Show us your suits

[Tomasso]

Great find, BK!

From Great Falls to London, there's gotta be a story there.

 

[MudInYerEye]

He looked after it. It has moved on to the right home. It'l still be going strong 100 years after he bought it!

bk

Haha! You hope.

 

[Tomasso]

Haha! You hope.

What!?!? The Baron is a young man........ Unless you know something we don't. [huh]

 

[Baron Kurtz]

By the time this suit is 100, i'll be 60. Given my background and the miserable life expectancy it gives me, mud may be right.

bk

 

[thunderw21]

Beautiful. I have yet to find such a nice suit but can't wait 'til I do!

Nice find, Baron.

 

[Benny Holiday]

Funny where these things end up.

bk

Look at the silhouette on that jacket! The Baron strikes again. Yeah, it is funny where those things pop up . . . if only they'd pop up in Sydney!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Dont you just wish they made jackets today with a proper male silhouette like that?

bk

 

[Feraud]

Dont you just wish they made jackets today with a proper male silhouette like that?

bk

I do wish modern retailers provided it.. The irony is the retailers seem to want to sell that silhouette. Walk into a mens shop and you will see the mannequins wearing outfits with silhouettes just like the one you show. Stroll around to the back of the dummy and the jackets are all pinned.
What gives? Retailers want to sell "the look" w/out providing it? [huh]

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I guess it's more expensive to make a jacket with a proper silhouette? Perhaps retailers are tricking customers into thinking they're going to get the look, and then not providing it, knowing that many customers will have a very delusional idea of how something looks on them, remembering more the mannequin than themselves when deciding whether to buy or not.

I have toyed with the idea of pursuing a law suit on grounds of false advertising when a store pins their jackets excessively. But i can't afford it and disagree with such frivolous suits.

Re: well fitted jackets. When in the States i was constantly being told not to wear jackets which highlighted my body shape (lean, slightly athletic) when going for job interviews etc. I should somehow look like a shapeless pile of fabric, just because? Perhaps the lack of modern off-the-peg manufacturers producing jackets with such silhouettes is a reflection of this mindset?

bk

 

[Feraud]

Re: well fitted jackets. When in the States i was constantly being told not to wear jackets which highlighted my body shape (lean, slightly athletic) when going for job interviews etc. I should somehow look like a shapeless pile of fabric, just because? Perhaps the lack of modern off-the-peg manufacturers producing jackets with such silhouettes is a reflection of this mindset?

bk

I cannot imagine why anyone would give that horrible advice. Common sense dictates a pleasant appearance no matter what body shape someone is.

I will guess the shape of the modern jacket reflects the "one size fits all" mentality prevalent among retailers. However, seeing pinned jackets in stores gives me hope that someone out there favors a manly silhouette.

 

[KObalto]

Doesn't this all derive from Brooks Brothers developing the "sack suit" in the 30s, the first successful mass-produced suit meant to accomodate a range of body types? This then eventually became the American norm, replacing the English drape and Hollywood styles?

 

[Jerekson]

Baron, I'm not exaggerating when I say that is the best jacket I have ever seen. I have a really soft spot for a brown 1930's suit, and that one is just...I can't even explain it.

Let's just say there is nothing I would want different on that jacket.

Being as you and I are about the same size, I think I have a right to be a wee bit jealous.

Wear it well.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Doesn't this all derive from Brooks Brothers developing the "sack suit" in the 30s, the first successful mass-produced suit meant to accomodate a range of body types? This then eventually became the American norm, replacing the English drape and Hollywood styles?

But the Brooks sack suits were nicely fitted through the body, from what i've seen.

bk

 

[Rittmeister]

I am going to go out on a limb and touch a subject that some may find controversial. It might even be a good subject for another thread.

I think the move away from highlighting, or towards hiding, the male silhouette, at least in mainstream America, may be related to post-WWII homophobia in America. I have spent a lot of time reading about American social customs, and traveling in and working with people from other cultures. One example: I spent a couple of years on Italian cruise ships in the early 70's, and I was always impressed by the officers' summer uniforms that were so tight that nothing would fit in their pockets.

My unscientific conclusion is that many American aversions are to things that somehow American men (and maybe some women) associate as effeminate, less than manly, gay or whatever. There are many examples of these: feelings about types of clothing (i.e., bathing suits), sterotypes about men interested in cultural and artistic things, labeling movies as "chic flics", peer pressure into various male bonding rituals, the aversion to anything too suave. And yet, Americans are a schizo group. Film and TV characters embodynig many of the older male qualities, including well-fitted suits revealing a slim physique, such as Daniel Craig as Bond and the star of "Burn Notice" are popular. In any case, I think it is an interesting idea to consider and I welcome others' thoughts.

 

[KObalto]

Interesting.

There may be some truth in what you say. Teenage boys describe any tight-fitting clothing as "gay" (although I think I've trained mine not to do so).

 

[Baron Kurtz]

It's an interesting idea, and must contend with the fact - for fact it is - that the loose-fitting trend didn't become fully established until the early 1980s. The 50s were pretty much the same fit as the 30s and 40s. The 1960s are renowned for their close-fitting suits. The 70s saw the beginning of the loose-fit revolution but were also punctuated by periods of astoundingly close-fitting clothes.

As with all subjects touching upon fashion as it impacts, and is impacted by, society i suspect the reasons for various trends will not be clear-cut.

bk

 

[KObalto]

Re: well fitted jackets. When in the States i was constantly being told not to wear jackets which highlighted my body shape (lean, slightly athletic) when going for job interviews etc. I should somehow look like a shapeless pile of fabric, just because? Perhaps the lack of modern off-the-peg manufacturers producing jackets with such silhouettes is a reflection of this mindset?

bk

I'm a supervisinng lawyer in goverment and help with interviewing applicants for attorney positions and can not believe some of the crap lawyers wear to job interviews. My favorite? Prominent french cuffs with an even more prominent cigarette burn hole. We would be very impressed by an applicant in a suit with a nice silhouette.

 

[cookie]

I am going to go out on a limb and touch a subject that some may find controversial. It might even be a good subject for another thread.

I think the move away from highlighting, or towards hiding, the male silhouette, at least in mainstream America, may be related to post-WWII homophobia in America. I have spent a lot of time reading about American social customs, and traveling in and working with people from other cultures. One example: I spent a couple of years on Italian cruise ships in the early 70's, and I was always impressed by the officers' summer uniforms that were so tight that nothing would fit in their pockets.

My unscientific conclusion is that many American aversions are to things that somehow American men (and maybe some women) associate as effeminate, less than manly, gay or whatever. There are many examples of these: feelings about types of clothing (i.e., bathing suits), sterotypes about men interested in cultural and artistic things, labeling movies as "chic flics", peer pressure into various male bonding rituals, the aversion to anything too suave. And yet, Americans are a schizo group. Film and TV characters embodynig many of the older male qualities, including well-fitted suits revealing a slim physique, such as Daniel Craig as Bond and the star of "Burn Notice" are popular. In any case, I think it is an interesting idea to consider and I welcome others' thoughts.

You may be onto something there Rittmeister.

In all my years flying to HNL etc I was amazed at the conservative bathing attire of Americans. Not for them the famous Aussie Cozzie aka "budgie smugglers" aka "sluggos" No... over there it was very unrevealing bathing shorts like what we call "board shorts". No genitalia (it's an Italian airline!lol ) or silhouettes for those blokes...

 

[Jerekson]

There may be some truth in what you say. Teenage boys describe any tight-fitting clothing as "gay" (although I think I've trained mine not to do so).

That's only one half of the community. The other half refers to tight-fitting clothes as emo/goth/punk.

My mother has told me on countless ocassions that my fit looks bad. Any waist tuck or slimness whatsoever doesn't go well with her. She uses the word, "womanly" alot.

 

[KeyGrip]

She uses the word, "womanly" alot.

How else do I show off by manly-broad-chested physique? If being manly means wearing a fancy burlap sack, I think we should all stick to womanly. Of course, the cut should depend on the individual body type, but I think you know what I'm getting at.