Show us your British suits

[herringbonekid]

it looks to me like the ripple between the two buttons has happened over years when the jacket has been on a hanger with just the middle button fastened and the top button area has sagged down slightly. you should be able to press the ripple out (just that area) with a cloth over the suit to prevent any iron shine.

i advise not trying to press the lapels into a 3-roll-2 as Fastuni suggests. jackets have an internal roll / bridle tape. it's a strip of linen tape which is placed to hold the lapel shape to where it is supposed to roll:

... this can be done softly (as in a 3-roll-2) or firmly as in most British 3 buttons of this type. the roll tape creates a 'firm edge'. if you re-press a jacket's lapels you're moving the firm edge away from where it was intended to be, and the lapel will always try to get back to that original position. not worth doing in my opinion as you're tampering with the underlying structure of a jacket.

of course, there's nothing to stop anyone from leaving the top button of a jacket undone, even if it isn't a soft-roll chest. but that doesn't mean the jacket was intended to be worn that way.

 

[Fastuni]

You know British suit construction better than me... you are probably right that it would be better to leave the fold as it is.

 

[Metatron]

Thanks for the tips, I didn't intend to press the lapel into a roll, but the jacket will benefit from a clean and a pressing to look fresh again. And I will try the ammonia water trick for the shine.
I don't suppose you have any tips for moth holes other than reweaving? They are fairly small but I would still like to patch them up. Has anyone had success with stitching witchery or patches etc?

 

[Nick D]

If they're very small (a couple mm or so) I've had good luck with a baseball stitch: http://www.projectpuppet.com/servlet/Page?template=useful-stitches-tutorial It's small, less noticeable than a whipstitch and stronger. It can draw a small hole closed with minimal or no distortion, and will press flat because the stitch draws the edges together without puckering.

 

[Metatron]

If they're very small (a couple mm or so) I've had good luck with a baseball stitch: http://www.projectpuppet.com/servlet/Page?template=useful-stitches-tutorial It's small, less noticeable than a whipstitch and stronger. It can draw a small hole closed with minimal or no distortion, and will press flat because the stitch draws the edges together without puckering.

This is the sort of solution I was hoping for as I have all the necessary tools.
I expect that with this technique you cover the hole with the stitch, rather than actually pulling the two sides of the fabric together, lest it puckers?

 

[Dinerman]

I can't quite make out the label on this one, but the tailor had locations in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Full wrap on the left side belt (buckle is reversed and on the right hip). Set up for wear with braces. Paris and Solide marked buckles.

 

[Fastuni]

Received this already around Christmas, but here for completeness sake:

British navy pinstripe DB.

It is tailor made and has a wonderful soft draping fabric.

The handwriting on the label dates this as either 1943 or 1947.
Speaking of the label... what does the "Friday" mean? I have seen British suits with "Tuesday" or other weekdays as well.

Pedantic owners who had a suit for each day or was it something by the tailor (i.e. day of pick-up)?

 

[herringbonekid]

Fastuni, i wonder if 'Friday' is a dry cleaner's stamp ?

notice that it's much fresher than the other black ink which has worn off.

 

[Rabbit]

Same type of label here (from an eBay auction of a British suit jacket). Dry cleaner's stamp sounds like a good theory.
There's also a date on this one (9-1-39), and a five-digit number.

 

[Dinerman]

Hm. September 1, 1939 was a Friday.

 

[Fastuni]

Hm. September 1, 1939 was a Friday.

But January 9, 1939 was a Monday.

 

[Dinerman]

Gah. I've been out of the world too long.

 

[Two Types]

I am assuming these were made in factories with a high turnover: the label includes the day the item has to be completed to be sent to the shop. Maybe as part of a made-to-measure service?

They wouldn't be a dry cleaning label since they are stitched in. And i don't think they are stamped on because they are too regular.

 

[herringbonekid]

i think that's probably the answer TT, on both counts.

 

[Fastuni]

Thanks - this is very plausible.

 

[esteban68]

I've just bought a DB British suit made by TRENT, it's in very dark navy almost black in excellent condition, high waisted button fly trousers that also have narrow belt loops and internal brace buttons and flapped pocket watch/fob pocket that's big enough to get my whole hand in!
Photos to follow but any ideas as to age, suppressed waist too.....quite a bit tight but should let out and I am currently trying to drop a stone so hoping to get into it......hoping!!!

 

[Patrick Hall]

Bought this Burton suit from ebay. The single link button enticed me. This suit is pretty strange. Classic Burton logo, and CC41 tag in the vest. Single link button jacket with a low button stance. The jacket seems a little like it was shortened after the fact. Trousers were fitted with a patch at the seat that widened it by three or four inches, and conversely, the trouser legs have been tapered, with about an inch and a half taken in along the outseam. The vest and trouser closures/brace buttons/watch pocket seem pretty standard 1940s fare. When I bought it, the vest was a tight 36, the pants were cavernous in the waist and very slim in the leg and the jacket was like a tent. My tailor had to take in fistfulls of fabric to get the jacket fit right. Any theories on how this thing came to be, I'd love to hear them.

 

[Fastuni]

Interesting suit.
I am very certain that these were alterations due to fashion made in the 1950's. Also the back-vent is IMO a later alteration.
It was fashionable to have narrow trousers with bulging, wide jackets.
I have seen several German and Scandinavian 30-40's suits that were altered to have strangely wide jackets with rather small-waisted trousers.

 

[esteban68]

I like it especially so the single button closure.

 

[Two Types]

I would agree that the addition of the vent appears to be later and it does appear to have been shortened. Although it could also be that the lining looks untidy because it was opened in order to let the jacket seams out (you mentioned it fitted 'like a tent').
Considering someone bothered to make alterations it appears to have had little use. The waistcoat looks pristine. Maybe because waistcoats went out of fashion, the owner never bothered to wear it. And, if the trousers had to be let out to accomodate a larger waistline, maybe the owner just didn't bother to alter the waistcoat, thus it never got worn.

The main thing is that it now looks good and it's always nice to see a single link button jacket.