Show Us Vintage GERMAN Suits

[Fastuni]

I may have a jacket or a complete suit with the same fabric. Can you show a close-up of the fabric (photo with a button, so I can get the proper dimensions)?
So you could complete it to a suit or even have a suit with two pairs of trousers (always a good thing).

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Thanks for the offer, Fastuni.
Now it's out for a drycleaning but I gonna give you some pictures later.

 

[Fastuni]

A splendid suit with unusual history:

The suit itself is a three-piece DB, tailored from medium-heavy navy-blue white-speckled structure-stripe worsted wool cloth.
Fits me perfectly without any alteration.

Now the history:

Tailored by "Friedrich Jacobskötter, Erfurt" - Erfurt is a city in Thuringia.

Friedrich was succesor of Johannes Jacobskötter (1839-1911) who founded the shop in 1866 (soon with 20 workers, 12 machines)
and became headmaster of the tailor's guild in 1886. He was politically very active in the pro-Bismarck "German Conservative Party"
and strongly opposed to Eastern Jewish immigrants. He contributed to the introduction of antisemitic positions into the program of the
"German Conservative Party" in 1892. 1893 - 1903 he was representative of Erfurt district 4 in German Reichstag (parliament) and 1904 - 1908 member of
the Prussian house of representatives.

But not only the label is historically significant, but also two stamps along the centre-seam of the lining.

It reads:

Man(?) Franco Torri - Milano
Cat 0 Tipo 12 c(?) Lit (?) 1943( 45, 46 ?)

"Exportazione" (?)

Could be "Manufacturer Franco Torri -Milano"
Category - Type -etc.

"Export".

So Italian made fabric exported to Germany and made into a suit in Erfurt.

(My first theory was that it read "Deportazione" and belonged perhaps to an Italian prisoner in Germany... but the exported fabric is much more plausible.)

---

A small fix I made, was adding snap-buttons to the lapel peaks to give them hold.

Matching period hanger that I found separately:

 

[Patrick Hall]

Lovely suit Fastuni, with an interesting history. The snap-button fix to fly-away lapels is quite ingenious. It works well without creating strange stress creases on the lapels?

 

[Fastuni]

No creases on the lapels - certainly also thanks to the canvassing of the chest.
I took the idea from military tunics, where the chest-pocket flap corners are often fixed by two snap buttons.

 

[Mathematicus]

Man(?) Franco Torri - Milano
Cat 0 Tipo 12 c(?) Lit (?) 1943( 45, 46 ?)

"Exportazione" (?)

Could be "Manufacturer Franco Torri -Milano"
Category - Type -etc.

"Export".

So Italian made fabric exported to Germany and made into a suit in Erfurt.

(My first theory was that it read "Deportazione" and belonged perhaps to an Italian prisoner in Germany... but the exported fabric is much more plausible.)

I read a couple of days ago but I hadn't time to reply. Your theory is right, since "Man." stands for "Manifattura" that is a word often used to indicate mills producing suiting. "LIT" is the price, it meas "Lire ITaliane" that is to say "Italian lira", the old Italian money before euro.
Aside this, the suit is really beautiful!

 

[Two Types]

That was a good idea to add the snaps under the lapels. That shape of lapel doesn't hold its shape. I have a jacket with the same lapels (the jacket was from you) and they constantly sag.

 

[Fastuni]

Sometimes rhese lapels had metal stays or long steel needles. Snaps are a good solution though.

 

[Metatron]

Firstly, great suit.
I love this type of lapel because it's just a little bit eccentric-it curves like a tree branch or something organic. It is exactly the sort of thing you don't see post-1950s.
I love your snap solution-Having said that, I like the rumpled look of sagging peak lapels. It has that effect of making a smart garment look well loved and casual, which again is something I associate with the 1930s-1950s way of dressing.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Today's accession:
German belt back sport coat; SB with 3 buttons; I think mid/end 30's. It is a light wool fabric, grey checkered with blue windowpane.
The label says "Ihr Kleiderberater (your Outfitter) Lennartz & Plein Stuttgart": It was founded in 1931 as a fashion store, in 1934 they got their own tailoring.

Unfortunately it is slightly dirty and has some holes. But it fits like a glove so I gonna darn it.

In every of the 3 outside pockets there's a small one: What does this mean? Watch? Money?

All the original buttons were cut off but I got these to add. What do you think?

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Show Us Vintage GERMAN Suits
Just recognized, that my coat above is nearly the same cut as the coat of Fastunis sports suit!
And that's why I had a second look at the back: there's also a elastic under the belt...

 

[Fastuni]

Great sportcoat. Really lovely.
The small damages can be darned well - thanks to the busy pattern.
The buttons work fine.

It is certainly interesting that there is an elastic band beneath the belt-back.
A bit redundant - but HBK years ago also showed a probably German sportcoat with these double features.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Thank's Fastuni! Hope a good clean will help to make it even better.
Am I right in dating it 30's?
Do you know anything more about the tailor? I read they existed till the 1980's.

Not sure whether it's recognizable on the picture: either the elastic band got hard or just the fabric is gathered by a ribbon...

 

[Dostioffsky]

I really like the breastpocket shape! Those vertical button hole, too!

 

[Fastuni]

I don't know more about this tailor. There were (fortunately) so many of them.
It is without any doubt second half of 1930's.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

I know it's not the accurate threat (I will post a pic in the overcoats thread to) but I think the "story" of the coat is important to be shown here in the German suit thread...

The coat itself is a (normal) late 30's DB, tailored from heavy dark and light grey herringbone wool cloth.

curiously there are 3 button holes on every side:

I think it was shortened about 15 cm (in the 60's?) - there is still the fabric inside the lining:

And now the labels: "L&Cie"

and "ADEFA - Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutsch-Arischer Fabrikanten der Bekleidungsindustrie" - means "Consortium of German-Arian Manufacturers of the Apparel Industrie".
It was founded by the Nazis in Mai 1933 to crowd the Jews out of the apparel industrie and to create an "Arian Fashion" - certainly with some succes, because in the late 30's many creative Jewish tailors weren't able to work anymore and emigrated...
http://www.giselamueller.info/threadlagged/threadlagged/adefa.htm

I just "saved" it - if there's a collector outside with interest please contact me.

 

[Fastuni]

Nice coat with interesting labels.

The shortened length can be from any time... I guess wartime/postwar due to worn off edges.
I have 1940 tailoring instructions on how to make short coats out of long ulsters.
Saving material and reusing garments to the maximum was of course wartime policy in all countries.

I wrote about ADEFA here:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/1930s-german-sport-suit-w-knickers.78212/page-3#post-1818322

 

[Dirk Wainscotting]

Superb. The leather-trimmed facing running around the inside pocket is tremendous.

 

[Fastuni]

The edge trimming is silky lining material, actually.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Nice coat with interesting labels.

The shortened length can be from any time... I guess wartime/postwar due to worn off edges.
I have 1940 tailoring instructions on how to make short coats out of long ulsters.
Saving material and reusing garments to the maximum was of course wartime policy in all countries.

I wrote about ADEFA here:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/1930s-german-sport-suit-w-knickers.78212/page-3#post-1818322

Thanks for the information, Fastuni.
Back then the same things were discussed going through my mind: I won't wear this coat...

@DW. Fastuni is right - it's a silky material...