A Tale of Two Jackets

[alden]

A Tale of Two Jackets

I have always tried to keep my discussions of tailoring and tailors founded in the real world of personal experience, of things I have felt, things I have worn myself. In a word, with the kind of testimony, as opposed to hearsay, that would be admitted as evidence in a court of law. So, with that thought in mind, it occurred to me to write a review of two very real jackets, one English, the other Neapolitan, for your entertainment.

Two bespoke jackets are sitting before me. The measures are exactly the same, as they are my own. And the styles are identical as well, three button roll through for both. The English jacket is lined and made from a superb piece of 440 grams Shetland tweed. The Neapolitan jacket is unlined and made from lambs wool of 340 grams weight.

God Save the Queen

Looking at this English jacket one hears the door of an old Rolls Royce close with a distinctive clunk shaking the earth under its four tyres. Like the old Roller, this jacket is solid and well made, it’s the pure expression of masculinity and one hundred per cent British.

The eye is invited to enjoy the view of richly dimensioned lapels that escape from a deep roll and continue upwards to a perfectly designed West end notch. The roll is so rich that the covering lapel crosses over the lower lapel before retreating back and upwards. The gorge is a thing of beauty, neither too perpendicular nor too descending in its angle.

The shoulder is round and natural. Being a bit longer than the "natural shoulder" creates a splendid depression , called "drape", in the chest at the point of the shoulders attachment to the sleeve. The English have created a level of comfort that invites one to get behind the wheel of an automobile with the coat on to feel the ease with which the arms reach the wheel. Some may not like the pleating around the shoulders, preferring a clean starched line, but at the sacrifice of comfort. The front quarters are just a bit too closed and appear a bit static, but also very solid. The traditional English pockets are cut straight and are models of sobriety.

The internals of the coat have been sewn using the very best materials and entirely by hand. Superb! The simple thread attachment on the reverse of the lapel for flower stems is a delight. The coat feels so much lighter than it looks and is supremely comfortable. You could do a few hours of gymnastics with this coat on your back!

The overall impression of the coat is understated, nothing flashy here. From a distance it seems like any other coat, until a closer look reveals, to the educated eye, all its beauties. Wearing this coat is a bit like wearing a Patek Philippe or Breguet tourbillon in platinum. Only the true connoisseurs will recognize the hidden pleasures, for they individual and subtle.

Che bella giacca! What a splendid coat!

The Neapolitan coat is a Cord, or a Bugatti. Just sitting there, these beautiful machines seem in movement, flying, pulling the eye down lines that are as graceful as they are dynamic.

The eye immediately spots a natural shoulder, elastic and rich and a sleeve that falls like a butterfly in flight, whirring light and soft. It’s a Niagara falls of air, light and mist. The shoulder “a mappina” is simply a masterpiece.

The key words here are softness in motion. Nothing is static. The coat follows the movements of the wearer and almost seems to anticipate them. A three button roll through, the lapels are too discrete and sadly lack in richness. But the front quarters are cut in such away, that they appear ready for flight. And fly we do at their sight.

The finishing of the coat is fine, correct but not more, which is a real disappointment for a Neapolitan coat. There has been some machine work here where it shouldn’t be in a bench made work. But it doesn’t change the line and probably not too much the comfort. The coat is extremely comfortable, one just does not even feel the lightweight cloth draped on the body.

Whomever wears this coat immediately becomes a walking advertisement for Italian craftsmanship and aesthetics. You can see that it is custom made 250 meters away. Looking close, one is stunned by the opulent beauty of the work. Unfortunately, it hard to imagine wearing such a thing on our beloved Isle or in London, in the cold, rain, and mud of the City. No, this coat is too be worn by the seaside in Summer or in the country on weekends, on trips to far away places to exhibit its special beauty to the citizens of the world.

On the street, the English coat wouldn’t budge anyone’s glance a second. It is discrete and masculine. Only the passionate ones will appreciate its hidden joys. The Neapolitan coat is as discrete as a space shuttle Columbia launch in downtown London. It spins heads. Curious ladies, envious men, curious men and envious ladies, all will turn in their steps because they find the coat specially brilliant, and it is!

“Different horses for different courses!”

I hope the reader has found this an objective and reasonable analysis of two great works. “Diverse belleze” , two beauties, one very different from the other, like the dark eyed Tosca and the blond with shining, sky blue eyes.

M Alden

[tteplitzmd]

Let me be the first to ask to see the photos!

Beautifully written.

[Metcalfe]

I hope you submit that essay for publication so that a wider audience can appreicate your insight. The Economist's Intelligent Life would be a lovely home. Your writing strikes me as interpretative ethnography: Clifford Geertz would say that the jackets are, "a story we tell ourselves about ourselves."

Metcalfe

[Mark Seitelman]

Michael, you have put into words what many of us experience in wearing clothes that we love.

[Guest]

tweed....must have tweed.......can't breathe.......

[Nexus]

Beautifully written tale, Mr Alden. Thank you.