Buttoning the 6x2 DB

[rodes]

This question has been addressed before, however there seems to be no clear consensus and I ask to revisit. Should the bottom button of the 6x2 DB be fastened? I have seen and read both opinions. It seems to me that in general, most LL members do not. IMHO, the coat looks somewhat better and more natural with this button fastened. Perhaps, this is so because the coat is nearly always cut with this intention. The opposite seems true for the 3 button SB, i.e. the bottom button is not meant to be fastened. Either way, the more important point is to have the DB suit, wear and enjoy it. For many years I resisted them even though I liked them and thought that my individual build favored them. Thanks to the LL for setting me right on this count.

[culverwood]

I find that some of my DB suits feel right with the bottom button fastened and others without. As you say I think it is all in the cut of the individual coat.

[hectorm]

Should the bottom button of the 6x2 DB be fastened?... Thanks to the LL for setting me right on this count.

It´s very difficult to add anything new to this much addressed issue.
I personally never fasten the bottom button of my 6x2 DB jackets. I believe they look better that way and my jackets being quite long and narrow, it´s more comfortable for me (it allows me to put my hand in the trouser pocket more easily and to sit down without unbuttoning).
But I recognize that some styles or cuts look very good buttoned all up (or more accurately, all down).
For instance, Prince Charles 6x2 DB jackets are meant to wear with the 2 buttons fastened. Their cut is rather loose and the lower pair of buttons is always placed quite high, pretty close to his waist (at top of the pockets level).
Also 6x2 DB dark blazers with brass buttons look especially severe and military when buttoned all down. I like the effect.

[davidhuh]

Dear Rodes,

I decide on which bottom I want to fasten when commissioning the suit. With the recent Agnelli flannel, I decided to go Kent style - bottom button fastened. The coat is cut a little shorter than normal. The result is very elegant but relaxed.

With the Brisa PoW, the coat will be longer, and I will fasten the upper button on the 6x2. This is the style I use for the more "traditional" DB coats.

Buttoning all up can look sharp, as Hectorm is mentioning. It looks too stiff to me, not my style

Cheers, David

[hectorm]

I decided to go Kent style - bottom button fastened. The coat is cut a little shorter than normal. The result is very elegant but relaxed.

The new Kent style: 5x2 DB But always with the bottom button fastened.

[davidhuh]

Oops, not the most fortunate picture of HRH I'm afraid - or has the Kremlin access to better tailors?

cheers, david

[rodes]

The always dashing Prince Michael has put on a few pounds since his youth when he likely bespoke this suit. He might consider having it altered a touch. Happens to the best of us.

[Costi]

But he still dresses very well - look how beautifully those grays harmonize (coat, shirt body, tie) and the white accents in the tie dots, collar and breast handkerchief (and beard!). Medvedev's suit fits, but something about it looks cheap to me, with those stingy lapels. Even with a button missing and a coat too tight for his flanks, he still looks better dressed than the Kremlin.
Style?

[lgcintra]

Guys, I am hesitating for some time to bespeak a DB suit. I think time has come for that, but I was somewhat intrigued with Rodes first comment: "For many years I resisted them even though I liked them and thought that my individual build favored them". Which features fellow members do regard as the most appropriate build on the wearer for a DB to be proper?

Thanks everyone.
Luis

[Costi]

I don't think there are any. It's all a matter of proportions. I have seen short and tall men, fat and slim wear them equally well (or badly...). Give it a try, don't hesitate. You'll love the DB, I'm sure. How do you plan to have it made?

[lgcintra]

Dear Costi,

The DB a plan to bespeak features a dark gray whole fleece cloth bought two years ago from Smith Woolens (after watching Michael´s video on whole fleece wool). I plan to have the coat made with six buttons, placed in keystone manner. In the nineties, I had some DBs with four buttons, with a shorter coat; presently, I tend to dislike the style (come instantly to my mind the pictures of the coats ending so high over the trousers and the coat resembling a brick). I hope a six button with a more taylored fit would create a more elongated look, instead of the old squared coat. Two pockets and a TP? Hacking? I normally use besom pockets with flaps inside the pockets, "Italian style".

As regards the back vents, I do not know what to ask for... side vents, a middle one or closed back? I know a closed back is more formal and, in the case of this cloth, it would lend the coat a "stroller usage"; but, on the other hand, it would make it less useful for office/official usage, which is my preferred destination for this suit. For the record, I am a somewhat slender 1,86cm forty year-old public official. Is a two side vented coat too informal for a DB? Could it still be used as a "stroller jacket"?

Is a vest advisable with a DB? Would it have to be a simple one without lapels?

I plan to order two trousers, one for suspenders and the other belted, to be also used with a blue marine jacket. Are trousers cuffs advisable for a DB suit? Too informal? Do you recommend pleats?

Sorry for the myriad of question mark!

Thank you and all the best,
Luis

[Costi]

Dear Luis,

Great plan! The 6B sounds right for you, you are tall and there is room enough for them to spread on the vertical. I like the upper buttons not to spread out too much (horizontally) with respect to the alignment of the lower four set in a square. I would do straight (not hacking on a DB), flapped and jetted pockets. I don't pay much attention to my flaps, sometimes they are in, sometimes they are out, sometimes one is in and one is out I use the hip pockets (which I did not do in the past) so it's a random function of my hand having pulled out the flap or not. No ticket pocket for me, it bears no correspondence to my aesthetic or practical needs. Others may dissent - thank God we are different.
Side vents are very comfortable when you sit, when you put your hands in your trousers' pockets etc., so do have them made. I also like the look. You may safely use the coat as a stroller, to the extent so few have ever heard the word and even those are not sure how it is different from a normal coat. Side vents are not "informal" at all, unvented coats are supposedly "more formal", but I don't think that this kind of detail is really worth considering in our times, particularly if it is to the detriment of functionality and comfort (that said, however, I would not have a vented dinner jacket made...).
I would do the trousers one for suspenders and one to be worn without suspenders or belt. High rise, two pleats. Who needs belts when bespoke trousers can be cut and made to sit at the natural waist without external help? Suspender trousers are something else, besides an improved drape they can be a little looser through the waist, offering a different kind / degree of comfort unavailable in trousers that need to grip the waist one way or another in order to stay up. Cuffs - yes please, if you like them. I do.
Do have a second pair of trousers made if you have the cloth, but consider that dark gray trousers and dark blue coat is not the happiest of combinations, a medium or lighter gray works a lot better in my opinion. However, a pair of dark gray trousers can work well with many other odd coats, or shirt & sweater etc. Or simply as a spare to your suit.
One last thing: a longer coat (as you plan it) already changes proportions and "elongates". Consider not having too much of a "tailored fit" to it, following your slender shape too closely. Personally I find that a little room in a DB coat not only brings more comfort, but also looks more elegant and relaxed.
Remember that what you DON'T do is just as important as what you do. For some strange reason, even people who know this very well sometimes find it hard to remain aware of it when having clothes made

[snapper]

Luis,

I believe a central vent on a DB coat is not usually done and maybe Costi will be good enough to confirm or deny.

Regards,
Snapper

[Costi]

Luis,

I believe a central vent on a DB coat is not usually done and maybe Costi will be good enough to confirm or deny.

Regards,
Snapper

I concur.

[rodes]

Luis,
Here is my perspective on your question of the appropriate build for the DB suit. Anyone can wear it and should if they like it. The style can flatter any figure. Having said that, slender men will benefit more from its nonvertical lines than others. A good counter example is the striped suit. Any man can wear it if the cut is right and the pattern well proportioned. Yet the tall, slender form will not benefit from its elongating lines as much as the short, wide one. The DB coat tends to move the eye in a nonvertical direction that emphasizes the chest and shoulders. This is what I need at 6'1", 165 pounds and no Steve Reeves.
Now to your own plan. It seems sound to me and I can only wish, that I had had your good sense at age 40. Dark gray is a good color. I would have no vents, but side vents are more than fine, never single. Straight pockets and no ticket pocket if you intend for the coat to double as a stroller (a good idea that you will love). Trousers should have cuffs, forward pleats, no belt. POW check trousers for the stroller are better with no cuffs, although I like and have them on mine. I would stay away from the keystone shape and go for the champagne glasss. To my eye it is much more flattering to the male figure. See Prince Michael and his 5x2 above and you'll never regret it. All the best.