Suit language

[Marty M.]

Thanks Raindog for the compliment. If there's an interest I'll post some pictures of garments that harken to an earlier period.

Marty

 

[Mr. Rover]

I've been asking for loopless brace-buttoned pants for years and have been getting laughed out of every store. I will certainly have you make me a few pair.

Does that include pants with side sliders/adjusters/buckles? I got a pair of pants made in Hong Kong with inverse pleats and sliders instead of loops. I think the look is much cleaner.

 

[Senator Jack]

Does that include pants with side sliders/adjusters/buckles?

I have a lot of 50s/60s loopless pants that have the side sliders, but I never wear them with a tucked in shirt. I tend to associate the belt/suspender free look with my childhood barber, a swinging 70s Italian in Quiana shirts. I don't think I've ever come across pre-50s pants that didn't have either loops or buttons. When did they start with the sliders?

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Baron Kurtz]

When talking sliders, do we mean side adjuster belts? If so, i have a pair of 20s bags with side belt adjusters.

I'm kinda with Jack on the belt loop/braces thing. But purely for a functional reason. When they put the suspender buttons on the outside AND have belt loops, don't the suspender buttons impede the belt going through the loops? When the suspender buttons are on the inside i have no problem. The belt loopps then become simply a design feature.

bk

 

[herringbonekid]

i've never seen a pair with belt-loops and buttons on the outside. if they have belt loops, the brace buttons are always on the inside. EXCEPT a pair of 30s trousers i have which have the front buttons on the inside and the rear buttons on the ouside. i saw bogart with a pair like this in a film too. i like it...it's like a tailoring joke.
and i don't think it looks silly at all to wear trousers with belt-loops with braces (suspenders).
so you're belt-loops are empty. so what ?

 

[Senator Jack]

What I meant was slider/adjusters with no loops or buttons at all. The side adjusters go way back, but I've always associated the beltless/braceless style with 60s/70s fashion.

About the loops with no belt. It's just something that's always esthetically bothered me. I see loops and I think there should be a belt running through them. I have a lot of pants that have both loops and suspender buttons but I will only wear them with a belt. As with the whole bottom button debate, I may be ignorantly in the minority here.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Old Levi's

i've never seen a pair with belt-loops and buttons on the outside. if they have belt loops, the brace buttons are always on the inside. EXCEPT a pair of 30s trousers i have which have the front buttons on the inside and the rear buttons on the ouside. i saw bogart with a pair like this in a film too. i like it...it's like a tailoring joke.
and i don't think it looks silly at all to wear trousers with belt-loops with braces (suspenders).
so you're belt-loops are empty. so what ?

Have both loops and buttons on the outside...

I don't usually dress 'up', but prefer workaday clothes. I have really started to develop a distain for belts. I think they are too binding for work outside. I recently aquired a couple of pair of clip suspenders from the Vermont Suspender Co. and wear them with my dundarees sans belt. Very comfortable. It tok some time to get used to the look without a belt through the loops but what the hell, it feels a whole lot better than the binding Garrison belt I used to wear.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Just adjuster buckles; No loops ir buttons:

bk

 

[varga49]

Thanks Andy!

Clothes and the Man, Dressing the Man, and other books by Alan Flusser. Excellent text on how to, what to, and why on selecting mens's fashion, suits, color combinations.

These books, I have Clothes and the Man, and Dressing the Man, are very well done. The first is much better, in that it has everytihng your dad should have told you, or the wise salesman at he fine clothing store would recommend. All about types of shirts, cut, collar, to suits, sport coats, how to have it fit, tailored, what sox, shoes , over coats...hats. The entire package. I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394546237/qid=1136654901/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-7136499-4540016?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Great resources. This was on my list of things to do this year!

 

[Marty M.]

So many ties, so few collars.

"Clothes and the Man" continues to be a good read. Check out Adolphe Menjou on page 122. One of my all time favorite pictures. Baron, the picture of the trouser you sent really intrigued me. They look like either a wool serge or a brushed cotton doeskin. The seams shows that they were made by one person or a small tailorshop. The waistband looks like it's a three inch width. The back is higher. Is it a "High V" back with buttons on the exterior? It looks like a wool serge or a brushed cotton doeskin fabric. Were these pants shortened for you or someone else? Are they a twenty three or twenty four inch bottom width? Anyway, whoever owns these pants should wear them with pride.
As far as the loop/no loop in relationship with braces and suspenders. No loops with braces will always win the style gods approval. But, don't stop wearing your suspenders with your looped britches. We know that it's not easy finding trousers without loops. A good tailor can take the loops off your trousers. But beware, certin fabrics don't take to kindly to this procedure. Remember the old clothing adage "when in doubt, leave it out '.
Senator Jack, "Quiana Knit" shirts. I love it. I started my career selling Quiana knit shirts at Daytons Department store in the mid '70's. You have the word of the day.

Marty

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Marty,

Those pants are indeed wool serge. The waistband is 2" at the front, rising to 3" in the back. I think they have a standard back, not high V. There are no buttons anywhere around the waistband. The cuffs are 22.5" cirsumference. There are no makers tags and nothing to date them except the style. I haven't looked to see if there is any makers info on the buckles. That might help to date them.

bk

p.s. They are worn with pride. Or will be when the roads are no longer covered in horrible winter water. Summer, here i come ...

 

[Matt Deckard]

Matt Deckard owes it to all of us to go into the suit business. He knows more about mens' tailoring than all the tailors I've spoken to over the last twenty years. Listen to him and you can't go wrong. So how about it, Matt? When are you going to author a book on the subject?

Regards,

Senator Jack

I'm flattered... I still have alot to learn. There are alot of books and catalogs out over the last century and before which I'm dragging out to study.

Maybe some published articles first, then a book.