Show us your suits

[yoonie]

It has to do with the way the the pants hang around the hamstrings, i think. It's a shame you're getting rid of it. I'd snap that up in a second if it was my size

 

[Howard Hughes]

SALE

Thanks Yoonie,
If it still fit me, I wouldn't be selling it, it really is a peach.
Toodleoo
HH

 

[resortes805]

That suit is too loose in the ass (quiet, children. I know what i said)!

Huh? Slacks of this era generally had a fuller cut in the seat down through the thighs.... are'nt they supposed to look that way? [huh]

 

[yoonie]

To my eye, it wasn't so much the cut as the way it was hanging. Even with a full cut, sometimes you see certain points on the pants which are pulling, disrupting the proper lines. Of course, it's mush easier to see in motion, and I could have been wrong my assessment.

 

[reetpleat]

Thank you Baron for the help with the pictures, I need all the help I can get. And also for your comments on the suit itself.
The suit is a very "snug" fit on me now.
I could wear the trousers comfortably, the jacket uncomfortably, and the waistcoat if I had a few ribs removed.
I can do the waistcoat up, but would not be able to move or sit down.
I hope to list it on Ebay this weekend if anyone is interested, it will be in the "Men's 1940's", along with a few other bits and pieces, my user name is mrcrab12
I/we spent a fortune on vintage clothing yesterday, so I need to contribute to Mr. Goodwin's pension fund as soon as possible.
I picked up a "RADIAC" shirt, which is proudly labelled as "100% NYLON",
possibly one of the first commercially available NYLON garments, (research needed).
I wish you all a pleasant weekend.
Toodleoo.
HH

I feel your pain. Is it possible that the jacket could be let out a little bit, and the vest let out or the back replaced with a back from a biggeer vest?

Of course, you reach a point where the cost is more dear than buying a new suit, but that one is a pip.

 

[reetpleat]

I hope you won't be offended if I respond in the voice of my favored tailors (old, Italian men from New York City. They know how to take instructions, but will never let you look bad. On the other hand, politeness disappears around the 2nd meeting).

That suit is too loose in the ass (quiet, children. I know what i said)! Though, to tell the truth, that's only even worth pointing out because the rest of the suit fits SO well.

I feel like many modern tailors don't know how to properly deal with functional pleats, so I would try to be picky if I was you.

Looks to me like you need some suspenders to pull the pants up in the back a little. If these vintage slacks ride down to the hips, they end up bagging like that.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Looks to me like you need some suspenders to pull the pants up in the back a little. If these vintage slacks ride down to the hips, they end up bagging like that.

Or perhaps he was leaning backward just a bit when the photo was taken.

.

 

[vitanola]

Here are some snaps of an thirty-year-old blue serge suit that I have had restyled (trousers pegged, they had 24" cuffs, and jacket waist suppressed)

How do you gentlemen judge the general fit?

I suspect that the jacket could possibly be taken in just a bit more. I am liiking for the effect of a conservative cut of 1927 vintage. Unfortunately the blend fabric takes on much more of a shine in photoflash than it does in natural or artificial light.

I am also unhappy with the shoulders. Perhaps a bit more padding could be removed? what say you all?

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.

Of course this suit is not truly vintage, but such pieces are seldom available in my size (48 long).

 

[mt_spiffy]

One of my favorite suits, Christmas eve:

 

[thunderw21]

Found at Salvation Army, this 1940s DB is a real beauty. The trousers are ill-fitting but the jacket is just fine, perhaps a little big in the shoulders.

Trousers have Gripper snaps and Talon zipper, so early to mid-1940s.

 

[Wolfmanjack]

Excellent fit on the jacket. The shoulders look good to me. Mid '40s seems right.

I hope the trousers can be altered; A pinstripe jacket needs matching trousers.

 

[thunderw21]

Excellent fit on the jacket. The shoulders look good to me. Mid '40s seems right.

I hope the trousers can be altered; A pinstripe jacket needs matching trousers.

The trousers are a total loss for me: several inches too wide and 6 inches too short with none to spare.
The jacket will have to be paired with contrasting trousers, flannel most likely.

Hopefully the "orphaned jacket" look can be avoided.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Why not sell it and wait for something better size dto come along (rare as that is in your size). I hate the idea of half a functional suit going to waste in your wardrobe.

bk

 

[thunderw21]

Why not sell it and wait for something better size dto come along (rare as that is in your size). I hate the idea of half a functional suit going to waste in your wardrobe.

bk

I agree, and I originally meant to sell it. But after seeing how well the jacket fits and how oddly proportioned the trousers are (34x27) I've decided to keep it. I doubt I could get a decent price for it anyways with such odd trousers paired with a 38/39R jacket.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Trousers have Gripper snaps and Talon zipper, so early to mid-1940s.

Danger, Will Robinson. Beware of drawing overly specific dating conclusions from snaps and zippers, and certainly not from features of the suit! (I may have inadvetently made people draw overly specific conclusions about British suits in the british Trousers thread, a thread that i will eternally regret starting.)

On the use of snaps, particularly, they only give you an earliest possible date (even this is quite tenuous as i remember the snaps in the Apparel Arts thread were Klikit brand, not Gripper. This might suggest that the Klikit were new and gripper was the competition that had been around fr a while. Lefty - BANDWIDTH EXCEEDED, the eternal problem with Photobucket.) I have seen Gripper brand snaps advertised earlier than the early 1940s.


bk

 

[thunderw21]

I recently found a Gripper snap advertisement in a 1938 issue of "Life".

Do we know for sure when the Grippers first appeared?

 

[J.J. Gittes]

The Elizians:

These pictures make me want to kill for the matching trousers for my 40's DB!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I recently found a Gripper snap advertisement in a 1938 issue of "Life".

Do we know for sure when the Grippers first appeared?

I have no idea. That type of snap (truly an excellent invention … very innovative, really) would not be particularly novel in the late 1930s. I know at least one of my 1920s caps has such a snap (though not Gripper brand). And i seem to remember vaguely an ad in one of my early 1930s Apparel Arts for a snap with this construction.

bk

 

[yoonie]

Looks to me like you need some suspenders to pull the pants up in the back a little. If these vintage slacks ride down to the hips, they end up bagging like that.

Good point, I didn't think of that. I was going to suggest it might have something to do with the waist, but I didn't think of suspenders. Not in the vintage mindset yet, I guess.

 

[thunderw21]

The trousers are a total loss for me: several inches too wide and 6 inches too short with none to spare.

I take this back. It can be made to fit me, but only with extreme alterations. I'm about half way there right now.

I took the waist in a couple inches. The back seam had been let out at some point.

The cuffs were a good 2" deep so I sacrificed them. Now I have over 6" extra I can play with. With faux cuffs (2") they'll look like they did before, only longer.

This'll be a great suit.