The London Lounge

Although I can't afford bespoke, I'm purchasing my first MTM suit. It will be dark charcoal gray, 3 buttons, two side vents, high armholes, no pleats...and in a slim and fitted cut.

A black lining for the jacket is the norm, but I have the option of getting something more colorful...such as a striped lining.

What do people on LL think of colorful jacket linings???

Personally I love them. I work in a creative field, if that matters.

My two latest coats: a houndstooth with a medium blue lining with black polka dots. The suit coat (which is light gray chalkstripe) has a light blue lining with a four-point star woven into it.

And I SWEAR if I can ever find the material, even in a shirting cloth, I'm going to do a coat with a vintage 50's cowboys and indians motif.

It seems to make sense to me as colorful lining is a way of making an MTM or bespoke suit stand out from the crowd.

Any other thoughts would be most appreciated.

I have some bright linings, but only plain ones. Some reds (with a very dark grey DB pinstripe suit or a navy reefer jacket, a.k.a. a blazer), one electric blue with a light grey DB suit. One would be loath to slip into caricature .

Too many of those bright linings, colouful socks, alpine hats, etc..., only seemed like good ideas at the time; they fail in the sharp cold light of the morning after. Correctness is timeless.

Frog in Suit

Dear Frog in Suit--

Please tell me what the most "correct" lining color is for a plain charcoal gray suit.

Anonymous wrote:Dear Frog in Suit--

Please tell me what the most "correct" lining color is for a plain charcoal gray suit.

Hmmmmm...Depending on the cloth, I might hesitate between a dark grey (boring, but eminently correct ) or a bright yellow or blue . I would really rely on the inspiration of the moment.

NB: I would not presume to dictate what is or is not correct. I do enjoy making my own choices, wondering, as I do so, whether there is such a thing as free will....

All of the above to be taken cum grano salis...

Frog in Suit

I would also keep in mind the fact that the lining will not be seen by anyone except the tailor, the wearer, the wearer's intimate friends -- should one be lax enough to remove one's coat in public -- , (ahem!) significant other(s), the wearer's valet or gentleman's personal gentleman (if fortunate enough to have servants) and sundry cleaners. I was about to forget undertakers, but by then I suppose one would be past caring .

Frog in Suit

The best lining is no lining. Try that one out on your maker.

Linings depend on the usage you plan for the garment. If it is for business or serious moments/endeavors then a tone on tone lining is called for, in your case a dark gray lining for dark gray suit.

If the suit is to be used for fun, a weekend or country suit, then you can experiment with lining in colors that compliment the suits tones but remain discrete. Or you can have lots of fun and sew in the cowboys and Indians, but you risk tiring of same the morning after as our resident Frog has pointed out.

M Alden

Thanks much gentlemen. I'll go for a dark gray lining to match the fabric.

Yes, I've read much about the fact that the "best lining is no lining" here on LL. I certainly plan to do this with a summer suit in the near future. (I live in NYC and find the notion of wearing a heavy wool suit in the summer a little preposterous.)

Question: Do you also not line the sleeves? That seems a little odd as the aesthetics of smoothly slipping on a jacket is so nice.

The sleeves are lined:



M Alden

PS You made a wise choice for the lining.

^that gree looks quite nice. Is that shirting?

My bad- I didn't see the stripey sleeve lining. n/m

I have monochromatic linings -- usually a bright mid-blue for the body, white or cream for the sleeves -- but yearn for the diapered (that is, woven with small, regular, geometric shapes, such as hexagons or squares, or even stripes), monochromatic silk linings that my oldest suits have. When I returned to tailor-made clothes in the early 1990s, these seemed no longer to be found.

A project for the Cloth Club?

RWS wrote:I have monochromatic linings -- usually a bright mid-blue for the body, white or cream for the sleeves -- but yearn for the diapered (that is, woven with small, regular, geometric shapes, such as hexagons or squares, or even stripes), monochromatic silk linings that my oldest suits have. When I returned to tailor-made clothes in the early 1990s, these seemed no longer to be found.

A project for the Cloth Club?

'Sorry, again forgot to sign.

RWS

Let's face it, choice of colour is largely subjective provided you get the tones right. You should go with whatever you like.

I have a charcoal grey business suit which is lined in a deepish purple, and I personally think the combination works very well - distinctive and interesting without being ostentatious. I have the arms in all my suits lined in the same lining as the body. I would never line a suit in the same (or even similar) colour to the cloth because that just seems intrinsically dull. At the same time, I've never been one for fancy linings. I looked at some when I had my DJ made but ended up going with a silver lining (I wanted white, but my tailor advised against on the ground that it would get dirty too easily).

I disagree with FiS's comment that no-one sees the lining - almost everyone removes their jacket these days (air con and central heating are wonderful things) and so you do see it regularly. Another good reason for selecting something distinctive in my view.

Sartorius