first date

[dr greg]

I found a D/B suit out in the country for 5 bux, one 1/4" moth hole on the front near the lapel, three on rear of sleeve, and two on the back leg of the trousers. worth persevering with I think (if I can find a decent invisible mender within an hour's drive), but can anybody date the outfit, the button and strap set-up at the side of the trousers below is amazing, never seen it before, Oh yeah, PERFECT fit.

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[Marc Chevalier]

Hmmm ... gotta see the suit jacket too. Can't quite date it from the trousers alone. Could you post a link to the jacket?

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[dr greg]

hanging around

Yet to go to the drycleaner's! I just got back from a 1000 mile clothes hunt. NO LABEL either.

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[Marc Chevalier]

This one is a real challenge for me. Kinda looks postwar German, kinda also looks early '80s too. Difficult!

Could I ask for one more favor? Could you turn the jacket inside out and take a photo of it with the lining facing us? The lining could say a lot. Is the lining fabric thick or thin?

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[dr greg]

inside out

a lot more moth-holes inside but we can live with that I think, trust me this isn't made in the 80's ;the lining is a thick cotton weave and the fly is buttoned

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[Marc Chevalier]

Arrggghh! Still difficult!


Well, the lining tells me that it was almost certainly handmade in Europe or in Asia.


This may be a dumb question, but have you checked the jacket's inside breast pocket to see if there's a maker's/owner's label? Might even say the date.

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[dr greg]

nope

not a thing anywhere, but the town I got it in, and the general style, plus the fact that there's no zip makes me think it's fairly old, I was offered something nearly identical but in worse condition for 250 bucks recently at a retro shop in sydney, so I reckon it's worth spending a bit on to restore..the shop where I got it had it in the section where the young locals wear something once to a fancy dress then throw it in the rubbish bin,...not me I said to the lady...she thought I was mad. got these there too, which are nice. Real fur inside.

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[Marc Chevalier]

Thanks for the info and pics!


I'm going to go out on a limb and say that your suit was handmade either in Europe or at least by a European tailor (working in Australia, perhaps). I've seen these kinds of lapels and button stance on German suits made after WWII; the style lasted into the late '50s.


As you know, what makes this suit REALLY special is the trousers. Their waist looks identical to that of 1930s "varsity/collegiate" trousers. These types of trousers are extremely rare and difficult to find.


So ... congratulations! :eusa_clap


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[dr greg]

hand made

Yes I'm impressed with them despite the damage, but at that price, what can I say, as to the tailoring, this bit caught my eye

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[Baron Kurtz]

Well, i can now say that Australia has produced the two greatest suits that i've ever seen. This is the greatest ... I'll join Marc on his limb.

Truly a magnificent find. :eusa_clap

And if you say you're anything smaller than a size 38 i'm going to have to mug you and steal the suit.

bk

p.s. How wide are the cuffs on the trousers?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

p.p.s We really really need to see this on you in Show us Your Suits.

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

It is a beauty of a suit!

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[dr greg]

down at heel

the cuffs are 1+3/4 inches, and I'm glad to hear I made the right decision, the moth-holes put me off until I realised that there was only one small one actually visible on first presentation, the ones on the back of the sleeve etc we can get around.
My 14 yr old nephew was the one who really told me to just get on with it and buy the bloody thing, he's a retro recruit and now we go out driving through the backblocks camping out and checking junk shops in little towns off the beaten track.
anyway, i'll show the suit when it's been fully restored and in its glory. Now I just need to find somewhere to wear it...it's too hot over here now to even think about it as a stage outfit...but in winter...who knows.
O yeah it's a 37+1/2 size according to the shop docket, and I usually take a 42 modern size, but it fits like a glove, what can I say.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The cuffs are 1+3/4 inches ...

I think he wanted to know the width of the trouser bottoms, not of the cuffs per se.

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[dr greg]

pardonnez-moi

8+5/8 inches exactly.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

so, 17 1/4 inches circumference. Postwar certainly (or 20s, but not with that jacket). Prewar would be 20" and above. Do the trousers taper from the knee to the cuff?

Again ... beautiful.

bk

 

[dr greg]

I kneed it

They're about 21" at the knee, and I just found out the going rate for invisible mending is about 50 bucks per moth-hole so i'll have to get the one on the front done, then darn the ones that can't be seen from the front. It's a fair bit of trouble as the menders are over 100 miles away but worth it I think, it'd cost a fortune to have something like this made now, if you could, the wife, of course, is shaking her head.

 

[dr greg]

holey hell

I just got the quote to restore the suit...$650... I think the most obvious ones will have to fixed while I take a crash course in fine darning!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

A tip: Noone will see the moth holes. Noone has EVER commented on the moth holes in my suits. I wouldn't worry about them ...

At most, i'd darn them. Depends what size they are, i guess ...

bk

 

[dr greg]

front up

Well there's one right at the front on the left nearly the size of a cigarette burn, and I just don't want to have it there, it's just too obvious,
so I'm settling to have that one done for 90 bux, and do the rest myself