Houndstooth Suit

[pvpatty]

The inspiration:



The means to the realisation?



http://www.hfw-huddersfield.co.uk/hardy ... 812052732?

The idea of a houndstooth suit appeals to me greatly, and the more I look at this DB example, the more I like it.

Etutee notes in his post on the subject:

What do you say? When was the last time you saw a DB houndstooth suit (in UK or anywhere else)? Exactly! This here is about as rare as they get. Now, it is unlikely that you already own a suit of houndstooth or shepherd check variety… if you do, kudos to you and pat your self on the back. However, as with most, if you don’t… & are ever interested in getting one than my advice would be for the single breasted version of this picture in the pervious sketch. Young or old does not matter… the styling of the suit is an issue here. DB is a metropolitan cut & this pattern is about as far removed from city as outskirts of Scotland from city of London. If you want to create something truly special then go for DB… it will be a stunning suit if you can wear it comfortably (not getting self conscious). Note that in both cases (DB & 3-pc) the fabrics are black & white and do NOT carry any other colored over plaid of the sort. Neither of these suits is the multi-colored gun-club check.

In either of these models make sure that the size of the check is small to medium but definitely not large. It is hard enough as it is and you don’t want the scale of the pattern to cause you any further obstacles. Bear in mind that this is not a plaid where alternating the scale of pattern will have a direct effect on your visual element. This is a small check and no matter how large it gets it still will be small… at least when compared to a glen plaid. Best fabrics are Saxony, and other soft-rough finished fabrics (No. 2 in the list described above).

Questions:

1) Single or double breasted? I feel that DB would be more unique, and if going this far, one might as well go the whole hog.

2) The size of the check? From the image on the website, the size of the pattern doesn't seem to be too large, but I might have to see if I can get a swatch to make sure of this.

3) Would the finish of the cloth be too smooth to be suitable?

My thanks in advance.

[alden]

PV

Actually I have been toying around with the idea of a houndstooth suiting in tweed (the better choice) that looks something like this:



And would be made up as a 3 piece SB like this:



BTW, if you look at the houndstooth suiting on the gent with the binoculars, it is the shade of green that approximates "donkey" and would be a handsome suit as well.

I think SB is the way to go for this cloth but Windsor had one in DB so ….

Cheers

Michael

[storeynicholas]

I had a black and white hound's-tooth 3 piece SB suit but the cloth pattern was a little larger than the one that you have chosen, pvp. I agree that SB probably works better than DB. Through force of circumstance, I once wore it to an event in town at which everyone else was dressed in dark suiting and it felt like the wrong suit. I don't see anything wrong in wearing such a suit or tweeds in town - or even brown shoes. It all depends where you are going and what you are doing: if you are going to a museum or shopping or to feed the pelicans in the park, no problem arises - but if you are going to have lunch at a club or to a business meeting, I think that hound's-tooths and tweeds and brown shoes are out of place - and you will feel it.
NJS

[alden]

I don't see anything wrong in wearing such a suit or tweeds in town - or even brown shoes. It all depends where you are going and what you are doing: if you are going to a museum or shopping or to feed the pelicans in the park, no problem arises - but if you are going to have lunch at a club or to a business meeting, I think that hound's-tooths and tweeds and brown shoes are out of place - and you will feel it.

You have accurately described the two kinds of town dress we refer to on the LL: business dress and rus in urbe. The houndstooth tweed suit is strictly of the later kind.

Cheers

Michael

[carl browne]

Smalll pattern, grey and black rather than black and white. Worsted.

More appropriate in town?

Grey and navy?

[carl browne]

Black and white houndstooth in a small enough pattern is going to read as mid to light grey, no?

Wouldn't that be OK?

What weight?

I see it for summer.

[edhayes]

I don't know how you're built but I had a brown/black houndstooth from A & S years ago that was fairly large and it looked great.
Personally, I think the grey and white is a bit small.

I have pants like that and regret it

[alden]

I don't know how you're built but I had a brown/black houndstooth from A & S years ago that was fairly large and it looked great.
Personally, I think the grey and white is a bit small.

Scale is very important and I agree with Ed Hayes. The cutting's houndstooth pattern is too small and the cloth too light. To get a larger design you will have to go up a bit in weight.

[rs232]

I have a cut of a near-identical fabric. It is black and grey, with the same size pattern. It will become a DB, if I have enough fabric.

I think the problem lies not with the pattern, but rather the hint of greenish rustic tinge that the suit takes with this fabric. I think black oxfords, white shirt, and a black or navy tie, and the DB style would give it sufficient formality.

Edit: A picture:

[rs232]

Apologies for the excessive posts and editing. I hope this url gives you a better approximation to the fabric in the esquire picture.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... %26otn%3D4

[pvpatty]

Black and white houndstooth in a small enough pattern is going to read as mid to light grey, no?

This is what I was also thinking. From a distance the cloth would appear to be a light grey or speckled grey, being a bit more discrete.

The cutting's houndstooth pattern is too small and the cloth too light. To get a larger design you will have to go up a bit in weight.

I shall have a poke around the websites of some cloth merchants for something similar in a heavier weight.

However, one of the attractions of this particular cloth was that it is part of J&J Minnis' 'Rangoon' range, designed for summer wear. Given the subtropical climate in which I live, this would get the most wear.

The price that the Rangoon cloth is going for at the moment is also an incentive!

[Etutee]

pvpatty,

as I mentioned in my post originally you do not want the DB version of this. Unless you are creating something for the sake of uniqness (in which case go right ahead). This pattern is to be executed in SB 2 or 3 button model with notch lapels perferably. you can have this in a 3-pc however.

As alden and others have also said make sure the cloth is at least medium weight and the more hairy the better. Avoid worsted like plague for this pattern unless creating formal daytime trousers.

This is meant to be worn with a lot of hairy texture and not to mention have a fuzzy appearance to it.

[Concordia]

There's a not-quite-rural version of this in the Minnis catalogue that I think has promise:

http://www.hfw-huddersfield.co.uk/hardy ... =494337618?

[dopey]

Someone with better research or typing skills than mine will, I hope, post some references to James Bond. The black and white houndstooth suit was a favorite of the paper James Bond. I don't recall if the celluloid ones wore it also.

[soupcon]

Try a shepherd's check vs a houndstooth.