Cindarella's Closet

A few weeks ago we did a benefit for high school girls who needed affordable dresses for prom. These great group of guys were volunteering from the University of Scranton Crew Team. We had a lot of fun helping the girls and passing out horederves. A gentle reminder: just because it is a tuxedo does not make it classy. Anyhow we used bright colors and daring combinations which kid use for prom; it should be the last soiree where outfits like these should be seen.

What to Look for in Trousers

So what exactly should we be looking for in a trouser? My first requisite is side adjusters in lieu of belt loops. The picture on the left side shows a simple way to pull your waist to the proper tension. The image on the right has a little more complex zipper system that pulls an elastic insert and holds the tension a bit better. I feel that a belt clutters up the waist of the man so if you have the options either opt for the adjusters or start wearing suspenders. I need not remind the gentleman of the inexpence of having your tailor sew in a few suspender buttons.

Although pleats are not required on trousers if you are to have them they should always go forward. This thins the thigh and pulls the material on the leg closer to the intended spot. Tailors and designers in Italy would disagree but I assure you the difference is remarkable. Pleats should be two or four and start as high up the garment as possible. Flat front trousers are certainly acceptable on all suits and they can flatter a slim man or mess a large one alike.

As far as cuffs on the hem of the trouser I personally do not like them especially with pattern in the cloth but it is up to the personal taste of the customer. There are many things your tailor can do avoidably to trousers and one can take advantage of personal style by pegging the bulk of the leg, adjusting the rise of the zipper, or flaring the bottom for men who are subconscious of their large feet.

Get Your Lapels Rolled!

For those out there who get suits pressed or cleaned you need to know about the lapel roller. This pressing devise rolls the lapel rather than flat pressing it. Ask your cleaner if they have this and insist that they do so to your garment. The company who presses my suits have the roller but, as you see on the left, they flat press unless I remind them with various notes. This particular suit made by Henry Rose has a great deal of canvasing and it creates a great roll when pressed properly.

Norton and Sons

I received this suit a few months ago and it has been at my tailor's for the last few weeks. I finally get to wear it. It is a Norton and Sons bespoke three button notched lapel with three cuff buttons (two functioning) and is a heavily constructed jacket. The pants have belt loops and two inward pleats - It fits great!

Walter Grant Norton opened a tailor shop in 1821 and it remained in the family unit Grant Norton left in 1963. Norton has a tradition of rugged outerwear thus it is no surprise that Norton and Son clothes were present when Lord Carnarvon opened Tutankhamon's tomb, when Stanly met Livingston, and when the Marquis de Vogue undertook his 'Voyage en Syrie st en Palestine.' Other notables include Baron von Richtofen and Chuck Yeager (pilots must fancy Norton). From Carey Grant, Sinatra, and Alfred Hitchcock, Norton and Sons have been clothing generations of gentlemen. I'm not sure who cut this particular pattern but head cutter John Kent holds a royal warrant for H.M.S. the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Shawl Lapel

We talk a lot about the peaked and notched lapel but it seems rarer these days to see a shawl lapel. These are mainly reserved for formal wear but even in that they are a dying breed. I'm in this picture with acclaimed pianist Christopher Johnson after one of his concerts. Take note of his shawl lapel but try to ignore my casual look - it was an informal gathering but, I know, there is no excuse for jeans. The shirt is a cool linen 'preacher collar' from the Texas designer Stubs Davis. The stud buttons and cufflinks are pewter.

Silk Knots

Here's different way to wear your cuffs. They dress down a nice summer suit or compliment a certain shirt color. The are very inexpensive and can be ordered through an Australian company called Angus Hill.

New Cufflinks!

Check out these new cufflinks from the Swarovski Crystal Co. in Austria. The firm was founded in 1895 and has been the standard for crystaling ever since. My parents were in Europe a few weeks ago and suprised me with these.

What to look for in a jacket

Now to get into the nuts and bolts of a man's wardrobe - the big ideas of small details. It is fair to say that the lapel hole of your suit needs to be a flat lapel hole rather than a key-hole. The picture on the right shows that the maker cares little or knows nothing about perminent fashion by using this stitch for the lapel hole but a lot of big names commit this sartorial error (this particular jacket is made by Hugo Boss). The lapel needn't be functioning, although prefered, and the ideal length is 1 and 1/8 inches.

The lapel itself looks richer when the edges of the lapel are hand or machine stitched. The modern process of fusing the material without stich looks sloppy and flat. A machine stich shows some effort and looks great on the jacket; this stiching might extend the length of the jacket including the bottom and might also be found around the pockets. A hand picked stitch will be less uniform in the stitch gap and will often be found on bespoke suits. This is certainly not a reqisat but is generally up to the client who is getting the suit made.

When the 'Italian' look, popularized by Armani in the early 80's, took to the hearts of a new generation it was defined by a soft, unconstructed jacket that seemed to drape the body rather than accentuate with canvasing parts of the chest that needed some help. Without the heavy canvasing it became clear to the manufacturing world that this look needs to stay. Less canvas, less time, less structure, less money. So good luck finding a jacket that has a thick canvas in the United States, its really a pity because the roll of the lapel looks so good. There are two pics at the top showing a lapel from the bottom of the jacket up to the top. The one on the bottom is a Pierre Cardin that sells for a few hundred dollars at mens stores and, as you see, has very little cavasing in the lapel and hence no great roll to the jacket. The beauty on the top is a Saxon Hawk (who?) from the U.K. and, we see, the jacket's lapel has a great shape to it. Which one would you rather be wearing?

The buttons on the cuff should idealy be four buttons 'kissing' meaning they abut each other. No one knows why four is ideal its just the way Savile Row does it. At all costs try not to buy a jacket without detailing around the buttons. As you can see at the top the Cardin has the buttons just fastened to the fabric and no detailing. The Hawke, on the otherhand, with its detailing looks like the buttons were made to the customer's arm length. Most suits do not bother putting the stitching on the cuff buttons being that this will cost more money to manufacture. Of course working buttons are still the highest form of cuffs you can get.

These are just some of the details that I look for when buying a jacket, making sure the collar and the shoulders fit properly along with some of these details and a tailor can do the rest.

John Morgan

Here are two dashing gentlemen in John Morgan suits!

John Morgan and Co. were London based bespoke suit makers; although not on Savile Row the shop was on 11 St. George Street on Hannover Square. My grey herringbone is double breasted with gloriously wide peaked lapels, four cuff buttons (three working) and adjusters on the trousers. Both of these suits are very heavily canvased and really give breadth to the chest. Zack's Morgan is a two button notched lapel with a bit more weight in the cloth. Also with trouser adjustors, the checked cloth is like none we have ever seen. It has a blue dye thats seems somewhat uniform throughout the cloth. Both are great bespoke suits, mine was constructed in 1977 and Zack's 1979.

John F. Kennedy was a customer of Mr. Morgan. They first met while Joseph Kennedy was ambassador to the U.K., the young JFK got his first bespoke suit from Morgan and continued to be a client until his presidency when the so called 'gold drain' trade deficit forced Kennedy to buy American.

Why the London Cut?

Hello Friends!

I am starting this blog partly for my love of English tailoring and also to hopefully educate those intrested in men's suits. Currently many so called 'designer suits' are little more than fused pieces of fabric that provide very little shape to a man's figure. In my latter posts I will be discussing the 'must haves' of purchasing a proper fitting suit that will compliment the form and maybe save some money while doing so. By defining some terms and showing some pieces from my collection we might get a better understanding of what the English look is, how to buy better suits and accessories, proper care of clothing, and matching different patterns and colors.