Forget Atomic Fleck: Meet the Nuclear Jacket

This is a very cool item, though it doesn't fall within our usual time period.

While searching a local shop I glanced over and noticed the below jacket. Now, it's obviously a modern (from the 1990s) military cold weather jacket of some sort so it didn't really grab my attention and I nearly walked by it. However I noticed a name with rank and a vessel name and I became intrigued. Out came the Android and voilà: within seconds I had amazing results.

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This jacket belonged to Larry Davis, the first captain of the USS Connecticut, a U.S. Navy fast-attack 'Seawolf' class nuclear submarine. Sweet!

The Seawolf class of subs was meant to succeed the older and larger 'Los Angeles' class submarines. Below is the USS Connecticut:




Capt. Larry Davis commanded the Connecticut from 1996 to 1999. He was captain of the vessel during its successful sea trials.

Though Davis was not the captain at the time, in 2003 the Connecticut surfaced through the ice in the Arctic and its vertical fin was 'attacked' by a polar bear, which gnawed on it for a while before 'disengaging'.



The back adds some more info.
The '761' stands for the USS Springfield (a Los Angeles class sub) so it looks like Davis (or at least his jacket) may have served on that vessel as a LTJG before eventually being given the Connecticut.


Here are some more photos of the USS Connecticut.

While the jacket fits me well it is fairly thick, as stiff as a board, and uncomfortable to wear for extended periods. Even so, it will proudly remain a permanant part of my collection.

A find like this is rare. How often do we get a chance to view a jacket used on a nuclear submarine by the captain, let alone own one?

WIW: A Casual Tuesday

Yesterday was gorgeous. The temperature neared 70 degrees though it was a bit windy. But I'm not complaining.

It was also a day off from work for me so I made the best of it. I pieced together the below kit for bumming around town.

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The pieces I chose are iconic.
~Early 1950s Bailey of Hollywood fedora
~1950s rayon Ricky jacket
~Modern Aris Allen wide-legged trousers
~Modern Stacy Adams 'Kingsman' spectators
~Modern faux suede casual shirt

Note that only two pieces used are actually vintage while all the rest are modern. That just goes to show that a man with limited financial resources can still piece together a good vintage-esque kit with very little actual vintage.



Vintage is getting more expensive and harder to find. The resourceful vintage man merely needs to remember that many modern pieces can fill a hole in his collection and, when worn right, can look just as good as the real deal.

Best Tie?

This may be one of the best vintage ties I've ever owned.

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You just have to love the western theme, and the leather stitching along the bottom really sets it off. This kind of tie has been at the top of my list for some time now. And in New-Old-Stock condition, no less.



Hollyvogue was a quality tie maker back in the day.



Took about 60 years or so for it to finally sell to someone who will wear it. I paid a bit more than 29 cents, though!

Review: Aris Allen Wide Legged Trousers

I've been on the search for wide legged trousers for some time now, either vintage or modern. I'm talking about Oxford Bag wide.

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Vintage trousers with such wide legs are rare to find, especially in my size and in good wearable condition. That's why I went with the Aris Allen wide leg trousers from the Dance Store. They were a birthday gift from Cassie and I chose the brown unhemmed version, allowing me to tailor the inseam and cuff depth to my desires. They are also available in black but other colors are unfortunately limited.



Once ordered, communication was good and the trousers arrived in a timely manner.

The trousers themselves, as it states on the website, are 100% polyester. That had me worried at first but once they arrived I was pleasantly surprised. The material, though polyester, feels and acts a lot like rayon. It is soft and drapes very well. While the material is lighter weight and more of a summer fabric, it drapes and acts like a heavier material. Unfortunately the trousers can only be dry cleaned or handwashed; no machine washing.


I had my alterationist hem them at the desired length and add a 2" deep cuff to the leg bottoms. These deep cuffs would ensure eye-pleasing proportions and maintain the excellent draping characteristics of the material. I always enjoy a generous cuff.

The trousers are pleated and come with a regular waistband and beltloops, including the interesting double beltloop shown below.



However, they lack suspender buttons but that is easily remedied. I would have prefered the more unusual wide waistband like the second catalog illustration posted above or even a Hollywood Waist but it's not a big issue. The pockets are voluminous and do not negatively affect the drape of the garment.


Before writing this review I wore the trousers on several occasions. Below are a couple casual kits I put together around the trousers.
The trousers are chocolate brown in color and the photo below accurately shows that color:




Note how well the trousers drape when movement is introduced. They don't wrinkle like other modern lightweight trousers, they flow:


Unfortunately, being Winter, it was fairly cold outside and as I said before these are warm weather trousers. That didn't stop me though and I found the trousers to be comfortable and attractive. These trousers are very straight-legged with no flairing towards the hem. At the cuff the legs measure 23" in circumference, definitely in traditional Oxford Bag territory.



Not to mention they nearly cover my size 12 feet!


Here's an overall shot of them being worn with suspenders, my prefered way to keep my pants up when drape is in mind. The 2" deep cuffs really help the proportions of such wide-legged trousers stay pleasing to the eye.






In closing, I'm quite happy with these trousers. They are very economical at $40 and really do look a lot like Oxford Bags. If you are looking for wide-legged trousers but are unable to find anything vintage that suits you I would recommend checking out these Aris Allen trousers. The material is surprisingly nice, the trousers drape well, are comfortable and look great when worn.

Reader Question: Opening My Closet

A reader asked the following questions:

"With all that vintage clothing what does your closet look like? And what sort of moth protection do you use?"

Well, here are a few quick snaps of my closet and an extra rack of suits. Nearly everything in these photos is my own personal vintage. I keep my sale items in another area. It's a little crowded but it works.

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A quick note on hangers. You'll notice I don't have any metal hangers; that's because metal hangers will eventually oxidize and rust on the clothing, thereby ruining it. Plastic hangers aren't bad though if the garment is heavy they tend to bend and often times the hanger can be too narrow. I prefer wooden hangers as they're usually fairly thick, often have a natural shoulder shape to them, they're sturdy and will absorb moisture.



As for moth control, I use a variety of techniques since I have so much.

First is mothballs. I use these sparingly since they can be harmful and they are strong smelling. A few mothballs in an enclosed area will go a long way.

Next is Cedar. I the above photos you'll notice that there are Cedar rings on the hangers. Cedar is a good smelling natural moth deterrent that isn't harmful to your suits or yourself.

Third is another natural deterrent: sunlight. Most closets are pretty dark and enclosed. Moths love the darkness. Therefore, open your closet on a sunny day and let the light in.

Fourth: keep your clothes clean. Mothes love to munch on not only the garment itself but also any left over food or crud they can find. Now, I'm not saying you should dry clean your suit after every wearing since too much dry cleaning is harmful, but occasionally look it over, brush it and remove any staining you can with a little water and some soap. Doing this will give mothes fewer opportunities to start munching.

Lastly, mothes hate movement. Whether it be air movement or the owner changing things around, mothes don't like it. They're pretty lazy critters: they like to hang out in a dark, motionless closet while chowing down on your clothing. Rearrange your closet occasionally, rotate your suits and throw out anything that cannot be repaired or you don't use anymore.




In other words, your closet is like yourself: keep it clean, smelling good and well exercised.

On the Drape Suit, Part 2: a Short History

In On the Drape Suit, Part 1 we learned all about what makes a drape suit a drape suit: a correctly sized, well-fitted jacket with a full-cut chest, often with telltale vertical waves next to the armholes.

Now we're going to take a short look at the history of the drape suit.

The drape cut of a suit is believed to have begun during the early 1930s when cutter Frederick Scholte observed the drapey officer overcoats of the London's Brigade of Guards: full in the chest while being well-cut through the waist.

Before Scholte's moment of genious, suits were cut very close to the body. This type of close cut suit came, surprisingly, from the First World War.

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Tailors of the post-WW1 era wrongly figured that the returning Doughboys would want tight fitting suits just like their tight fitting military uniforms. Tight chest, tight waist, tight sleeves, tight hips and narrow trouser legs. And pretty much up until the "Dawn of the Drape Suit" that's all they had.

But then came Frederick Scholte who spent several years perfecting the drape style and then made it his own at Anderson & Sheppard on Savile Row where it became popular with clients. Called at that moment in time the "London Cut", the drape style spread beyond Savile Row and most famously made an important stand in America where it influenced suit styles for the next 20 years.

In America during the late 1930s to the early 1940s the drape suit was often called the "Hollywood Drape suit", the "Contour suit", the "Blade suit", and just the plain "Drape suit", among others.



There were other unique styles that fall under the drape category such as the pleated front suit shown below.

Sears, Roebucks catalog, spring and summer, 1940:

Notice how the pleats accentuate the 'chestiness' of the jacket while still allowing the waist to be well suppressed. Below are modern photos of a pleated front sports coat that recently sold on Ebay for big bucks. Note the back pleats even while the jacket lacks a belted back. Also note the verticle chest waves.

The following photos via Marc Chevalier, 1930s sports coat:

The iconic Zoot Suit might also be considered a drape suit but that's for a different blog post.

Like it often does with many things, America took the drape suit to the extreme from the mid-1940s through to the early 1950s with the Bold Look. During the Bold Look the drape suit became a joke of itself: enormous shoulders and lapels, hugely full chest and baggy jacket body and skirt.

Boxy, top heavy, disproportionate. A far cry from the nicely proportioned drape suit of the late 1930s.

A joke of itself.

Once the Bold Look ran its course by the mid-1950s the drape suit finally died a quiet death with the invention of the sleek and clean-cut "Mr. T" suit and the "Mod" look, both topics for different posts.

Today the drape style has made a popular comeback in what is called "Neapolitan tailoring", a very confusing tailoring style that differs from tailor house to tailor house and even confounds the experts. I myself am confused as to what it is exactly, its characteristics ever-changing like the blowing sand dunes of an endless desert. One hapless trend at the moment seems to be pairing natural shoulders with a full-cut chest and a flaring jacket skirt. In other words, a hideous pear-shaped jacket with weak, sloping shoulders. Gnashing of teeth and heated arguments are sure to spring up at the very mention of its name and because of these issues I will go no further to attempt to explain Neapolitan tailoring.




What started as a bold statement and an exciting more casual style has now become a tired, much debated, often misunderstood and usually badly tailored debacle. It's sad to see the influential Drape Suit become such an enigma to so many iGents and tailors throughout the world.

The Houndstooth Haberdashery

Exciting news for the Houndstooth Kid.



The blog has expanded onto Etsy so now readers can purchase quality vintage items at reasonable prices, some even from the blog.

Click the link below and see what you'll find.

The Houndstooth Kid Haberdashery

New items are continually being added so keep an eye on the Haberdashery.