Show us your British suits

[Baron Kurtz]

Emptied!

bk

 

[Guttersnipe]

Can one of the English loungers explain Burton Clothes to me? Are (were) they sort of an English J Press or Brooks Brothers?

I know that today, they are a still a clothes retailer, but that they focus on casual wear.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Burton is a general outfitter. Its founding principle was that, by controlling all the facets of production - from weaving the cloth to tailoring the clothes to sales - they could supply high quality garments at affordable prices. They had a strict principle that a suit of clothes should cost a week's wages for the average man. This was much, much cheaper than the standard "credit tailors" of the day, and represented a real advance in the ordinary working man being able to clothe and shod himself well. They had stores all over London and "the Provinces". One of their marketing strategies was "There's a Montague Burton store within a bus ride of your home". They also offered a bespoke service, and MTM, for the better heeled.

I would say that they were way below the standard of brooks Brothers. They were positioned below the likes of Austin Reed, Horne Brothers, and other large retailers but above the likes of Hepworths, Willerby, etc.

These days, I'm sure they don't make the cloth themselves, and their stuff is quite crappy, but it's still relatively cheap. I'll bet you can get a functional suit for about a weeks wages.

p.s. Your PM box is full. If you're interested in having any Burton's catalogues, just get in touch.

bk

 

[Two Types]

Can one of the English loungers explain Burton Clothes to me?

On one of the earlier pages on this thread I posted links to the 'Moving Here' archive. The links take you to examples of 1930s Burtons catalogues that include quite a lot of text about the company. Definitely worth a read.

 

[Paul Roerich]

This one is for wearing with your British suits: http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-QUE...802?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d5551ab2

 

[Two Types]

Buy it now = $295 !!!!!!! Blimey.

 

[Paul Roerich]

"God $ave the Queen", eh?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

fascist regime (certainly made you a moron if you'd pay that price!)

 

[Two Types]

BK (and anyone else): You don't happen to own any original Festival of Britain ties, do you? They were such fantastic designs i'd love to find one.

 

[Two Types]

A few British suit adverts from the 1930s:

Easter 1938:

Suits by Alexandre, 1938:

OK, these aren't suits, but the adverts are british and they go with the theme:

Style for summer 1938:

And 'Yankee Shirts' for summer 1938:

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Bought this for a friend. Would have kept it if it was my size....

 

[esteban68]

Nice find FFF, here's one I got a few weeks ago in a local charity shop; it's completely unmarked/ unworn save a very small bit of stitching coming undone on inside pocket, it cost £15 but fits like a dream, I've had the sleeves taken up a fraction and just need to get the waist taken in a bit, wore it a few weeks ago just adfter I got it whilst standing at a vintage/retro collectors event;

 

[esteban68]

the trousers are high waisted with brace buttons and zipper fly, single rear pocket with button/loop fastener, here's a few detail shots;

Correct colour is shown in above photo of waist closure clasp
does anyone know the tweed as I'd like to get some to get a waistcoat made up!

 

[Two Types]

I would think getting an exact match for the tweed might be tough. Why not try it with a nice cream or dark green waistcoat?

 

[esteban68]

i wore a mustard yellow one along with a claret wool tie and it all looked great ....I do have a nice earthy green waistcoat also.

 

[Tomasso]

Lovely cloth and ditto on finding anything to match.

 

[Chasseur]

Doing winter purging to make up for other purchases...

I'll probably be posting this classic 1960s/70s Hector Powe in the classifieds this weekend. I know its later than the Lounge's normal tastes but its a classic British three piece in the "Tinker, Tailor, Spy" and/or Michael Caine 1970s flick style. Lovely material as well.

 

[Two Types]

Here is a suit i bought recently in Levisons (Cheshire Street, London).

As someone with a 46/47 inch chest and 40 inch waist, true vintage clothing is rather rare to find. So I was pleased to find this suit which I guess dates from the late 1940s or early 1950s.

I find it hard to accurately date pieces from that period, but the trousers are very high waisted, making think it can't have been made much later than early fifties since (in my understanding) the waists began to creep lower after that period. The trousers may not actually look particularly high waisted but I have a long body and short legs, so it can be deceptive.
Interestingly, the trousers are made with belt hoops and had no sign of ever previously having braces buttons.

It is by Jay Tailors:

The suit isn't in great condition and may not last for too long (especially since i can be very hard wearing on clothes). But, when it collapses, it will be ideal to use to make a copy.

I know that lots of people here on the FL like their suits to be flash, but I rather like the everyday simplicity of suits like this.

 

[Fastuni]

:eusa_clap
A "plain" grey DB is probably unmatched in versatility and was considered a staple item of any respectable wardrobe.
At least that's what the German menswear "authority" of the 30-60's Freiherr von Eelking said.
I agree with him fully on this... and am looking since years for a comparable grey suit in my size (38/40) ^^.

I like everything about this suit... and it looks solidly late 30 to 40's to me (stylistically), thanks to the buttons not being set below the pockets, the sharply peaked lapels and rather small chest pocket. Of course a 50's dating wouldn't be out of question.
Since it has no CC41-labels I assume it must be before 1942 or indeed early to mid 1950's, no? (Or the label was removed... but why would one do that... [huh])

How wide are the legs?

BTW the buttons on your left side seem to be placed closer to the pocket than the other side (could be mistaken about that)... easy to fix anyway.

Best Regards

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Great find two types. I have no clue about the age but sure looks solid golden era to my eye.