Jacket Style

[Mr_Misanthropy]

I'm looking at purchasing a custom vintage style suit (from Indy Magnoli) sometime in the future, and right now i'm figure out what I want. I only have two suits now, one black with gray pinstripes, and a light gray three piece. Both are single breasted. I'm looking at getting a double breasted style this time, maybe in a brown color, but i'm not sure if it's for me. I'm very thin, I wear a 37 coat, and my shoulders slope, they're not broad at all. Is a double breasted jacket wrong for me? I've always thought the double breasted jackets were a little more vintage style, but I could be wrong. If i'm going to spend the money on a fine suit, should I just get what I know looks good?

 

[Brad Bowers]

Everyone should have at least one double-breasted suit in their wardrobe, regardless of their body type. Don't believe a thing the modern fashion buffoons tell you. I'm trying to get to the point where that's mostly what I have - four now, just a few more to go!

Brad

 

[Briscoeteque]

I've very thin too, and I love the look of double-breasted. It has a way of making us thin guys look a little bit more imposing.

I think skinny guys look better in double-breasted, tell you the truth, kind of cancels it out. Usually though when I dress, I want to look even more skinny, just a personal preference.

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

Well, i'm afraid that if I tried to look more skinny I'd be on the verge of being corpse like. I was thinking the double breasted style would look bad because of my sloping shoulders, but after looking at some pics, I've found that it actually looks good. The buttons and the front of the jacket kind of draw the eyes away from the shoulder, and give a more squared off look in general I think, which is good. Yes, I think I'll go see how I look in a few DBs at a store first (window shopping) to make sure it looks OK, then go for it.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Being a skinny man, i can talk on this subject with some experience. DBs can look great on a skinny man - see pics of James Cagney or Bogart. However, because of the nature of the DB jacket, the cut must be impeccable. Otherwise it really does look like one is wearing a potato sack. I fear that any modern off-the-peg you try on will have a modern cut - not good! Straight up and down, no waist definition. The vintage DB jacket works particularly well on the skinny frame because they are close fitting and show off all the best features of the skinny man. The best thing the DB does is draw attention to the waistline. As a skinny and short man, this is one of the things i have to show off. Make sure the jacket is CLOSE fitting!

Shoulder type is no problem.

Just beware of the jacket being too big around the chest and too wide in the shoulders - the most common defects of modern tailoring. These problems come under the heading of "drape". Read Flusser with his love of drape across the shoulders. That looks particularly bad on a thin man - and i would imagine would simply emphasize the sloping shoulder. It would look like you were trying to overcompensate for the lack of shoulder, rather than subtly building the shoulder up. Subtle padding is what i suspect you should head for. That's where i go.

bk

 

[Mr_Misanthropy]

So I suppose I won't really be satisfied until I put on a custom tailored DB and check myself out in the mirror. Thats what I figured the case would be. I think I'll go with a brown DB 3 piece.. now.. should I get a vest with lapels?

I never even thought of shoulder pads, that's an excellent idea and I think I'll go for it. It's good to have a voice of experience on this subject, thanks for all the advice.

I even got a great brown Stetson homburg in the mail today... but that is another post.