The London Lounge

- according to Uncle Joe Stalin. And he should know.

Heeding that warning I am concentrating my efforts on a silk jacket; and revolutionary is not what I'm aiming at.

Anyhoo... this could well become a cautionary tale before it’s finished.

I should add that this matter also resulted from wandering around Soho on a lovely sunny afternoon last week following ingestion of a proprietary cold remedy that is known to induce hallucinations in some patients. At the time, I thought I was feeling fine, we’ll see.

In case you didn’t know, Soho has some fantastic shops of all kinds, and the rag trade still has a strong presence. As well as impressive ranges on the bolt to see and feel, most of the cloth merchants have very knowledgeable (and charming) sales staff. You can guess how I got drawn in.

I have, dear friends, acquired a 2.75m x 1.4m length of silk brocade in a pattern and colour (& price) I found irresistible.



Double sided, my general preference is the marron – the gold is lovely but perhaps de trop.



So the question now presents (and hoping the cloth is wide enough) : what best to do with it. I really would appreciate suggestions, drawing on the elite knowledge of the assembled ranks of fellow LL’ers.

I (think I) have a variety of courses open as follows :


A........The DJ

This was what I originally had in mind when I saw the fabric. Something in the manner of this Tom Ford number (probably with peak lapels with coffee coloured, plain-corded silk facings if I can find some again).



My only particular worry with this is the amount of use I would get from it. While I regularly wear black tie, it is generally business related, and in my line of country (law) individuality is less frequently expressed than might be the case perhaps in more ‘creative’ professions such as accountancy. (Kidding. I think). I’m guessing I’d use it once or twice a year.

B........The Blazer

The alternative that occurred to me was the possibility of having it made up as a simple 2BSB blazer, notch lapel, flap pockets, vents. The fabric is very breathable and would make a very comfortable coat in warm weather. I had thought (hold onto your hats) that I could wear it in the day with some light linen trousers (even jeans) or on an evening with a white shirt and black (long) tie with very dark trousers.

Now it’s a while since brocade jackets of the sort sold by Take 6 graced Carnaby Street in any numbers – if you ignore Austin Powers, obvs. In daytime I think I’d be quite comfortable wearing it, say, to the Hampton Court flower show or our village summer fête – or even a quiet Saturday stroll in London. Also, of an evening, as party attire, in situations demanding dress short of black tie.

I’d get more use in this configuration than from the DJ. I don't feel overly daunted at the fact that brocade jackets aren't very common, but I’m conscious that ‘conspicuous sartorial individuality’ is not universally admired - although at my age (early 50’s thx for asking) I’m becoming less concerned with others’ unbidden adverse views than maybe I once was. On the other hand I’m equally alive to the fact that the fabric might be shouting Sad Twerp rather than Bobby Dazzler.


C........The Dressing Gown

Or Kimono, or ‘robe’, or ‘housecoat’, even.

I quite like the idea of this on account of it possibly getting far and away the most use. I’m unclear whether 2.75m would give knee length? (I’m just 1.41m / 6’).

A friend had a Sulka one he bought while studying for his MBA in NY back in the 80s – I admired it greatly.

On the down-side, I’m no Hugh Hefner (even if I could do with his bank balance).


D........Curtains

Mrs M’s preferred option, obviously.


E......EBay

Hmm. If the project’s plug needs pulling, it’s the anonymous means of disposal…



So, dear fellow LL’ers, I would treasure your considered views and advice.



.

Dear Melcombe,

First I must say that everything about this post makes me smile (in a good way) so chapeau for your wit, self-awareness, and stylish writing.

You seem to have accurately taken the measure of the options, both pro and con, with sensitivity to the contexts, so I could not presume to offer advice. I might venture a couple of observations.

As Michael has often urged, it's how you wear the clothes that matters. As you have described the details of your proposed garments, it's my belief that any of them could be bobby dazzlers if worn with confidence and insouciance. So which choice feels more like (apologies to Joseph Campbell) following your bliss?

It seems to me that the dinner jacket version might get a bit more use than you envision if you also treat it as the equivalent of a smoking jacket for entertaining at home.

And on the principle that one extravagant garment or accessory in an ensemble can be successful if surrounded by more sober or casual complements, the blazer could work well with worn jeans, simple white or faded chambray shirt, and chukkas, as you suggest.

As a dressing gown it's not even remotely extravagant. So it's merely a question of adequate yardage and whether you actually want to wear a dressing gown—whether you see it fitting into your routines, could use the warmth, etc. If you choose a kimono style rather than the traditional long shawl-collar style, the yardage might no longer be an issue. At one point in my young life I used the top of my karate gi as a kind of dressing gown over jeans.

Whatever you decide, I hope you'll share the result with us.

Dear Melcombe,
As Couch says, your post is one to make the reader smile, in the best possible sense. My only observation would be that you seem to let out one obvious option, that is too say a waistcoat (if you were to surmise that I just passed the windows of Favourbrook the other day, you would be correct).
Enjoy your having the piece made up!
Milo

Putting the fabric aside for a dinner jacket just doesn’t take it far enough, and risks making a mockery of the very idea of the somber dinner jacket aesthetic. At least a dressing gown, I’d say.

Milo wrote: ...you seem to let out one obvious option, that is too say a waistcoat

I second -and elaborate on- Milo´s suggestion.
Have two waistcoats made up. One with the gold side out and another with the olive (a reversible might be tricky at the buttons). Wear them with you morning coat, your stroller, velvet jacket or go hippie with them along with your puffy white shirts and tambourine .
As you probably know by now, not always do beautiful fabrics translate into beautiful garments. Only you can judge the scale of the flowers and the relief of the brocade. If you are committed to realize something concrete out of your find, given your yardage, IMO the waistcoats are the best bets.
Enjoy the projects!

From reading this I feel like you could have the most fun with a blazer.

As to your length issue regarding the robe/gown it largely depends on your height and the length of your sleeve (and, with a robe, how voluminous a cut you were imagining)

If you do need help sourcing silk, I have several French and Italian silk suppliers under my thumb that will take orders for a metre on my recommendation because they are either old charmers or trying to win me over. Corded and coffee colour shouldn't prove too difficult to find.

lxlloyd wrote: From reading this I feel like you could have the most fun with a blazer.

Thanks for that. I am coming around to that point of view - I think I shall get more use out of it in that format, but a DJ might still be an option.

Thanks also for your kind offer. I had resolved to check a particular shop in Soho I had in mind - I am sure I saw a roll of deep brown corded silk with a wavy horizontal pattern lurking in the corner. If it's going to be a DJ, I think brown would probably be better than black.

At the moment however the weather in the UK is more like November than August - and they are digging up Waterloo Station for the hell of it, so I am deferring my visit to Town until September.

In the meantime, my tailor has kindly started on an olive-tan linen suit, but has (and I can't blame him in this shocking weather) gone home to Italy for the month so everything is on hold. In my last visit for a fitting, I saw that he has been making up an enormous coat in a blazer style in a silk satin, something like this :



He tells me that the client is a martial arts instructor, about 6'6" tall - and not far off that, wide! The client is apparently considering matching trousers...

I think my project will be a model of sartorial conservatism by comparison.

My inclination would be to make it up with the gold side out as a dinner jacket. In fact, more than an inclination. I'd definitely do it. Indeed, sell me the length and I shall do it. I currently have a burgundy dinner jacket in the works from a Thai silk, like a heavy taffeta. This brocade would make a wonderful winter dinner jacket.

September has come and gone . . . . Is there an update, Melcombe, on this project? The cloth has a certain festive air that seems to fit the season.

couch wrote:September has come and gone . . . . Is there an update, Melcombe, on this project? The cloth has a certain festive air that seems to fit the season.

There is.

I bottled it (to use the Cockney expression).

At the end of the summer, I decided I needed a linen suit for my trip to Puglia - and that the silken project would have to wait.

Accordingly, the cloth has since been entrusted to a fellow LL'er in sunny California who is planning something special for it. In the meantime I'm presently pondering the scant merits of wearing linen in 0-5 deg Centigrade weather.

If the tax man is kind to me in January, I might just revisit that silk shop again 'though.

Ah. Well, I hope our Californian colleague will share the results. It could be sort of "The Brocade of Monsieur de . . . " (without the cruelty of the earrings, of course).