Ventless

What you always wanted to know about Elegance, but were afraid to ask!
uppercase
Posts: 1769
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2005 3:49 pm

Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:10 pm

What do you think?

Certainly ventless is done with DB coats.

But what about SB?

I ask because double vents typically pull open on me due to certain anatomical issues. It seems to me that a ventless coat would solve the problem from the get go.

Infact, if you think about it, a ventless configuration would force the cutter to design a harmonious coat: shoulder width, chest and hips all in proportion, conforming to one's figure, without let or hindrance.

What's the purpose of double vents anyway? Nobody rides in a suit.

UC
alden
Posts: 8214
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:58 am
Contact:

Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:15 pm

UC

Ventless coats are fine, they just feel different. Vented coats move better and access to trouser pockets is so much easier.

Maybe we should call in Frank for a professional opinion on the subject of vents.

Cheers

Michael
Costi
Posts: 2963
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2005 6:29 pm
Location: Switzerland
Contact:

Wed Feb 23, 2011 10:01 pm

A coat should be cut to look and feel good when standing still even with the vents sewn. They are only there for when we move. If they pull open, it's not the fault of your anatomy, but of the cut that doesn't follow it.
Riding coats are single vented so the back halves can part over the horse's back. Double vented is mostly a lounge configuration. It makes it easy not just to put your hands into your trousers' pockets, but also to sit on a chair with a backrest (or in an armchair) without ruining the back of the coat (that will ride up and bunch behind you). Even bending forward (to shake hands, for instance) is enough to distort the shape of a ventless coat. The vents correspond to our waist mobility and help the coat move with the wearer without losing shape. The name is very suggestive of what they do: just as with a pressure vessel, they offer the tensions that build up in a coat when the wearer moves a preferential path to take, which keeps the vessel from blowing up and the coat from creasing and bunching all over.
I think SB ventless coats are just a matter of formality (dinner jacket, stroller), not of functionality or beauty of proportion.
Jordan Marc
Posts: 324
Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:59 pm
Contact:

Thu Feb 24, 2011 4:03 am

Ventless coats are too constricting. It makes you feel like a sausage in its wrapper. You want a coat to move with you when you're in motion, which double vents easily allow if cut properly. Regardless of the size of your bum, the vents shouldn't spread out, or flare, when you walk. When you're seated at table,
there is a difference of opinion among tailors about whether the coat should remain buttoned or
unbuttoned. Buttoned is certainly neater, whether sitting or standing, and it doesn't much matter if
your suit is double-breasted or single-breasted.

JMB
old henry
Posts: 969
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 12:34 pm
Location: Clayton New York
Contact:

Thu Feb 24, 2011 1:21 pm

If a coat front is too short it will open the vents. I use the vents to tell my eye if the balance is correct. If the shoulder points are resting on the shoulder bone it will lift off the neck and flare open the vents. Opening vents are the result of a mis-cut pattern. It is not your fault. Side vents on a prominent seat will fall correctly if the pattern is adapted correctly. Also- on a prominent seat it is best not to flare the vent so much. {I do not like a flared vent on any customer} Frank
Doug
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2005 9:12 pm
Contact:

Thu Feb 24, 2011 3:20 pm

What is a flared vent?
old henry
Posts: 969
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 12:34 pm
Location: Clayton New York
Contact:

Thu Feb 24, 2011 3:37 pm

Doug, What I mean is that from the top of the vent to the hem there is a flare. The vent angles off. All vents have this but on a prominent seat it should be kept to a minimum. I prefer less flare. This is just my opinion,however. Frank
alden
Posts: 8214
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:58 am
Contact:

Thu Feb 24, 2011 4:25 pm

If a coat front is too short it will open the vents. I use the vents to tell my eye if the balance is correct. If the shoulder points are resting on the shoulder bone it will lift off the neck and flare open the vents. Opening vents are the result of a mis-cut pattern. It is not your fault. Side vents on a prominent seat will fall correctly if the pattern is adapted correctly. Also- on a prominent seat it is best not to flare the vent so much.
Frank

That is pretty much was I thought as my tailors check the behavior of the vents to understand how well the coat is balanced. It's good to have confirmation from an expert.

If Uppercase can give us some more details on what happens with the vents, we could possibly diagnose the problem and suggest a solution.

Michael
old henry
Posts: 969
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 12:34 pm
Location: Clayton New York
Contact:

Thu Feb 24, 2011 4:35 pm

A photo would help us, Michael. We will figure it out. Ill bet the front is short.
alden
Posts: 8214
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:58 am
Contact:

Thu Feb 24, 2011 4:41 pm

A photo would help us, Michael. We will figure it out. Ill bet the front is short.
UC, post a picture and let's have a look. :)

Cheers
lgcintra
Posts: 165
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:16 am
Contact:

Thu Feb 24, 2011 7:21 pm

Sorry to interfere, but can I ask some advice? In which cases a double vented jacket is recommended in comparison with a single vent?
alden
Posts: 8214
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:58 am
Contact:

Thu Feb 24, 2011 7:55 pm

Sorry to interfere, but can I ask some advice? In which cases a double vented jacket is recommended in comparison with a single vent?
Always.
Costi
Posts: 2963
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2005 6:29 pm
Location: Switzerland
Contact:

Thu Feb 24, 2011 8:47 pm

Side vents just on coats, shirts and boxers for me, please!
old henry
Posts: 969
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 12:34 pm
Location: Clayton New York
Contact:

Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:35 pm

lgcintra , You can never interfere,my friend ..I like both. I like a heavy thornproof with a high center vent. My caretakers coat draft calls for center. The center vent looks handsome with a sewn in belt. I am not opposed to the center vent at all. My great old friend and teacher Toninno Christoforo {the finest tailor in my life} made the finest most sharp looking high waisted center vented suits - perfectly fitted with a nipped waist and a flared hem. 100% Italian influence. I find it to have a strong no-nonsense, conservative look. It might be a bit less stylish. Although I do also like side vents. If you do go center make it high enough to function..FS
Last edited by old henry on Sat Feb 26, 2011 1:49 am, edited 2 times in total.
Gruto

Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:01 pm

old henry wrote:You can never interfere,my friend ..I like both.
No two vent fundamentalism :D I have experienced that tailors have their rules but they not the same type of rules as the client's rules. A tailor's rules are influenced from working with the material and their master, while the clients, including myself, have their rules from looking at pictures and people and reading about rules.
Post Reply
  • Information
  • Who is online

    Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 54 guests