The London Lounge

The single-breasted frock coat that a Shanghainese tailor was commissioned to do turned out with some noticeable defects, in spite of specific instructions to the contrary.

I do not intend to enlighten that honourable tradesman with my complaints.

The one major defect is that there is no explicit waistline! Any suggestion on how to give it the look of a waistline? Shall I simple add a line of stitching to the waist? How can I make the added stitching noticeable?

Two buttons on the rear of the waistline to be positioned at the top of the central split were not provided.

Instead of a pair of linked buttons, a buttonhole and button was provided with another button stitched next to the rear of the buttonhole.

Stilll, it looks pretty nice.

Are my eyes playing tricks? I thought he's worn it before, but this time I'm quite sure the French president was wearing a frock coat, which several well-informed members of LL had previously assured me gentlemen in this 21st Century do not wear as formal clothes when His Excellency and His consort greeted H. M. the Queen. His frock coat looks similar to mine, i.e., without a waistline. Or. is it just a driving coat bought from Brooks Brothers? Too bad he didn't put on a sash with the colours of France.

HappyStroller wrote:Are my eyes playing tricks? I thought he's worn it before, but this time I'm quite sure the French president was wearing a frock coat, which several well-informed members of LL had previously assured me gentlemen in this 21st Century do not wear as formal clothes when His Excellency and His consort greeted H. M. the Queen. His frock coat looks similar to mine, i.e., without a waistline. Or. is it just a driving coat bought from Brooks Brothers? Too bad he didn't put on a sash with the colours of France.

I do not follow our beloved (ahem…) leader’s actions very closely, but might not his wearing a frock coat have something to do with his less than monumental stature? As to the red sash, that would be part of the insignia of Grand Maître de la Légion d’Honneur, which he is, ex officio. Do you have pictures you might post?
A tricolour sash is what mayors wear at ceremonies.

Best regards,

Frog in Suit

Yet anotherbeloved national leader.
NJS

I think in honesty it's just a dark grey overcoat...

I strongly doubt that Sarkozy is wearing a frock coat. I have not seen any instance of him wearing something similar during his visit to the UK, so I might have missed the ocasion you are talking about... Where was it?

Anyway, to confirm that it is a frock coat, there are a bunch of things you can look at: waist line, no pockets, just above the knee length, generally double-breasted... And if it is intended to be worn as a frock coat, then you can look at: if there is a coat (or better said, jacket) under it it is not a frock coat but a topcoat/overcoat which is probably the case, also the ensemble should be daywear formal, that is striped trousers, waistcoat as those with morning coats, a wing collar and an ascot tie, as well as a top hat. I doubt that this is what you have seen Sarkozy wearing. It is most probably a topcoat/overcoat, as Algernon says.

Thank you, Sir, for pointing out how to see if he was wearing a frock coat.

Perhaps these set of 23 images will help:-

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/ar ... ldNews#a=1

Notice H.R.H. Prince Philip is also wearing a similar "frock coat" and both have pockets. From what I can figure, the French president is not wearing another coat below his "frock coat".

Here's another wonderful source with a video:-


http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23438901-2,00.html

Enjoy!

HappyStroller,

It does seem that Sarkozy is not wearing a jacket under his coat, but I can't be completely sure, as a lounge jacket can easily hide under a topcoat, so he may be wearing one and you may not be able to see it. The reason I say this is that in the video of the same day, in the first talk of Sarkozy, you see him with a lounge jacket as part of a suit. So I really believe it is only an optical illusion of perhaps a masterfull tailor capable of perfectly hiding a jacket under a topcoat. Anyway, in the case he is not wearing a jacket, I can asure you it is not a frock coat at all, as it breaks every other aspect of the frock coat I mentioned. Looking at Charles, it seems that he is also wearing a lounge jacket under his topcoat.

I think in honesty it's just a dark grey overcoat...

Correction: dark blue.

If Sarkozy had worn a frock coat, it would have made the press as an excentricity - it is a garment of merely historical interest. Nice pictures though.

Best wishes,
WGFK.

Take a look at picture 17 in the photoset - is that not a lounge coat peeking out from under the open overcoat?

More importantly, as M. Alden has pointed out in another thread, Mme. Bruni is simply stunning - thanks for the link.