Senator Jack
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I think I mentioned in another post that I have a late 40s white dinner jacket, shawl collared, single button. When I originally got it, there were no stains and no holes. Somewhere along the way, it developed a cleaning stain. Of course, the cleaners would not take responsibility for it. 'Tannins,' they say. 'That happens a lot with vintage.' I tried one last cleaner, a supposed miracle worker, and picked it up today only to find the stain worse. With jacket in hand I set about the city to find a replacement. I really have to have a white, shawl collared, single button dinner jacket.
I went to a few vintage shops and came up with nothing - Cheap Jack himself even looked at it and told me it was dry-cleaning damage. (He's going to try and find a replacement for me) Just for kicks I walked up 5th Ave just to see if places like Lord & Taylor and Sak's were making repros of this jacket. Sak's had one very close for the dear price of $595.00 and just to make a comparison I tried it on. "What's with the armholes,' I asked? The salesman, to his credit, said he understood. Really, for the life of me, I can't understand why for that amount of money they can't think to cut armholes the right way. It got me to thinking, who would look good in this jacket? Why do armholes need to be this big? I know we had a long thread about armholes, but I still can't understand why even high-priced suits are cut this way. What's the purpose? The theory? But as amusing as this was, this still wasn't my big laugh for the day.
As a last stop I go into Barney's. I get sent up to the small formal dept on 6, and on the way up the doors open on 3 and I see a narrow-lapelled 60s cut suit on a mannequin. 'What was that?' I think. 'That actually looked pretty cool.' I know I have to stop in on the way down, just to see. The salesman on 6 takes a look at my jacket and says 'Oh my God, that's a great piece. you'll never get that replaced. (At least he had a good eye) and then he tells me that I might try on 3 because they openend a vintage dept. 'Vintage inspired?' I ask. 'No, vintage pieces,' he says. So that explained the suit. I knew Barney's couldn have anything that cool that was new. But, still this wasn't my biggest laugh of the day.
I go wandering about 3 seeing a few items that, to me, looked new. Suits for $1,700 I]off the peg[/I] I didn't want to bother with a salesman to find out if they were old, new, or what. But then I pass a table of 60s ties that were definitely vintage. I give them the once over and I note that there is not one of them that, had I seen it on Ebay would I have even bothered to click on the picture. Not even at a starting bid of a dollar. A few were passable, but certainly nothing great. At best, I can say the condition was good. No stains. All right,I have to see how much they want for these ties. Okay, NOW comes the big laugh of the day, and really, I lost it there right on the floor. Barney's price:
I went to a few vintage shops and came up with nothing - Cheap Jack himself even looked at it and told me it was dry-cleaning damage. (He's going to try and find a replacement for me) Just for kicks I walked up 5th Ave just to see if places like Lord & Taylor and Sak's were making repros of this jacket. Sak's had one very close for the dear price of $595.00 and just to make a comparison I tried it on. "What's with the armholes,' I asked? The salesman, to his credit, said he understood. Really, for the life of me, I can't understand why for that amount of money they can't think to cut armholes the right way. It got me to thinking, who would look good in this jacket? Why do armholes need to be this big? I know we had a long thread about armholes, but I still can't understand why even high-priced suits are cut this way. What's the purpose? The theory? But as amusing as this was, this still wasn't my big laugh for the day.
As a last stop I go into Barney's. I get sent up to the small formal dept on 6, and on the way up the doors open on 3 and I see a narrow-lapelled 60s cut suit on a mannequin. 'What was that?' I think. 'That actually looked pretty cool.' I know I have to stop in on the way down, just to see. The salesman on 6 takes a look at my jacket and says 'Oh my God, that's a great piece. you'll never get that replaced. (At least he had a good eye) and then he tells me that I might try on 3 because they openend a vintage dept. 'Vintage inspired?' I ask. 'No, vintage pieces,' he says. So that explained the suit. I knew Barney's couldn have anything that cool that was new. But, still this wasn't my biggest laugh of the day.
I go wandering about 3 seeing a few items that, to me, looked new. Suits for $1,700 I]off the peg[/I] I didn't want to bother with a salesman to find out if they were old, new, or what. But then I pass a table of 60s ties that were definitely vintage. I give them the once over and I note that there is not one of them that, had I seen it on Ebay would I have even bothered to click on the picture. Not even at a starting bid of a dollar. A few were passable, but certainly nothing great. At best, I can say the condition was good. No stains. All right,I have to see how much they want for these ties. Okay, NOW comes the big laugh of the day, and really, I lost it there right on the floor. Barney's price:
$140.00
Just because you are the perfect vintage size and can find suits for $10 each. The rest of us mortals have to pay more for the extra weight and size. There is a shop over in Frisco, whose name I can't remember now, that has about ten 40s suits in your size for like $20 each. They can't give them away. 
