WIW: Spring Madras

Madras has recently come into fashion with younger folks but, unsurprisingly, it is a more traditional fabric pattern that your grandparents or great grandparents were putting to use long ago. Below are a few 1930s Esquire and Apparel Arts illustrations that put "Indian Madras", as they called it, to work.

click images to enlarge

And while I'd never be caught dead in this suit, the shirt did give me a bit of inspiration last Sunday:



Here is my take on the Madras shirt/jacket combination.




Madras is a loud fabric pattern and therefore should be worn with restraint. However, when worn right it will add a dash of color to any warm weather outfit.

The Duffle Coat: Unrefined Style

Like many garments found in our closets, the duffle coat has its roots firmly set in the military.

Originally introduced in the Royal Navy, the duffle coat is a loose, rugged coat that was originally designed with utility in mind but can add a casual dash of character to an outfit.

A duffle coat is identified by the heavy weight wool it is made of along with its hood, double patch pockets, medium length skirt and, most notably, toggles made of either horn or wood. The coat may or may not have a hidden zipper though traditionally the zipper is lacking.

click images to enlarge

The duffle coat is usually found in traditional colors like camel, dove gray and navy though they can have many other colors and patterns to them, as my Tommy Hilfiger duffle coat below demonstrates.

Wear a duffle coat casually with either your everyday clothes or a sport coat and tie. It is a garment that was orginally meant to keep the wearer dry and warm on the decks of ships and submarines during war and as such should be paired with other hardy pieces. Wool, flannel, corduroy, denim and knits work well with the duffle coat.

WW1 RN submarine officer

A duffle coat will serve you well as these last cold days of winter fade away into Spring.

It's That Time Again

Even while it's still cold outside and we pray for no more snow, it's that wonderful time of the year when we start thinking of Spring and Summer (Spring does start later this month, after all). And while the cold weather is sure to continue least to the end of the month, retailers are at that transition point when they've brought in new Spring styles while placing the old Winter styles on sale.

The best of both worlds.

This is a great time to scope out the new warm weather styles (everything old is new again), color combos and fabrics while saving a bundle on heavy winter clothing that you can still use for the rest of this Winter or save for when the cold blows in again next year.



Below are a few things that await you on this blog when the warm weather does finally hit, just to give you a small taste, a sneak peek:

click photos to enlarge

Until then, enjoy the rest of the cold weather. Hopefully we'll be able to discuss overcoats before it becomes too warm to wear them.

WIW: Easter

Happy Easter.

Today I wore a 1940s DB suit that I found at a local Salvation Army thrift store. For $15 I 'stole' this gem. Very desirable with such bold pinstripes.

click photos to enlarge

The jacket is a bit loose but definitely wearable. The trousers, on the other hand, needed some alterations. I took the waist in a bit and had to let down the legs, which were about 6" too short before altering. I sacrificed the 2" wide cuff (forgive me, I have sinned) and replaced it with a 'faux' cuff. More on the faux cuff in another post.

I'm very happy with the results:

As you can see, the trousers drape nicely thanks to the faux cuff and are very wide at the opening.

Paired with an off-white Wormser "The Texan" fedora and brown and white spectators, this suit is very striking.

And a '40s trumpet tie for celebrating the glorious resurrection.

Two in One

I have returned. Thank you for the patience while I was away.


As I said in my last post, I have several new things to show. So, this first post back will be a "what I wore" post. But wait, there's more! Not only do you get one WIW but two in one post! Amazing!



Two Sundays ago I wore the below outfit:
*Early 1940s custom-made SB peaked lapel sportscoat
*1940s Champ fedora
*1930s tie
*modern shirt, trousers and AE shoes

click to enlarge photos

The jacket is a marvelous fit, the only issue I have is the arms being a couple centimeters too long. But this is rather nice since most vintage jackets are usually too short in the arms for me.

I don't have any photos, but the lining and the interior details are astonishingly fine, better than most anything produced today. This sportscoat oozes quality.

And last Sunday was the below outfit, which might have been a bit premature but the weather was too nice to let it go.

*Early 1950s jacket and vest from J.C. Petersen's, my great great-grandfather's haberdashery

*1940s Dobbs fedora

*1930s lighthouse tie

*1940s sunglasses

*modern shirt, trousers and Bostonian spectators

While most of the outfit is summery, I decided to stick with a regular heavy felt fedora rather than a straw Panama hat. Sort of a compromise, if you will.

Very nice herringbone pattern to this jacket and vest combo:

I was going for something like the look on the right and think I achieved it to good effect:

Inspiration

Spring: time for tennis. What better to wear for watching a tennis match than a light-weight worsted wool jacket with linen trousers, a Panama hat and brown suede shoes?

Though, the collegiate look is quite smashing, what with the black and white saddle shoes, light flannel trousers, colorful argyle socks and houndstooth ascot.

It's easy looking cool on a warm day.

What I Wore Today

Rather cool and windy today but warmed up eventually.


-1940s Champ
-1940s tie
-late 1940s sword tie clasp
-1940s sunglasses
-1970s poly/cotton jacket with Talon zipper
-George poly/linen/rayon trousers
-Allen Edmond shoes


Click to enlarge.

Cheers

Graduation Weekend

Although I finished with college in December of last year I finally walked last weekend. Saturday I wore this classy look:

Friday and Sunday I wore the outfit below (a variation of it on Saturday under the drapes).

This shirt has yellow stripes in with the white stripes. The yellow doesn't show up well in pics.

You're probably wondering about the jacket. I bought this travel-style jacket last week at Younkers. It's a Clairborne.

It has two large patch pockets, no breast pocket. The 'pleats' in the pockets are just for show and don't function. There is a belted back but no action to it. The belt seems a tad lower than it should be but it's no big problem, I was just happy to see a belted back! No vents. 100% cotton and fully lined. It's a bit heavy and hot for summer wear, would work better in the spring.

I settled for a 40R. The 38R fit me perfectly except the body was just too short. The sleeves for both sizes were long enough. It was on sale (originally $125) and while it was still a bit much, I liked it too well to pass by.

It has a very nice vintage feel to it. I really like belted backs and was quite pleased to see a modern summer jacket with one even if there was not bi-swing back or pleats with it. The high button stance is quite high and adds to the vintage look. This is my first white jacket (off white to be exact) and am quite pleased with it.