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Bespoke details in RTW

Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:46 pm
by manicturncoat
In the last few years there have been many details that were considered particular to bespoke or handmade suits that have crept into RTW and become ubiquitous, in particular, working sleeve buttons and faux pick stitching. Recently I saw two RTW overcoats being worn with a detail that I have not noticed before; the shoulder seam that runs from the lapel to the sleeve head is raked back at a dramatic angle, practically reaching down to the bottom of sleeve head, far more than I ever seen on any bespoke suit. On the RTW overcoats that I saw it is obviously done for purely cosmetic effect. I was wondering if anyone had seen any other overcoats like this?
In it's true form I have seen the slightly curved shoulder seam in mostly Italian bespoke suits and on the more aggressively tailored suits it can go quite far back, but never like I saw it on these RTW overcoats. As a final question, what purpose is this type seam supposed serve?

Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:45 pm
by mrwynn
Similar to a drop shoulder on a knit sweater? I have always heard this shoulder construction referred to as the "German Style" or "German School" and is as far as I know simply a style. See Villarosa and Angeli's The Elegant Man, page 54.

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 12:19 pm
by Mr. Rover
Was it a raglan sleeve/shoulder construction? This is popular on many modern trenchcoats as I believe it fits a larger range of shoulder widths.

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:08 pm
by manicturncoat
It was a normal shoulder construction with a padded shoulder.

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 6:09 pm
by JamesT1
Mr. Rover wrote:Was it a raglan sleeve/shoulder construction? This is popular on many modern trenchcoats as I believe it fits a larger range of shoulder widths.
Raglan sleeve is also used due to the fact that it is easier / cheaper to make. As opposed to the "saddle sleeve" which, when looked at from the front is similar to a raglan except that it features a prominant curve in the seam--as opposed to a straight line--from the bottom of the sleeve to the collar.

I hope that made sense, it is easier to see in pictures, which at the moment, I do not have.