The London Lounge

I have a jacketing length of a very hardy navy 6-ply hopsack. I am wondering what to do with this piece of cloth. I am thinking of either 1) making a standard DB blazer (no idea right now as to the buttons) with 3 welted pockets or 2) 2B or 3B SB with 3 patch pockets (or 2 patch and 1 welted). For the second, I am also not sure about the buttons.

What other configurations would you recommend? Any advice would be welcome.

Thank you.

Since it's so heavy, I would recommend DB. You can do three patch pockets and make the button stance 4x2 (or even 4x1), that way the upper "show" buttons will not conflict with the breast patch pocket.

Alternatively, consider an SB notch, 3-button rolled to 2.5. Also three patch pockets.

The character of the cloth would lend itself well to either of those configurations. I think any more "dressy" combination would not look quite right.

I think hopsack will look better as a DB coat. I cannot recommend between 2 or 3 button although my personal comfort level is generally with 2. I would also do hopsack with 3 patch pockets. I know some people don’t like a patch breast pocket, but I do.

Does the casualness of 3 patch pockets contrast with the dressiness of a DB configuration? If I were to go with a 6x2 DB, would 2 patch and 1 welt look odd?

I like 3 patch on a DB, IF the cloth is right. Hopsack is perfect for it; it's a nubby, somewhat informal cloth.

Yes, if you go 6x2, make the breast pocket a welt. But 4x2 or 4x1 would make a nice, can't-be-mistaken-for-RTW odd jacket. It's a classic; blazers were typcially made that way in the 30s.

Oops I meant contradict, not contrast.

I am not even sure a patch breast pocket is possible with 6x2 or 6x1 and I am fairly sure that I have seen it only in 4x2 or 4x1. As a theoretical matter, it may be possible in an old-fashioned 6x3 (where the 3 buttons on each side are in a vertical column and you can button all three). I am NOT recommending this and only mentioning it for extra-credit.

Personally, I much prefer DB odd jackets (in the rare instances when I approve of them at all) to have patch pockets. Otherwise, they just look to me like orphaned suits coats. Linen or blue wool are the only cloths I would ever have made into a DB odd jacket, and I would always get patch pockets.

In respect of the buttons, perhaps mother of pearl, in place of the traditional brass, might look smart.

I really like open patch pockets on a odd, blue, hopsack/basket weave blazer. The one I have has large saddlebag (almost trapazoidal) pockets. Steve Hitchcock made it. It also has a half belt and a shirred back, which I regret having done bcause it draws too much attention.

I decided to go with a 6x2 DB with 2 patch pockets and a welted chest pocket. Now, I need to decide on and buy buttons. Questions:

1) what type of buttons? I don't want to use school logos or other clubs to which I am not a member.

2) I need 6 buttons for the face of the coat, but how many sleeve buttons should I go with -- 3 or 4 per sleeve. 4 buttons too many?

Thanks.

I think 6x2 would look funny with only two sleeve buttons. I would stick with 3 or 4. Three would be the principled decision since the six sleeve buttons would match the six front buttons, but four per sleeve would look more balanced.

I bet this will turn out nicely.

I happen to have a 6x2 DB blazer with 2 sleeve buttons. As they have a gold rim and also some golden lines in the center on a dark background, I thought 3 buttons (4 IMO is too uniform-like with a blazer) would be too much shiny metal on my sleeve. Perhaps had I chosen quieter buttons I might have gone with 3, but I also feel "a couple" better expresses the casual character of the blazer concept, avoiding the danger of turning it into a sober coat (especially when it is a DB). I think 2 sleeve buttons would go even better with the informality of patch pockets - which my blazer however doesn't sport.
This is just an alternative set of arguments to dopey's perfectly sensible 3-button recommendation - I don't know what (if anything) is considered "proper" in this matter.