Latest Project: Mycustomtailor Suit!

[Mike1939]

You have a really great looking suit there AG, I really like the pinstripe. Congratulations!

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Fantastic, Atomic,

I love those bold lapels. You could hang-glide with those. Awesome!

I like it better than my avatar suit.

 

[Big Man]

How do you measure lapel width?

I really like the look of the extra wide peaked lapels on HJ's and Atomic's suits. I am planning on getting another suit in the same style, most likely a dark blue pin stripe, and would like to incorporate the extra wide lapel.

My question is: What is the proper way to measure lapel width? While a 5 1/2 inch lapel gives the perfect wide lapel look on HJ's jacket, will it be enough on my suit? After all, my jacket could just about cover the hood of a '55 Buick

Any suggestions on what lapel width would be good for a BIG man's suit?

 

[Orgetorix]

I really like the look of the extra wide peaked lapels on HJ's and Atomic's suits. I am planning on getting another suit in the same style, most likely a dark blue pin stripe, and would like to incorporate the extra wide lapel.

My question is: What is the proper way to measure lapel width? While a 5 1/2 inch lapel gives the perfect wide lapel look on HJ's jacket, will it be enough on my suit? After all, my jacket could just about cover the hood of a '55 Buick

Any suggestions on what lapel width would be good for a BIG man's suit?

Big Man,

Lapel width is an important consideration, but it's far from the only important one for a big guy. Proportion to the rest of the suit and to your body is crucial, and that will vary from person to person.

Search for images of Sydney Greenstreet and Jackie Gleason, two notable big men from the Golden Era. Both were usually pretty well turned out in suits that helped to minimize the appearance of their size. Greenstreet wore lapels of varying widths, and looked good in them. Gleason, as Minnesota Fats in The Hustler, wore a dark suit that made him look great, even though the lapels weren't particularly wide at all. Cut and fit are key.

 

[Big Man]

My latest suit

Here is the suit I ordered about a month ago (and finally got around to posting a picture of). I had it made with 6" lapels. I've had several good comments on it, but am not sure if I really like the look of that wide a lapel. Any thoughts by the experts? I don't mind constructive criticism, but if you say I look really bad, I'll have to whack you.

 

[scotrace]

Personally, I think it looks absolutely nailed. The lapels seem proportioned well to the rest of the jacket, the pants are right, all of it works. Keep it and wear it till it frays!

Added: From 17th century garb to classic 20th century suits, everything I see you in makes me envious. I wish I could pull this stuff off half as well.

 

[dostacos]

BIG MAN thanks for the encouragement, I have an appointment with them Ravi on the 25th of this month. I plan on 1 suit, a vest/pant for a coat I have and a vest for another suit. Not sure I will go with all the first shot but they will have my measurements if the suit works I can get other pieces

Dan

 

[Feraud]

Looking good Big Man! :eusa_clap I think you are striking all the right chords with the color, cut, and style. Could we possibly see a picture with the jacket closed?

As an aside, I have the same coat rack. I added hooks and have about a half dozen hats and caps hanging on it.

 

[Sin Khan]

I think you wear the look well Big Man

Big Man, this is a site that I visit to learn what the “standard” professional opinion is for men’s wear.

http://www.mens-fashion-tips.com/mens-suits-details.html

Here is what they have to say about Lapels, I have highlighted what I think is most important:

Collar and Lapel

Make sure the collar snug tightly around your neck without buckling. One half inch of the dress shirt should be visible under the suit collar.

Suit collars extending to the front part of the chest area are known as lapels. Lapels and collars are widely modified mens suits details during different decades.

For example the sixties have much thinner lapels and seventies have much wider ones.
Standard lapel width should be 3 to 4 inches. Most importantly, it should be proportionate to the overall size of the mens suit as well as the distance between the chests to the shoulder.

Lapels have to fall flat on your chest. They should not buckle or bunch up. In general, lapels should have the end tip about halfway between the suit’s top sleeve and collar.

From design standpoint, I think that extra large lapel design most often coincided with a tapered look to the waist of the coat. This enhances the classic “V” shape of the upper torso if a suit is designed with extra long lapels and a belted or extra tapered waist. Add to this the horizontal lines of the brim of a fedora and the upper body is framed quite well in a flattering manner. You will look more muscular, taller, and slightly thinner in the waist if you wear a suit with longer lapels and a fedora with appropriate brim.

However, the suit should fit appropriately above other considerations. Our mind will always attempt to create familiar shapes out of distant hard lines. Remove the corners from a square and in our mind we will still recognize a square instead of stating that we now see four separate lines. Yet, if we take that same piece of paper that has the square with the corners removed and then we crumple the paper up and then flatten it out again the square that we saw before from the 4 lines will seem disjointed and tiring to us. What happens is that our mind wants to create shapes from lines, yet if other information is distracting us then although we still see the square it becomes a negative experience to do so. It then becomes work to see the square and it quickly tiers us from looking at it.

Your suit jacket may not look right to you not because the lapels are too long, but because the jacket may not fit well enough and the flattering lines of the lapels become tiring to look at. What I suggest is that you carefully pin up your jacket in areas that you think might not be fitting correctly and then put the jacket on again and your hat and look in a full length mirror. As well, take a picture of yourself and look at that also. The mirror is a difficult tool to judge ourselves in and sometimes it is better for us to use photographs for reflection. See if you like the lapels better or if you do not.

I do like the look of the suit and you carry the look well. I think the extra long lapels go with your personality and style of wearing a suit as much as any lines of other design criteria. Also, the measurement information given from the link that I posted is for modern suits, so, take it with a grain of salt. Also, I do not think that modern suits flatter the figure near as much as period suits, partly because period suits were designed to fit better that is for sure, but also I think it is because of design essentials. I think you were right to order a suit with larger lapels, how much larger I think is the only question.

Style is a matter of preference though and I think you pull off that look very well. Even though the lapels might look odd to you now, it could be that over time they may become a defining characteristic about you that you and others find striking. Some people choose to wear a distinctive article of clothing just for this reason, such as a bright green hat for instance. It might look strange to them at first, but over time, the look grows with him such that others would eventually think it odd of him not to wear it. As well, over time people who may like the way that you have grown into a particular style may wish to emulate you and your style and get frustrated feeling that only you are capable of “pulling off” the look.

The best to you Big Man.

 

[cookie]

Big Bloke in a Big Suit

Mate that is great - you look the goods...:eusa_clap

 

[Big Man]

Thank you all for the complements and the good information on suit design. I can't stress how pleased I am with the fit of the suits I've ordered. Being a BIG size, it is good to be able to have reasonably good quality clothing, for a reasonable price, that fits comfortably. Now, all I have to do is decide what color I want for my next suit ...

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Those wide lapels look fantastic on you. I think they balance the suit perfectly. I am very impressed. :eusa_clap

 

[Orgetorix]

Sidney Greenstreet, eat your heart out!

 

[Dorian]

Sorry for the bump, but has anyone had issues paying for their order?

Mine just says Payment Processing Queued and it's been like that for a few days...

 

[Big Man]

Sorry for the bump, but has anyone had issues paying for their order?

Mine just says Payment Processing Queued and it's been like that for a few days...

I've never had a problem, but have noticed that it may take a day or two (depending on what day of the week I ordered) for payment to go through.

 

[Matt Crunk]

Great looking suit Big Man. It's so refreshing to see a larger gentleman wear a suit that fits him properly. Very Nice. Makes me want to order my own today.

I hate to see fat guys (I can say this cause I'm a fat guy myself) wearing off-the-rack jackets that are too large, mated with pants that are at least two sizes too small, so the beltline rests completely underneath their belly. Don't they realize this makes them look twice as large and draws all the attention strait to their belly?

For a big man to dress well, he has to do so with complete confidence and an acknowledgement that he is in fact a big man. You do that very well sir.

 

[Big Man]

Thanks.

 

[Fantômas]

My new Hemingway Special has shipped out from Mycustomtailor and is winging its way towards Fort Worth now. Really anxious to get ahold of this one.

Hi Atomic Glee -- I double checked the thread but could not find whether you followed Mr. Jones' suggestion to NOT supply custom measurements, but instead just select the standard sizing.

I seem to recall that you did...maybe...supply them with custom info...yes?

 

[dostacos]

Great looking suit Big Man. It's so refreshing to see a larger gentleman wear a suit that fits him properly. Very Nice. Makes me want to order my own today.

I hate to see fat guys (I can say this cause I'm a fat guy myself) wearing off-the-rack jackets that are too large, mated with pants that are at least two sizes too small, so the beltline rests completely underneath their belly. Don't they realize this makes them look twice as large and draws all the attention strait to their belly?

For a big man to dress well, he has to do so with complete confidence and an acknowledgement that he is in fact a big man. You do that very well sir.

well that is one reason I like vested suits Yes a big belly hanging over the pants is NOT the best look

 

[cowboy76]

Hello Fellow Loungers,

As you all know, I am always up to something; some sort of project, and today is no different.

One day, I went through the mycustomtailor website and came across a description and photo of the following suit:





Well, that sounded vintage enough for me.

Also, you all know my aversion to used clothes and the difficulty of finding vintage suits in a 44L.

So, just for fun, I went through the process; entered my measurements, picked my fabric, and selected my extras: buttons for braces on the pants, Italian silk lining, and a matching pocket-handkerchief.

All of this came to $260, plus shipping, which brought it to about $295; cheap enough for me. The best part was; they sent it to me in about 10 days. I think that is pretty impressive coming from Thailand.

So, here are the results. I am very pleased. The only thing off were the pants, which were about an inch too long. After these photos were taken, I took it to my tailor to be taken up a little. (They do not look short in the photos because I pulled the waist as high as I could.)

Without further ado, here are the pictures, courtesy of Daisy Buchanan:



The material is Super 120 in wool and cashmere. There were many other fabrics to choose from. I chose brown so it would match with all of my many brown fedoras, including this vintage Borsalino in this photo.

I am very pleased with the results. So much so, I am going to order two other vintage style suits that they have.

I welcome your comments.

P.S. Here is a post with Jay asking about this suit pattern.

Very nice.
I would have opted for wider lapels msyelf.
More like the illustration shown, about an inch more on either side...I'm a lover of the wide-lapel,....there's a few suits and blazers Carey Grant sports in some movies now and then,....those have always stuck in my head. Looks like a good solid fit,...good for you!