3 piece English flannel suit in reverse chalk stripe

[tteplitzmd]

This suit was recently completed in time for a bit of use before the weather changes. It is done on the Teplitz 3 button model: natural shoulders, undarted, 3 to 2 1/2 roll, side vents, with 2 pocket (darted) vest, double pleated trousers, quarter pockets, belt loops, 1 5/8 inch width cuffs.






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[tteplitzmd]

I think the flannel design of my suit dates from around the same time as this photo of Django. I attach the photo simply because I like it: his swagger, the long roll of the lapel, the stitched edges of the jacket, the patch pocket, the pleats on the trousers. Note the deformity in his left hand, a consequence of burns sufferred, which somehow did not hinder his guitar playing.

[img][img]http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/1867/colorlk7.jpg[/img]

[masterfred]

Django's guitar playing is an endless source of listening pleasure....

Dr. Teplitz, I like the suit. How much of the styling choices are yours, and how much Corvato's? I assume you patronized him because of his previous BB affiliation, as that seems to be your stylistic starting point.

[bluscuro]

What a beautiful choice of fabric !

The three button, roll two and a half is sumptuous . High gorge , natural shoulder and splendid pattern matching on the cross pocket flaps, outbreast pocket welt and collar.
Interior attention to detail is also great.

May I be permitted an impertinent queery re the left sleeve length ? Difficult to say from the photo but seems about 3/8" long?

Hope you ordered a second pair of trousers!

Lovely suit.


bluscuro

[tteplitzmd]

The pattern matching is so good that you can barely see the breast pocket in these crude photos. Yes, the left sleeve is a bit too long. It will go back in May for adjustment after it is broken in. The higher gorge is the tailor's idea, and a very good one. It has taken me some time to make refinements in the basic model, which began in the 1980's at Chipp. I will post photos when time permits.

The height of the side pockets has proved to be crucial. It is amazing what a 1/4 to 1/2 inch difference in placement can give to the overall appearance. I have tended to place them too high, because of my aversion to their default being too low. Now it is just right I think. This pattern highlights what can be done without darts. Since I am short, my bias is that darts highlight my prominant tummy. Maybe I am right, maybe wrong, but this certainly works for me. Also, the lapel width is less on this model than my earlier jackets. That and a longer lapel has a slimming effect. What has not changed is the button stance. Strictly 4 1/2 inches between the buttons, the center button just a bit above the navel. The lapel must roll to just beneath the top button. If the button placement is off, or the roll incorrect, the whole thing unravels.

[dopey]

So are you at Trail's End? I know you have been looking hard to find someone who could get the Teplitz 3 button model right and you seem to have found him. Aside from lifting the gorge, which does help lengthen the lapel line, did he have any other suggestions?

[tteplitzmd]

It's never the end of the trail, Dopey. I am not knowledgable enough to know the technical issues. I think it is simply too much of a departure from the "norm" for most tailors, and hence risky to embark upon. On this suit, the shoulder width is a bit more narrow, the armholes higher, and a bit more fitted around the chest than on earlier tries. The sleeveheads are important, and the fall and taper of the sleeves obviously matters. Again I don't really know the technical part. I wish I could show and convey the feel of the trousers. They feel like pajamas, and I mean that in a good sense.

Len Logsdail has done several "Anglo-Ivy" examples for me and I will try to post them when there is time for comparison. Shoulders are more "square," wider between shoulders, side pockets lower, breast pocket more lateral, and the overall jacket just a bit longer. Very nice indeed. Bigger shoulders is the main observation on casual inspection to me as a layman.

Of course, working with tweeds and flannels is a bit more forgiving. Also, "you want that without darts?" gets me dismissed in most instances. I think this suit should put to rest the technical and aesthetic arguments on the necessity of darts with my body habitus. It always struck me as pseudo science. The thing speaks for itself, as they say.

[dopey]

Does the suit have sidebodies or is the shaping all done with an iron and the side seam?

[tteplitzmd]

Iron and side seams. A lot or ironing. Sidebodies??

[dopey]

Iron and side seams. A lot or ironing. Sidebodies??

Sidebodies are full panels that fit between the coat fronts and the back. J.Press uses them to give shape to their undarted sacks. That is the only dartless coat I have any familiarity with but it may be a pretty common technique among the dartless.

Look under the armpits of your coat. If the back of your coat connects directly to the front of your coat, then there is no sidebody. If there is a panel - that is the sidebody.

[tteplitzmd]

Yes, sidebodies on both Corvato's and Len Logsdail's models for me. Upon thinking this thru, it would seem to be a necessity without darts in front, to allow for the shaping and contour.
The ironing is most evident in the upper chest.

[dopey]

Raphael is contemptuous of sidebodies and thinks they are cheating. But then he uses darts. I don't think you could eliminate bothh sidebodies and darts. Dege uses sidebodies for me (and uses darts). I believe Des Merrion is somewhat ecumenical on the subject, believing they are useful in some cases and less so in others. He is using them on the suit I have in progress (He had noted that my Raphael suit had none but that my Dege did, hoping that meant I didn't really have a preference). I forget whether they are considered a modern innovation or retrograde in British tailoring circles, and in any event I now have exhausted my knowledge on the subject.

[tteplitzmd]

For me the darts spoil the lines. I wish I had the body habitus to exploit their effect. Quite candidly, I think the non dart approach, and evidently sidebodies, must involve some greater work, thought, etc., if it is not frequently done. At this point you get history, nobility, and so on, invoked to justify the maker's preference. It's rather like a physician avoiding or preferring not to prescribe MAOI antidepressants: he's unfamiliar with them, considers them dangerous, too cumbersome to titrate, etc. It's much easier to throw some SSRI drug at the naive patient. After all, most people defer to the professional's judgement, don't they? The SSRI just might work. But, sometimes the MAOI is magnificently effective, and is really the correct thing to do in the first place. If someone comes to me, having done well with the more cumbersome, exotic medication, in the past, or having failed the more pedestrian strategies, I would be foolish not to use my knowleddge and expertise, and at least consider the more esoteric options. Of course, if the list of "special needs" is too long, it becomes tempting to refer the patient (read: client, customer) to a "specialist." (a cynical inside joke).

I wanted to mention something else, Dopey: I have a substantial shoulder drop, this is generally a problem for my left shoulder, armhole. Getting it right seems to be as difficult as getting the roll and button stance exact. I think the flannel jacket turned out quite well in this regard.

[bry2000]

I think the suit came out great. Wear it well.

Corvato has done an extremely impressive job.

I would be interested in seeing comparisons between Corvato's work with Logsdai's. Really just to understand and see the differences in silhouettes. I am sure that Len did a great job as well.

[bluscuro]

The closer the three principal measurements of chest,waist and seat are , the more feasible it becomes to draft without front darts. So, in essence Dr. Teplitz , you possess the perfect figure!


bluscuro