Show us your suits

[Wild Root]

Oh yes, AZ is hot right now! But, in the months to come, it will cool down as Havershaw said. It's pretty hot here in CA too... I don't wear suits much right now, it's too hot and my job is a pretty low-key one. I'm wearing very casual clothes right now in fact... the only thing really vintage on me is my gray Imperial Stetson.

I tend to wear suits when I go out for a dance or maybe a nice dinner out... it's mostly only at night when it cools off. That's where we have the advantage over AZ... it cools down in the evenings here where as in AZ, it stays over 100 all night long!

Good to have ya back for some time Bob!

=WR=

 

[Wild Root]

You know, this photo reminds me of the great football coach of Green Bay...
Vince Lombardi!

=WR=

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Man i have a hat that looks EXACTLY like what Lombardi is wearing (mid-60s Borsa)

bk

 

[Sefton]

You know, this photo reminds me of the great football coach of Green Bay...
Vince Lombardi!

=WR=

Say, doesn't that hat look like a continuation of Vince Lombardi's body shape. Built like a HUMAN BULLET!lol

 

[Wild Root]

Ok, let's see some suits again please!

=WR=

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Would you like me to post last night's photos of yours?

.

 

[Wild Root]

I'd like to see some... but, would it be ok with the boss?

=WR=

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Don't know. We'll have to ask him.

.

 

[Wild Root]

Post one... it wouldn't hurt! Post my three piece double breasted striped job... that might be a good one for this thread!

=WR=

 

[havershaw]

I ended up taking a few suits to the tailor's today. So, no photos until next week. Plus...it's pretty freakin' hot here. Got some a/c installed in the house, but it was still 111 degrees today. Anyway, I had to take a few pairs of pants in and they were all suit pants, so I figured I might as well take a couple of jackets which fit OK but as you all know, there's nothing like a custom-tailored suit.

 

[Mr. Rover]

I had this sized down from a 42 to a 38.

Well, based on that it seems that it isn't totally out of the question to get some of those size 40 suits shrunken down. Not totally atleast.
Thanks, Marc. I'll let you know if his services will be needed. I have a pretty decent relationship with one tailor in Taiwan and his work isn't bad.

 

[Mr. Rover]

I didn't notice this the first time around. I'm totally diggin' that club collar!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

A little too hot today ...

... even for Palm Beach suits. I was going to wear one of my Palm Beach suits today, until i stuck my head out the door. Decided against it. Anyway, it was a good opportunity to get some photos.

Mid-30s palm beach cloth suit: Style 'Winton'. Fairly lightweight. Patch pockets. very high waisted trousers.

The shirt is a Manhattan brand 30s summer weight shirt. Very loose weave cotton - see how you can see the skin tones (and shoulder tattoo) through the shirt in the second from last photo.

bk

 

[herringbonekid]

beautiful suit Baron.
great fit too.

obviously not ALL of your good stuff has gone back to the UK !

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Ha ha. No. I kept the really collectable, impossible-to-replace stuff to bring over in my carry on baggage. If the ship sinks on its way across the Atlantic, i lose most of my stuff, but the irreplacables (Palm Beach suits, Haspel cotton jacket, knickerbocker suit, NRA overcoat) are here with me.

The arms on this one are a bit long for my liking. Must shorten them at some point when i get some time.

I have another just like this that i need to clean and make useable.

bk

 

[herringbonekid]

there was a very similar SB version on ebay recently, maybe not palm beach, but white and with similar peaked-but-almost-horizontal lapels. i nearly bid but was kidding myself that the shoulders would fit. they were too big.

(for all the talk of "people were smaller back then" i have to turn down scores of suits that are too big, and i'm nowhere near as small as you)

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Those shoulders were too big for me too. I was going to go for it, and was - like you - trying to kid myself about the shoulders. The wifely voice of reason won the day. "How many bloody white suits do you need?!". I can do 18" shoulders on a DB, but not SB. Sucks. That was a beauty.

For those who don't know, this was a SB peak lapel white, dated 1940 suit in a rather average size. $120 got it.

bk

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Since it's fresh in my mind ...

... thanks to HBK for prompting. Here are some of the suits which are currently in a ship or in a dockyard somewhere waiting to be shipped back to Blighty. I won't bother with my proposed "Goodbye"" thread for the suits.

First up is a 30s (possibly 20s) British DB. This was marketed as "might fit a very small girl". Hmmm, wonder why it didn't garner much interest, eh? Almost a perfect 35S. Very high button stance. Has very built up and squared-off shoulders. This may have been someone's first suit. there are no maker's marks anywhere to be seen. Blue base with black lines forming a loose glen plaid-type (not glen plaid, obviously) pattern. Also has red flecks (see close-up of fabric) which gives the whole thing a purple appearance - red + blue = purple. The breast pocket is extremely angled down towards the lapel.

And the classic British trouser type. Rising high to the back of the waistband with external suspender buttons. And pleats that open towards the fly.

bk

 

[herringbonekid]

hang on....you can wear 18" shoulders with a 35" chest ?

17.5" shoulder is my maximum (17" is perfect) and i've got a 37/38 chest.

what gives ?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Oh, they look big. Don't get me wrong: it's not ideal (perfect is 16-16.5 - actually 16.25 is my tailor-measured perfect shoulder), but i can get away with it. Balance it out with a nice wide brimmed fedora, and it doesn't look too crazy. The long sweeping lines of a 4 x 2 Db jacket, though making one look like one has been teleported from the late 1980s, help to soften the extremely wide shoulders. Also i have naturally quite wide shoulders - all that rugby built them up - so i can do wider shoulders without looking too far from my natural shape.

Dish ear - that i posted in show us yer suits II - is a DB with 18" shoulders. Not too shabby looking, though a little wide to be considered perfect ...

bk