My new coat

[Castle]

Gentlemen,

I would like to get your comments about my new coat. So far I am pleased with it.
The little issue around the neck might need a bit of work; the shirt cuffs could be
some mm higher. What are your thoughts?

r1.jpg

Castle

[Costi]

The coat looks good on you, Castle, except for the collar gaping. What did your tailor say about it?

[alden]

Castle

Wear the coat hard a few weeks and let's take another look. The coat needs a bit of wear to drop down and form to your body a bit. Then we will see what is going on with it better.

Michael

[Castle]

@Costi
That's the version after a first change last month. It is the first one made by him
for me.

@Michael
Yes, I agree.

[Castle]

After one month it does look a bit different. Although I sometimes have the impression that the collar is still a bit wide.

r2.jpg

r3.jpg

The second one is made from a softer cloth by a different tailor.

s1.jpg

Although similar there are some differences: shoulder width and lapel width.

Which one suits me better? What, if anything, should be made differently?
Both are nice to wear. This may be instructive to some other beginners...

Castle

[alden]

Castle

Take the measure on the collar from the center back seam to the intersecting point of the shoulder seam and collar..this is called the "back neck." It seems a bit too wide. The collar could grip your neck better.

As far as styling goes, they are both fine but I like the first flannel version for the increased belly in the lapels.

Cheers

Michael

[Costi]

In addition, I prefer the height of the notch, the 2.5 (rather than 2) roll and the line of the front quarters on the first coat - but that's just because I have a term of comparison. Good trousers, too.

[Castle]

Micheal and Costi,

Thank you for your kind attention.

Take the measure on the collar from the center back seam to the intersecting point of the shoulder seam and collar..this is called the "back neck." It seems a bit too wide. The collar could grip your neck better.

It is 7.5 cm; less than on the blue one.

As far as styling goes, they are both fine but I like the first flannel version for the increased belly in the lapels.

That is nice But doesn't it also depend on the cloth?

In addition, I prefer the height of the notch, the 2.5 (rather than 2) roll and the line of the front quarters on the first coat - but that's just because I have a term of comparison. Good trousers, too.

Yes, the longer I look at the pictures I tend to agree. But I'm not sure that the front quarters differ. When I put the two coats one upon the other (centered at the middle button) they seem to be identical. Just to verify my impression, not vice versa!

The trousers are from the same town as the coats.

[alden]

Castle

7.5 cms sounds like it should be right for you, though its hard to tell from pictures. Something else is making the collar gape a bit. Maybe one of our tailors can give you some clues. Frank, what do you see here?

Michael

[Greger]

Is the coat resting on the shoulder ends? In the past the padding was added to prevent the shoulder ends from sagging. I was told that from the neck point to mid shoulder is where the coat sets and not out to the ends. The shoulders should slide into place like into a pocket. The bridle seems a bit loose. A bit tighter should also straighten the shoulder. The roll of the lapel also seems to be not against the body, a tigher bridle should pull that in.

There are brighter minds than mine here that can give better answers.

[Castle]

Unbuttoned it rests on the shoulder ends. But when I button it it seems to lift a bit near the shoulder. This can be made worse when I pull back my shoulders. Could it be too tight around the chest? There is a little padding at the end of the shoulder.

[Costi]

Castle, if the fronts sway open with the coat unbuttoned, it might be a balance issue. The coat should sit on your shoulders the same, whether buttoned or not. If you need to button up in order to bring the fronts in position (rather than just fix them where they already sit naturally), then it's also to be expected that the collar will gap. Perhaps a picture with the coat unbuttoned would help.
To me the front quarters look more open and more rounded on the second coat than on the first. It may be just your position or the way the coats sit on you rather than the way they were actually cut.

[J.S. Groot]

the 2.5 (rather than 2) roll

I realise this is probably an uneducated question, but when talking of the roll what does the numbers refer to?

[Costi]

Your question is perfectly legitimate in the face of such jargon. If you number the buttons of a three-button coat from the bottom up, you can define where the lapel rolls as:
- roll to 3, i.e. just above the third button (standard option)
- roll to 2,5 - between the topmost and middle button
- roll to 2 - the lapel rolls through the top button (such that the top buttonhole underside shows on the face of the lapel), all the way to the second button.

[J.S. Groot]

Thank you Costi. I thought it had something to do with buttons.