Bespoke Suit

[silhouette53]

I would welcome your advice / observations gentlemen on the following :

It's many a year now since I owned a suit and on the rare occasions when I have had no choice but to 'dress up' - funerals, weddings and such, I have always made do with a blazer/slacks combo of some sort. In the last couple of years since buying an A2 and some M1 Bills Khakis, I have taken somewhat of an interest in the clothing of the 'Golden Era'. The Bills became my favourite pants in every respect - fit, (COMFORT !!!) looks, (SMART !!!)

I ordered two more pairs recently and collected them from a tailor today having had them hemmed. Looking at some 'in progress' work he had in the shop, it occured to me that I could choose some material and get myself a suit made and ask for the pants to be copied in the cut/fit/style etc of the Bills and the jacket in whatever style would be appropriate. Given that the Bills are supposedly fashioned after a 1940s style, what kind/style of jacket would you recommend ? Double or single breasted ? I'm fairly athletically built despite my age as I train 2-3 times per week - 31" waist, 40" chest. Would that have any bearing on which way to go ?
All advice gratefully accepted

Colin

 

[Wild Root]

Double breasted..... goood job sir! Nothing says 30's or 40's then a nice six button DB suit... here is a photo of one of Marc's suits you may like to show your tailor so he may get the coat's cut down better... DB coats of the 30's-40's were different then the ones made today...

 

[clevispin]

I think that is the finest blazer that I've ever seen. I wish I had the figure for darts. Any chance William Frawley was considered a "man of style"?

m

 

[Mr. Rover]

That is something most modern tailors never get right- BUTTON PLACEMENT!
Make sure you get the buttons set as wide as in that picture that Wild Root posted. Seriously- I had to fight with this tailor in Hong Kong for 2 days before I had to compromise for 3/4 of the distance I wanted.

Btw, Root or Marc, how old is that jacket? The lapels seem really straight and don't have as much belly as I've seen on some of the 30's or 40's jackets around here. Also, is that a Hollywood drape jacket? I noticed that it has some slack/drape in the chest, which was a feature I saw described in an ad from another post.

 

[scotrace]

I would welcome your advice / observations gentlemen on the following:...
...Would that have any bearing on which way to go ?
All advice gratefully accepted

Colin

Sorry this thread got lost in the shuffle, Colin. If there are pictures to follow of your new suit's progress, especially with Bill's-patterned pants, we'll all be checking this thread more closely.
You can't really go wrong with double-breasted with a build such as you describe.
Keep us posted?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I think that is the finest blazer that I've ever seen.

Glad you like it! Actually, it's a suit -- and the color is PURPLE!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

silhouette53 , here are some more 1930s and '40s suit jackets to inspire you and your tailor. I've included both double-breasted and single-breasted styles. Feel free to reproduce the daylights out of 'em!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

 

[Marc Chevalier]

 

[Marc Chevalier]

These are suits of mine that I have sold on eBay for the past eight months. They're all gone now: to others in the U.S.A. and to customers in Britain, Switzerland, Italy, New Zealand and Japan.


I still have this one, actually:

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Why did you sell them?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

To raise money for graduate school expenses.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Good reason.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The only one that could get me to part with these babies.

 

[Wild Root]

What, Taco Bell wasn't hiring?lol

 

[Marc Chevalier]

lol lol

 

[PADDY]

Fabulous pics...

What reference material/images/photos did you show them to get the feel for the type of jacket you wanted?
Are the pants going to have a 30's high waist and buttons for braces/suspenders?
What type of lining have you opted for?

And you can PM me with this if you feel more comfortable, but can I ask how much this is likely to cost?

Totally in awe of what you are getting done!!! So these chaps have a grasp/handling on suit styles/tailoring/configurations from the 30's and 40's?

Thanks in advance! PADDY.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Here's a single-breasted, three-piece version of your suit:

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Scroll down through the entire link below. You'll find lots of info on collar pins/bars.

Go to: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=7990&page=2&highlight=pins


.

 

[Robert Conway]

Holy mackerel, Marc. Those are some gorgeous pieces.
Sorry to hear that you had to sell them.