Big men & double breasted suits

[Bruce Wayne]

How big can a man be & still be able to pull off a double breasted suit successfully?

Thanx!!!
Charlie

 

[Cody Pendant]

The Big Men of Style...

Wow, talk about a loaded question. Kind of reminds me of when my wife asks me, "Does this outfit make my ...".

As a rule of thumb only, it is generally thought of that a portly man would look slimmer in a single breasted jacket. However, thats only a general guideline.
So I will venture a..... it depends.

Are you a big and tall or a big and short? Or in-between? Whats the cut of the suit and the lapels and the button stance, which can have a great effect on the general look. A DB can add breadth but it also can be slimming. The forty's DB's with the slim hip cut and the deep lapels can have a slimming effect. It can enhances the broad shoulders and narrow hips forms a nice inverted triangle and therefore a longer silhouette. Sometimes it all balances out. The material say pinstripes or chalk stripes could also effect the overall appearance, adding to a slimming effect.
You will probably have to try it on a have a look see. Take a pic and have a look at yourself, what do you think. Somehow in my mind I remember Jackie Gleason wearing one and looking quite smashing.

If your looking for a exact cut off size....their ain't one. It depends.

 

[Tailor Tom]

My thoughts...

Cody is right in referring to this as a loaded question. And he gave some good advise on this too.

BD coats can look quite nice on a larger man. It all goes to the cut of the garment and the shape of the man. DB is a hard-sell on a guy who is pear-shaped (ie; narrow shoulders, wide hips). If a guy is fairly tall but carrying his weight or belly forward, or is generally portly, the cut is very important. In those cases, the coat would have no front dart over the pockets, and most likely be cut with a small "lift" in the pocket, and/or shaping to the lower portions so it will hang properly and not hang out and look even larger. Sometime a suit will even have a small dart under the lapel at the collar/neckline to account for a full chest. I don't recommend DB for men of shorter stature, and it all has to do with what looks proportionally right on the body.

Lapel can either add to the shoulders or detract depending on the width, gorge depth, fabric choice etc.

My other sage advise, ALWAYS button the coat. Aside from sitting, keep it buttoned. And that goes for all DB coats. For years David Letterman wore his DB coats open while on stage...and it was horrid to watch. It was just 2 huge loose pieces of fabric wagging around. Truly hideous.

Hope this helps.

 

[jamespowers]

Cody is right in referring to this as a loaded question. And he gave some good advise on this too.

BD coats can look quite nice on a larger man. It all goes to the cut of the garment and the shape of the man. DB is a hard-sell on a guy who is pear-shaped (ie; narrow shoulders, wide hips). If a guy is fairly tall but carrying his weight or belly forward, or is generally portly, the cut is very important. In those cases, the coat would have no front dart over the pockets, and most likely be cut with a small "lift" in the pocket, and/or shaping to the lower portions so it will hang properly and not hang out and look even larger. Sometime a suit will even have a small dart under the lapel at the collar/neckline to account for a full chest. I don't recommend DB for men of shorter stature, and it all has to do with what looks proportionally right on the body.

Lapel can either add to the shoulders or detract depending on the width, gorge depth, fabric choice etc.

My other sage advise, ALWAYS button the coat. Aside from sitting, keep it buttoned. And that goes for all DB coats. For years David Letterman wore his DB coats open while on stage...and it was horrid to watch. It was just 2 huge loose pieces of fabric wagging around. Truly hideous.

Hope this helps.

Those are all good points. I have seen that same point referred to in Men too Wear Clothes. I have tried to get a friend of mine to take the plunge but he feels it makes him look bigger. He is not pear shaped---quite the opposite. Though he is not exactly tall, cut and color choice should make him appear better than in a single breasted in my opinion.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

My apologizes for making it seem like a loaded question. I was just looking for a ratio as to if you as XX tall & YY weight you can/can't pull it off.

Thanx!!!
Charlie

 

[Lokar]

My other sage advise, ALWAYS button the coat. Aside from sitting, keep it buttoned. And that goes for all DB coats. For years David Letterman wore his DB coats open while on stage...and it was horrid to watch. It was just 2 huge loose pieces of fabric wagging around. Truly hideous.

Hope this helps.

Odd, I've always heard, experienced and found it works to just always keep a DB coat buttoned, even when sitting. All the DB coats I have are cut to be comfortable when sitting, as having to undo and do up the jigger button as well as the external buttons is not something one wishes to do when standing up or sitting down.

As for the question, my opinion is it depends what kind of suit - if you're buying a cheap ready to wear DB suit, they generally look quite bad on people with any fat to them, in my opinion. On the other extreme, if you're getting a high-end bespoke garment, they can suit anyone.

 

[jamespowers]

My apologizes for making it seem like a loaded question. I was just looking for a ratio as to if you as XX tall & YY weight you can/can't pull it off.

Thanx!!!
Charlie

Holy suspender buttons Batman! I know I just had to get it in somewhere.
The answer really is that it depends. It depends on the cut. It depends on the body type and it depends on how well you pull it off.
Generally, I think that the pear shaped body type can beg off Double breasted suits. Height depends on the cut and proportions to fool the eye. Thinner lapels and shoulders not so padded up will help thin out the look. Wide lapels and broad shoulders would just make you look shorter and wider. The pants would also have to be less drapey and cut closer to the body for a shorter, heftier man.
The freind I mentioned before has a decent ability to wear a Double breasted suit. His jacket size is a 52 if I remember correctly. However his pant size is 38 waist. There is a serious drop down there that could be accomodated and made to look decent. [huh]

 

[davestlouis]

Wow, 52 jacket to 38 inch waist...that's a drop! I thought my 48 jacket to 38/40 trousers was a pain in the neck, your friend has a 14 inch drop...

 

[Tailor Tom]

Odd, I've always heard, experienced and found it works to just always keep a DB coat buttoned, even when sitting. All the DB coats I have are cut to be comfortable when sitting, as having to undo and do up the jigger button as well as the external buttons is not something one wishes to do when standing up or sitting down.

Lokar; I always recommend unbuttoning a coat while seated. It can put undo pressure on the button, shank, and fabric. This is because a bodies dimensions are different sitting than standing. I have seen many a coat tear/rip where the button is stitched due to such things.

To take it further, I believe that many men ( most pre-1950, I imagine ) even went to far as to undo their trousers when seated, namely at a dinner table, so as to decrease the chance of wrinkles in their trousers ( and aid digestion). Hence those big napkins.

 

[Dr Doran]

Lokar; I always recommend unbuttoning a coat while seated. It can put undo pressure on the button, shank, and fabric. This is because a bodies dimensions are different sitting than standing. I have seen many a coat tear/rip where the button is stitched due to such things.

Seriously? What if the cloth is quite strong?

 

[Tomasso]

your friend has a 14 inch drop...

Must be a swimmer. I was always a 9-10" drop but when I took up the triathlon I added two inches; all in the delts.

 

[Not-Bogart13]

I'm a big guy, and I mean horizontally. In other words, I am fat, portly, chubby, whatever. I have read many times that guys like me should not wear double breasted suits or jackets, but I have to say, I could not disagree more.

Sure any man should understand that clothing styles and cuts are not universal, so you could be in for a failure or two. The trick is, WHICH DB is right for you?
- I find the one-button-to-close is the worst offender. Basically, you have this marvelous scoop across your belly that says "Look, I eat too much pasta!"
- The two-button closer (usually a total of 4 to 6 visible buttons) is great. Not too much emphasis on the gut, and plenty of lines and buttons to distract from the girth within. I find this style slimming.
- Then you have the big 3 and four button closures. Very boxy, and I think you need to be big to pull it off. However, I think it won't work if your gut is noticeable bigger than your chest.

Another detail I like about DB's is the pointed lapel. If you have really wide shoulders naturally, you don't need the help, but if you're pear shaped the lines of those lapels will give the illusion of wider shoulders, evening out the body shape.

Now, maybe I'm totally off base by "the rules," but my words comes from personal observation. Hey, watch some old movies... or even some newer ones. Plenty of porty (and stylish) men in DB suits and coats.

 

[Lokar]

Lokar; I always recommend unbuttoning a coat while seated. It can put undo pressure on the button, shank, and fabric. This is because a bodies dimensions are different sitting than standing. I have seen many a coat tear/rip where the button is stitched due to such things.

To take it further, I believe that many men ( most pre-1950, I imagine ) even went to far as to undo their trousers when seated, namely at a dinner table, so as to decrease the chance of wrinkles in their trousers ( and aid digestion). Hence those big napkins.

I'll have to agree to disagree here, I'm afraid. I only own two DB suits, and both are remarkably high quality (much higher than I'd ever be able to afford new - think SR), and there is not even the tiniest amount of strain on any button shanks when sitting, and they still sit wonderfully when standing.

A quick Google search agrees with me, as does my memory of vintage films (ever since I heard of the 'don't unbutton DB when sitting' rule, I've watched for it in films, and I've only seen perhaps 1% of people sitting in DB suits unbutton). Perhaps the difference in suit cuts between the UK and the US makes things different, as I presume you usually make suits with a US cut.

Plus, with our four month winters, I don't want to have to undo four buttons every time I sit down on the bus (2 for my thick DB overcoat, 2 for the suit coat). That's not stylish or convenient, it just makes me get in the way of other people getting on the bus.

 

[Tailor Tom]

Seriously? What if the cloth is quite strong?

Yes, truly I have seen and repaired them, even heavy cloth and including those that have ripped through both the cloth and ripped the canvas as well. I will admit that a lot of those repairs stem from a combination of both clothing and fit issues. Some buttons are just not sewn through all of the layers as they should be. Others are simply stressing the area more than it can take. Perhaps the fabric itself had degraded from age, excessive dry cleaning etc.

As for whether to button or not while sitting. In my profession as a tailor, I would be remiss if I ever advised a client to stress his clothing more than it should be, thus shortening its life. And in a lot of movies, I have a feeling that buttoning/unbuttoning a coat is left up to the actor and what he believes is appropriate at the time. I don't think a screen writer would add "stands up, buttons coat" unless he did it for dramatic effect.

and to paraphrase another sight (ask Andy). "Watch Don Draper on Mad Men. He's a master of buttoning and unbuttoning his suit jacket while doing the sitting-to-standing and vice-versa thing. Of course he's a 2-button man, though."

 

[Dr Doran]

Tailor Tom, I highly respect your opinion but there is just no way I am going to fiddle with my buttons on a DB each time I sit or get up. ESPECIALLY the inner button. My suits are mostly of very old, very heavy fabric. I have to side with Lokar on this one.

 

[jamespowers]

Wow, 52 jacket to 38 inch waist...that's a drop! I thought my 48 jacket to 38/40 trousers was a pain in the neck, your friend has a 14 inch drop...

It is actually more than that when you conside that a size 52 jacket should give you a 54 inch chest. He is portly---it just doesn't go all the way down to his feet.

 

[jamespowers]

Must be a swimmer. I was always a 9-10" drop but when I took up the triathlon I added two inches; all in the delts.

Nope. Good eater.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Size 50 jacket 36 waist DB are preferable I like the cut and the feel of the jacket. Keep it buttoned when standing ...unbuttoned when sitting..

 

[Lokar]

Tailor Tom, a query regarding DB buttoning: does the amount of buttons change anything? If you have a very low 80s style DB suit where the pressure is on the hips, I can understand how standing and sitting can put intense strain on the buttons, while if it's high up and on the waist (or above, even), it seems like there would be less strain. Is there any truth in that?

 

[Big Man]

I'm 6' - 6" tall and weigh 360 pounds. I wear a size 60 extra long. I have several double breasted suits, and so far no one has told me that I look bad in them.