The Vintage Tailoring Thread

[Dostioffsky]

Interesting bit of history.

https://archive.org/stream/menswearofcan1922toro#page/159/mode/1up

 

[herringbonekid]

interesting Dosti.
i'll bet someone else would claim to have invented the 'free swing' before 1922 though !

 

[Dostioffsky]

Yes, that's what I though as well! Perhaps it's just that one smaller pleat on the inside of the pleat. According to the text it is actually called (and patented as) the 'sweep pleat' and 'free swing', but the author just likes 'free swing' better. Still, regardless of actual truth, it's pretty fun to read about all these inventions in a period publication. That collarless suit coat idea is still quite a bit ahead of its time, too!

 

[herringbonekid]

how to spot machine-made buttonholes on a vintage suit: look for the canvas visible between the stitches. this means that the buttonhole was machine stitched (probably on a Reece which takes about 3 seconds) then cut after. when a buttonhole is made by hand the cut it made first and the stitches cover the raw edges.

NB: there is a 'cut before' machine, and those ones are trickier to spot.

(suit is a 1953 Burtons DB)

 

[Dirk Wainscotting]

Knowing that a 'cut before' machine exists, the easiest way to tell if the buttonhole is hand-made is that the 'wrong' side is often not as pretty as the 'right' side. Sometimes it is downright messy.

There is also usually no bar-tack at the end of a machine-made buttonhole; not one worthy of the name anyway.

Right side:

"wrong" side of same:

 

[Dostioffsky]

Another type of bi-swing coat. I haven't seen this before, doesn't seem to be the most practical invention...

 

[Matylda]

Hello,

My husband has a recurrent problem with his suits which he makes and orders from China. The measurements he takes seem to be correct and accurate but the sleeves of his suits always come out wrong. They are not too tight or too baggy; they simply do not hang well on him showing quite a lot of strain lines at the front.

Are there any parameters that could be checked during taking measurements or any existing patterns/correlations (between somebody’s measurements or suit’s parts like armholes, shoulders width, chest size, arms size, sleeve itself) that shall be taken into account or checked well before the suit is made in order to avoid this problem? Does the posture or shoulder’s type matter?

Are there any different types of mannequins (made according to clients different body build/posture/shoulder types) available in the market/industry which help the tailors or companies which design and sell suits to spot the sleeve pitch problem during the QC process and before the suit is delivered to the client’s door?

Thank you very very much for your answers/precious advice/suggestions in advance!
I would really like to understand better the nature of this issue.

Regards,

Matylda

 

[Giftmacher]

I posted the pattern for this some time ago and this year I decided I want it for myself. The jacket and knickerbockers comes from Czech magazine "Dle míry" (By measure) from July 1936. The cap was in magazine "Šťastný domov" (Happy home) from 1924. The waistcoat is simply a copy of 40's formal one. The suit was made from PES+viscose which is probably big issue for bicycle trips in hot summer days. A zipper on the 30's kickerbockers suggests dressmaker's inexperience with vintage tailoring. The cap lacks of rear stiffener, the upper part falls a little bit forward. The lapel buttonhole was missing. Total price without waistcoat which was made later was 9700 CZK (circa $400]


http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/Giftmacher/IMG_2463_zpsalqgw74b.jpg
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/Giftmacher/IMG_2456_zpsceh7sbmq.jpg
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/Giftmacher/IMG_2464_zpszcddx9fv.jpg
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/Giftmacher/IMG_2460_zpskggeljzz.jpg
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/Giftmacher/IMG_2461_zpshywh4xrl.jpg
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/Giftmacher/IMG_2462_zpsjfcq7bxo.jpg

 

[Metatron]

Nicely done Giftmacher, looks like they did a good job with the lapel. You must have a good communication with your tailor.

 

[Giftmacher]

Last week I came across this. Original was issued in 1938, reprinted in 1947. If anyone's interesting in scans, let me know. From the content: Single breasted suit, smoking, cutaway, redingot, tail-coat, single and double breasted waistcoat, single and double breasted overcoat, raglan, wide english raglan, hooded rain coat, (pre-war czech) military uniform and coat, normal trousers golf trousers, riding trousers. There is also a few patterns for ladies.

 

[Dirk Wainscotting]

I'd would like to see the trousers, waistcoats and the dinner jacket if it's no too much trouble.

 

[Giftmacher]

Certainly not, I'll send it to you as soon as possible.

 

[Giftmacher]

I'm sorry to disappoint you, smoking isn't there, my mistake. Here's the rest: http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=28650964297135481586

 

[Giftmacher]

I'm also working on the rest of the book, should be done withing few days, but due to the speed of my connection, I can't post it anywhere, we are talking about circa 500MB in the original resolution.

 

[Dirk Wainscotting]

Well I am patient enough to wait. The system looks different from the British and German ones I know. The regular waistcoat has quite an elongated and narrow armscye shape which I haven't seen before.

Seeing the rest of the book will show if the measurement system is particular to the system and any other possible peculiarities.

Thanks for your efforts so far!

 

[Giftmacher]

It is done, but I'm not able to send such ammount of data. The only way I see is CD and snail mail.

 

[Dirk Wainscotting]

One page a week/month is fine. At your own discretion sir.

 

[Giftmacher]

It took almost same time as scanning, but here you are:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4mdNh_GLSDONUltTjh2M3hqOXc

 

[Dirk Wainscotting]

Blimey 173 files. I feel bad now. Once I've managed to get the Czech translated I'll have a go at some of the drafts. Chapeau à vous, monsieur!

 

[Mathematicus]

I apologise I'm resuming this old thread but I think this is the right place to ask.

I have a pair of (bespoke) trousers with fishtail back which I love and wear with pride. The problem is that they were cut for the days in which I was a 28, while now I am more like a 29-30. I can still wear them but not with great comfort. There is a sufficient amount of cloth in the seat to let out and moreover there are no pockets in the back but the fishtail piece doesn't have any allowance in the centre seam. Plus if I had someone insert a new piece, it would distort the fishtail shape, putting the two back brace buttons too distant each other.

I am not a professional and have almost zero tailoring knowledge, but I thought I could just have the new pieces inserted in correspondence of the sides, having the seat altered at the centre back with the existing cloth and then the whole waistband recut in the new position. Would be it crazy/too expensive?