An Oddity Lost

Well, not quite 'lost', just no longer in my possession.

You might remember this amazing 1930s sports coat I posted about nearly two years ago.  The photos from back then were crude at best but I recently upgraded them, as you'll see below.

Quite a rare sports coat, it is.  Lightweight donegal tweed material, a very large size, really nice condition for its age (aside from two missing buttons), and, most interestingly, four pleated patch pockets.

click images to enlarge

And with such uniqueness going on in front we would expect some more to continue in the back.  But we'd be wrong.  It just has a boring, plain, ventless back, as if someone had robbed it of its belt, pleats, and gussets.

Not that I'm complaining; just look at that fabric pattern.  It doesn't get much better than that.

This illustrates just how vintage (especially 1930s) fabrics kick the tar out of modern fabrics.  Even though this is lightweight tweed (contradiction?) it drapes and flows beautifully.  Exceptionally fine tweed like this isn't made today.  It is extinct, except in vintage examples like this jacket.

 The pleated pockets are just the icing on the cake.  Sure, you'll find sports coats with the occasional gusseted pockets but how many times do they have multiple pleats per pocket?


Made by Foreman & Clark, a quality maker back in the day.  This tag is a definite sign that, when it comes to vintage, you're getting a nice product.

Unfortunately this sports coat is way too big for myself and, while I loved having it in my collection, it only ever stayed in the closet, collecting dust.  So I sold it so someone else could own, wear and enjoy it.  Because what good is clothing if it cannot be worn?

To my eyes it is a piece of artwork.  I have a feeling the new owner would agree.

What to do, Where to go...

I recently obtained 3 yards by 60 inches of the vintage material shown below. It's in excellent condition with one tiny hole and no staining or fading. It has an attractive salmon double windowpane pattern on top of a steel blue background along with a woven rectangle pattern.



Now the question is what to do with it? Three yards is enough material to make a sport coat or trousers but not both.

If I go the sport coat route I would love to get a 4x2 double breasted jacket with patch pockets including dual breast pockets. It's a sport coat, anyways, might as well go a little unusual.

If I go the trouser route I'd get them high-waisted and pleated with a healthy cuff.



It's beautiful material and I'm sure anything made from it would no doubt look great if made well. But that's the big question here: where should I go to not only get such an item made, but made well at a price I can afford.

The search begins...

Under the Weather

Not feeling too well today so I threw on this comfy vintage flannel shirt I recently acquired and am hanging around my place.
It is soooo soft...

click photos to enlarge

...and the material is beautiful...

...as are the buttons.

They just don't make shirts like they did back then.

Back to the Basics: the Soul of the Suit

WIth the beginning of this new series let's look at what should be considered the soul of the suit: fabric.

Over the last year or so I posted several of these old Botany ads:

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Vintage tailors and suit companies knew that the fabric, though not the most important element, is vital when it comes to suit appearance. Why?

Heavier fabrics not only last longer than light-weight materials and help keep the wearer warm but they also add body to the suit and drape much better than light fabrics. What is drape? Drape is the name for how a material hangs and folds off of the body. Denser fabrics like those found in the days of old crease less easily and hang more elegantly than more modern light-weight fabrics that tend to fold and wrinkle.


Dense fabrics are hard to find today and modern fabrics equal in weight and quality to vintage fabrics are rare. Avoid "Super" fabrics (Super 100s, Super 120s, etc) as they are very thin with little body and tend to shine with wear and dry cleaning. The higher the "Super" number the lighter weight the fabric. Such 'miracle' materials are the trend nowadays but do not drape well, wear out quicker and are, quite frankly, cheaper quality than vintage fabrics.

Back to Basics

In the coming weeks (or months if my schedule remains this busy) we'll explore the factors that make or break a suit: fit and silhouette, fabric, drape, construction and other seemingly minute items that add up to define the quality of a garment.

Every man who wears a suit should have a basic understanding of such factors. Stay tuned.

Answers

Here are the answers to the little game in my previous post.

1.-1920s

2.-1920s

3.-1950s

4.-1920s

5.-1950s

6.-1950s

7.-1920s

I hope this game helped demonstrate that the modern perception of 'Atomic Fleck' is inaccurate.

While certain flecky fabrics were popular during the 1950s, those and similar fabrics predate the 'atomic' era. Actually, very few if any primary sources from the 1950s actually call 'Atomic Fleck' by that name.

Even so, the name and category of Atomic Fleck is in common usage today and can be very useful in defining and expressing a particular fabric pattern from a specific time period. Unfortunately it is often unknowningly misused to describe pre-Atomic Fleck fabric patterns.

Not So Atomic Fleck 2

A continuation of the first part of this discussion.

Having looked through several hundred suit fabric samples dating from the late-teens to the early-1960s, I've noticed that the popular 1950s "Atomic Fleck" was around long before it ever came under that name. My 'study' has shown that extremely similar fleck patterns can be found as early as the late-teens.

To demonstrate this, let's play a game.
Below are 7 fabric samples that could be considered Atomic Fleck. Some of these samples date from the early 1920s while the rest date from the 1950s. They are all disorganized and it is your task to identify from which era each sample comes. Let's see if we can tell what is 'real' Atomic Fleck and what is not. Leave your guesses in the comments.
Good luck.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Not So Atomic Fleck

The 1950s is famous for it's so-called 'Atomic Fleck' fabric, as it should be.




But the so-called 'atomic' fleck predates the Second World War.

Check out these fabrics and the advertisement, all from the 1930s. Ah, the 1930s: pinnacle of fabric during the 20th century.

click to enlarge

So, even in the past "what is old is new again".

The Fabric is the Soul of the Suit

October 27, 1945

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click to enlarge

The Fabric is the Soul of the Suit

May 6, 1944

Suit Project

I am currently working on a vintage-style 3-piece suit. This is a big project and any helpful comments and concerns are much appreciated.


I bought this 1952 dated suit jacket and vest pattern off the Bay. While the jacket pattern is complete and uncut the vest pattern was missing. This vintage pattern will insure higher armholes than a modern jacket pattern.

As a result of the missing vest, I bought a modern pattern not only for the vest but also for the trousers.

Since the vest is not of vintage style (too long and only has two pockets) I used a vintage vest as a guide and altered the pattern a bit. I shortened it about an inch and altered the points at the front, making them a bit longer and more pointed. Here's what it looks like on a torso.

Note that the bottom 1 1/2" of the pattern is to be hemmed so the vest will be shorter than it appears in these photos.

The trousers look good and are relatively straight legged with cuffs and some pleats so no alteration will be needed there. However, they are somewhat low waisted so I will be adding about 3-4 inches to the rise. This will allow the trousers to be worn with the short vintage-style vest.

I have cut most of the fabric for the vest and the pieces are in good order. Speaking of fabric, here is what I am using:

As you can see it is an attractive brownish gray medium weight twill with some nice pin/chalkstripes. It was on clearance at a local fabric shop and I bought all 5 1/2 yards of it. Hopefully it will be enough for the project. I washed and dried it in order to make it shrink before starting work.

More updates to come.