Lapel Width

[Herr Hitman]

Hey, first time poster here. Not sure if this has been discussed in detail or not, but I am thinking of having a double breasted suit made. I was wondering how many inches the lapel should be for a solid golden age look. I can apparently have up to 6" lapels. This on my 44" chest seemed a bit excessive, however the suit i was basing this measurement off off had a considerably more modern/lower gorge,

Anyone have any idea?

 

[Jovan]

I'm not the best expert on lapel widths from the Golden Era, but I wouldn't go quite as big as 6". In any case, it's more than lapel width that makes a suit look period. The "belly" of a lapel makes a big difference too. That is, the amount of curve. I believe it best to leave it up to others here to discuss what width and belly is good for this era, as my knowledge mainly spans the late '50s and early '60s.

 

[vonwotan]

I cannot profess any expertise in lapel widths and look forward to reading this thread. Thanks to our fellow member Grace, I recently purchased what promises to be a very nice new DB 3pc suit with wide lapels from the 1950's. I will post some detail photos when it arrives. The herringbone and pinstripe of this suit is very fine, and the pinstripes are very subtle-a red stripe with a light blue on each side.

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on the lapels and styling.

By the way, the suit was made by Kling Bros., in Chicago.

Edit - BTW I just found this photo on the Sartorialist this morning as well.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

30s if it's a day. Or that'd be my guess - button stance, lapel shape and the shoulders strike me as being rather earlier than the 50s for an american suit. Do you have any dating info - tailors labels, union tags etc - to help t narrow it down?

bk

 

[vonwotan]

BK - Don't have it in hand yet, but I was assuming that the date came from the tailor's tag which also included the customer's name.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Ah, if a tailors tag exists, that's definitive. It's great to see those suits that were made in a much earlier style. As you'll know the 50s style in the US was for very much lower button stance - particularly the nipple covers. They took that button spacing, and simply shifted the whole thing 2-3 inches lower.

bk

 

[Herr Hitman]

I'm not the best expert on lapel widths from the Golden Era, but I wouldn't go quite as big as 6". In any case, it's more than lapel width that makes a suit look period. The "belly" of a lapel makes a big difference too. That is, the amount of curve. I believe it best to leave it up to others here to discuss what width and belly is good for this era, as my knowledge mainly spans the late '50s and early '60s.

Sure thing, i have already picked out the lapel style. Im just trying to decide on a width.

 

[Jovan]

And what "style" is that? If you mean peaks, that's obvious for a double breasted. Shape is pretty important though, like I said.

Other guys: No offence, but you're really taking the thread and making it about yourselves. That's not a very warm welcome for a first time poster.

 

[marcello]

And what "style" is that? If you mean peaks, that's obvious for a double breasted. Shape is pretty important though, like I said.

Other guys: No offence, but you're really taking the thread and making it about yourselves. That's not a very warm welcome for a first time poster.

Edited: marcello, your rudeness is unwelcome here.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Oh, well. A little off topic for a moment.

Anyhoo, Herr Hitman, from where are you measuring the width of your lapel? I can nip upstairs and measure my not small number of golden era DB lapels for you and give you an average - i would guess it's gonna come out about 4-5".

bk

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I just ordered a custom suit with 5 1/2 inch lapels. It is Single Breasted with peaked lapels and those 5 1/2 inch wide lapels look awesome. I'll try to dig up a photo later.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I'd love to see it, HJ. If it's anything like your avatar suit, it'll be outstanding!

bk

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I'd love to see it, HJ. If it's anything like your avatar suit, it'll be outstanding!

bk

Thank you Baron for the kind words. In fact, I liked my avatar suit so much, I ordered another one for a certain special occasion in May. Here is a sneak peak.


I think the increased width in the lapels makes a big difference. Here they are in comparison:



That extra inch and a half in the width makes a dramatic difference.

 

[Jovan]

Who's your tailor? While I like the wide lapels, I see nothing wrong with the other ones. But that's me. The belly on the new suit's lapels is dead on.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Who's your tailor? While I like the wide lapels, I see nothing wrong with the other ones. But that's me. The belly on the new suit's lapels is dead on.

These suits came from the dreaded and often maligned MyCustomTailor. I have pretty good luck with them.

Now, allow me to clarify, I am not saying that there is anything wrong with the lapels on the brown suit. I love the brown suit. I am simply saying that the lapels on the midnight blue suit are more dramatic and that there is a marked difference between them. I leave it up to personal taste to decide which are preferable. It is a good exercise to see how much of a difference a small change makes.

In any case, thanks for the kind words.

Also, the photos of the midnight blue suit was taken right out of the package, so the folds and wrinkles are still in it from shipping.

 

[Jovan]

Ah. I sent you a message about it, but due to your non-response I wasn't sure if you wanted me to just read your threads or I was talking about the wrong place...

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Ah. I sent you a message about it, but due to your non-response I wasn't sure if you wanted me to just read your threads or I was talking about the wrong place...

I wrote you back, Old Sport. Did you not receive it? I sent you a few paragraphs on the subject.
Perhaps we should take this through PMs.

 

[vonwotan]

Herr Hitman,
Although I am not certain of their actual widths, I look to Apparel Arts images for inspiration. Our most generous Marc Chevalier posted an entire issue in this thread
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=18122&highlight=apparel+arts
To my eye, HJ's new suit looks great and the lapels are nice and wide with plenty of belly (curve). Being shorter I would go with a higher gorge but, I'm really short!

BTW - Welcome to the Fedora Lounge!

Hey, first time poster here. Not sure if this has been discussed in detail or not, but I am thinking of having a double breasted suit made. I was wondering how many inches the lapel should be for a solid golden age look. I can apparently have up to 6" lapels. This on my 44" chest seemed a bit excessive, however the suit i was basing this measurement off off had a considerably more modern/lower gorge,

Anyone have any idea?

 

[Jovan]

I knew I was forgetting something. :eusa_doh: Thanks for correcting my blunder, VW.

I hope you post more here, Hitman. The members here are always glad to help out and you should take advantage of their knowledge.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I look to Apparel Arts images for inspiration. Our most generous Marc Chevalier posted an entire issue in this thread ...

You're very kind, but I can't take credit for posting an entire issue. I just posted what I considered to be the issue's most informative and attractive pages. Apparel Arts is a BIG journal.


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