Have made several of these for clients. Everyone that ordered one made it up in navy or midnight blue cashmere. One client in Atlanta wanted it more "robe like" and we did it with a deep shawl collar. He was around 6'4' and slender. It was 'striking" if I do say so.
This one is 6 years old, if I did the same coat today I would make the lapel a touch wider and not use any padding in the shoulder. This coat has about a 1/4" thick pad.

I wasn't sure if I should comment but think this thread could be different from other threads by commenting. Since I am the one producing the clothes I could offer some insight into the how and why things are done when making clothes for an individual. I'll leave this up to you guys. Ask for an explanation, I will try to accommodate you. I won't be defending anything I do. It is irrelevant if you like or dislike, that is a matter of taste.

Thank you Bull for your interest in this thread.

Your insight is very interesting. I "understand" the coat now.

What's happened to this thread is very sad...I for one, was looking forward to an interesting display of the handiwork of Chris Despos.

Originally Posted by mlongano

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What's happened to this thread is very sad...I for one, was looking forward to an interesting display of the handiwork of Chris Despos.
Lawyers

Originally Posted by Despos

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I wasn't sure if I should comment but think this thread could be different from other threads by commenting. Since I am the one producing the clothes I could offer some insight into the how and why things are done when making clothes for an individual. I'll leave this up to you guys. Ask for an explanation, I will try to accommodate you. I won't be defending anything I do. It is irrelevant if you like or dislike, that is a matter of taste.

I am looking forward to it.

Originally Posted by Despos

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If I may contribute here. This style of coat is the genesis of the Polo coat worn today. The wrap coat pictured is cut a size 42 and fitted to wear over a jacket. The person wearing the wrap coat is barely a 38 chest and is wearing a shirt and no jacket. It is a rather fitted coat when seen on the proper sized person rather than the loose fit of the original article. The belt is suggested to be tied in a manner that does not hang as in the picture. The cashmere is 13 ounce jacketing and not topcoat weight. This coat was made for a fashion show at a Custom Tailors & Designers meeting. The jacket concept was taken from this article about the influence of the sport of Polo on everyday fashion.


"The most distinguished garment of all is the polo coat itself. Double-breasted and patch-pocketed, with a half-belted back, frame pockets, set-in sleeves with cuffs, and swelled seams, the camel-hair polo is the aristocrat of topcoats.
At the end of the 19th century, polo players began to devise a casual robe-like coat to throw over their shoulders between periods of play (called chukkers) in a match, to keep warm while waiting for the game to resume. At first any old sports jacket or overcoat was pressed into service, but then players started to develop ideas about how the coat should function, and these ideas came to be called "wait" coats by English tailors. Early on they were indeed just like bathrobes: an enveloping blanket-like garment with wide sleeves, and a sash closure instead of buttons. In the 1920s, when international polo matches began being held on Long Island, the English wait coats did not go unnoticed.
There was definite swagger and cavalier deshabille about them, combining as they did the comfort of a robe, the warmth of a topcoat, and the aura of an expensive and elegant sport. Highly appealing to undergraduates of the era, these new "polo" coats were soon seen sauntering down Princeton's Nassau Street, and around New Haven and Cambridge. By 1930 the polo coat had evolved to what it is today, and - as sure a sartorial barometer of success as you could find -- it was the most popular outer coat at the Yale-Princeton football game that year.
It's success can be accounted for by the peculiarly American penchant for clothes that combine elegance with comfort, that casual dressiness that has always typified the college campus. It also puts polo gear in the forefront of the casual revolution we are now experiencing."

If you want to critique something lets first start by acknowledging what it is meant to be and then how well it has been executed or how awful it is.
Have made several of these for clients. Everyone that ordered one made it up in navy or midnight blue cashmere. One client in Atlanta wanted it more "robe like" and we did it with a deep shawl collar. He was around 6'4' and slender. It was 'striking" if I do say so.
This one is 6 years old, if I did the same coat today I would make the lapel a touch wider and not use any padding in the shoulder. This coat has about a 1/4" thick pad.

I wasn't sure if I should comment but think this thread could be different from other threads by commenting. Since I am the one producing the clothes I could offer some insight into the how and why things are done when making clothes for an individual. I'll leave this up to you guys. Ask for an explanation, I will try to accommodate you. I won't be defending anything I do. It is irrelevant if you like or dislike, that is a matter of taste.

Thank you Bull for your interest in this thread.

I'm a 38. When I wear a 40, it looks like I'm wearing my "daddy's coat." I have never worn a 42, but I am quite positive I could pitch a tent with a 42.

This explains absolutely everything. Case closed. Not that you had any obligation whatsoever to offer an explanation, but the fact that the gent wearing the coat is two sizes down - in my mind - makes everything clear.

Thanks so much for the input.

Originally Posted by onix

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Alright, another coat to help a derailed thread: (http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum...php?f=4&t=8592)

Gorgeous.

Originally Posted by Bull

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Look - construction-wise, I'm sure it's immaculate. But everyone praises this coat like it's the ******* holy grial when it's posted, but nobody has purchased or commissioned a coat even close to this one (or - at least - nobody has posted a pic of one upon completion.)

I have one from Davies & Sons that I'll post up once it gets chilly out.