The London Lounge

A quick update for those who followed this thread... I have had this suit about a year now. I have worn the jacket a lot, the trousers and waistcoat very little. There are reasons for that, which I will go on to elucidate.... Firstly, the jacket. It has been a very useful jacket, and as Ed Hayes pre...

What about the half-moon metal toe-pads which are tacked to the leather sole? I find they lengthen the life of the sole dramatically. Dear Robert, Thank you for your ideas. I have experimented with steel Blakeys on the toe and heel, and haven't found much advantage of them on the toe - for me, the ...

Sadly I think the amount of cloth is touch-and-go for a three-piece, certainly if I want a high waist and chunky turn-ups on the trousers. Mr Hillier Dear Mr Hillier, talk to your tailor about the waistcoat. You need 3,5m for a 2-pce suit and you have 4m. He might need to bite his finger nails a bi...

It looks more 50s/60s to me. Certainly from the days before men's suits became standardized to a few shades of blue or gray and fewer than a dozen patterns. Looking at the illustrations Minh has been posting from the 1930s, you see a broad range of what we would now consider "loud" patterns that we...

Mr. Hillier, Yes, I suppose there is always some risk, especially on a folding bike which is, at best, a compromise between ease of folding and riding comfort. Also, the cranks may touch the inside of your shoes with each revolution and, even with a mud-flap on the front fender, rain and mud are ou...

Given the timescale its possible, there were worsted weavers in Ireland at the time. Places like Convoy Woollen Mills and Dunloe. I've heard it called Huddersfield Twist as well. Well wear! Dear Cathach, This cloth is no younger than 30 years old, quite possibly older. It is interesting that it may...

Dear Mr. Hillier Congratulations with what looks like a great and comfortable suit. May you wear it (in) in good health! And thank you for providing much inspiration. I'm hoping to receive the Thornproof soon and am now planning something similar: - trousers with side adjusters and high waist and t...

Here is something which the members may find interesting... I was looking at this piece of fabric after pulling it out of storage: http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/834/teer.jpg I have had it since I was a student, and it was given to me by my grandfather, who had had it for several years before...

By the way, does your jacket have a piece of elastic inside the back to keep the pleats looking neat and to bring them back after they have been opened? Dear Mr Hillier, mine has. cheers, David Dear David, Thanks for the intelligence. I believe we will soon have completely reverse-engineered the 'a...

Dear Mr. Hillier, an action shoulder pleat is useless if -having provided for the extra jacket fabric folded in the back- the lining becomes now the significant restrictive element. Following David´s steps I also went and checked my English tailored MTM tweed jacket with action shoulders (one and t...

davidhuh wrote:your question made me check my Harris tweed coat with action back, and I discovered that I have the same problem

Dear David,

Thank you for your reply. Maybe a lining with a bit more slack in it is all that is required. Let's see what the other members say.

Regards,

Hillier

A very quick question for the members: Do your coats with action backs have a pleat in the lining to free up the movement in the back? I think a minor tweak may be necessary on my coat, as the lining can only expand a little, and does not allow the action back its full range of movement. I notice th...

I don't see how putting one's foot down from the pedal to the ground could ever damage one's shoe Dear Taller, Thank you for the considered response. I simply found that my shoes were getting damaged cycling in a way they never were walking down the street. They were getting scratched and scuffed v...

Congratulations Mr Hillier! Thank you Micheal! I have worn either the jacket or the suit every day since I collected it, and I show no sign of slowing down. For me it starts simply with pure admiration for the cloth. As you suggest, I now intend to live in this suit for the foreseeable future and g...

And great choice of buttons! Congratulations Mr. Hillier on your finished project. I´m glad to see that you found our well-meaning advice at the LL useful. The buttons are nice. A bit of a shame that there are plastic buttons on the trousers... oops. The advice was very useful, god knows where I wo...