The London Lounge

Dear colleagues in style,

I have commissioned a garment similar to that spoken of in the LH magazine in this thread http://www.thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum ... f=36&t=173 - an unlined, uncanvassed and unpadded double-breasted suit in a 14 oz linen from W.Bill in their singular shade of plum blossom. The garment has been designed specifically to be handwashable, and topstiching has been added to the edges for reinforcement.

The suit has now been washed thrice and worn hard over the summer. It wears unlike anything else and is perfect for walking outdoors in the tropics. There is no perceptible difference between its appearance and that of my lightly structured but conventionally constructed stuff from A&S, due possibly in part to my square shoulders.

I shall be happy to post pictures of me wearing it, but for now here are photos of the suit as objet d'art...

(started this new thread as I was unable to upload attachments to the original thread - do forgive my technological inadequacies)

This is an impressive idea and the execution looks even better. Did the tailor pre-wash the fabric before constructing the garment?

fascinating

Some closer shots of the finishing - you can see that the majestic lapel roll of my usual double-breasted pattern is not diminished by the lack of canvassing. In fact with such a suit I am able to wear it 6x1 style should I so choose.

With no canvas, the coat may be rolled and crunched up into a ball as evidenced below.

In my opinion, the layer of horse or camelhair canvas is the single greatest obstacle to coolness in a summer suit, and having done away with this, the coat is cool enough to wear outdoors in 35 degree Celsius heat, though preferably accompanied by a Panama and spectators.

The fact that it is washable allows the suit to be deployed in fairly adverse conditions such as the Middle East or a Saharan sojourn, although it is likely to see no more onerous service than boulevarding down the Cote d'Azur to Ligure.

rrosals wrote:This is an impressive idea and the execution looks even better. Did the tailor pre-wash the fabric before constructing the garment?

W. Bill sanforizes all linen prior to delivery but my tailor has duly soaked the linen overnight prior to making up. In three washes I have not witnessed any shrinkage whatsoever, but a smidgen of drape has been cut into the back seam to safeguard against this, and also to add to the degage of the raiment.

Very nice, and the machine topstitching actually provides some extra structure or strength (more so than if it were done by hand) to the lapel. The stitching around the patch pockets has the same effect. Anything in the shoulder?

im also curious about whether there is any structure in the shoulders.
and i'd like to ask is the 14 oz enough weight so that the jacket has form over the chest?

Costi wrote:Very nice, and the machine topstitching actually provides some extra structure or strength (more so than if it were done by hand) to the lapel. The stitching around the patch pockets has the same effect. Anything in the shoulder?

Indeed. My tailor advised against the pick stitching usually found on my other suits, as it would be too fragile to withstand washing. The 14 oz linen drapes beautifully, especially from this particular mill. My tailor likened its drape to that of the legendary Brisa...

As you can see, nothing at all in the shoulder - pics of the shoulder from the front, back and laid flat.

Very nice, it looks like a successful design.

Looks great.

Great suit. I've been thinking about doing something similar with my LL Tobacco Linen, but here's my dilemma: I've got disproportionately narrow and sloping shoulders. The couple of things I've had made with unpadded, shirt-set sleeves don't look great on me as an overall silhouette. One coat has extended unpadded shoulders, and I am yet to decide whether I like that droopy look. Would it be wrong to order a suit just like Monsieur Xu's, but with some kind of minimal padding in the shoulders? I'm not terribly concerned about washability.

The more i think about this the more fascinated i am.

I think i would have a hard time convincing a tailor to make one...partly because it would require a lot of 'thinking outside the box'

Merc wrote:The more i think about this the more fascinated i am.

I think i would have a hard time convincing a tailor to make one...partly because it would require a lot of 'thinking outside the box'

Well, you now have at least one worldwide who will, and she's not even a "brand-name tailor".

But she is the best tailor I've commissioned worldwide, in my humble opinion.

~ Monsieur Xu ~ wrote:
Well, you now have at least one worldwide who will, and she's not even a "brand-name tailor".

But she is the best tailor I've commissioned worldwide, in my humble opinion.

Who is your tailor?--i dont see the name in the thread above