Double vs. Single Breasted

[Costi]

That is a subjective perspective from where you stand, if you judge dress in gradients of gravitas / maturity; from someone else's point of view, YOU might be dressed for a funeral in one of your SB suits with a ticket pocket.

Here is some DB funeral gravitas for you:


Oh, and this gent looks like he's been driving!

[Bootsie]

Very amusing, Costi. Great illustrations by the way, though very obviously pre WWII period.
I really speak as regards to the 21st century, where in the UK and here in Belfast, suits and "proper dress" seem to have totally disappeared in all areas, the exceptions being business and formal functions.
The male in general, is fairly slovenly, dresses in T shirt, tracksuit bottoms and trainers or casual shirt/jeans which is a grim outlook for our society I have to say. Comfort is all well and good, but personal pride in appearance seems to be on the wane.
Only a small minority of males make any effort to present themselves well.
Maybe I am too judgemental in my approach to these things!

[Costi]

The illustrations ARE pre-WWII indeed, but the paradigm of classical male dress is still valid: the suit, the blazer, the trousers, the tie... If I had time to search, I'm sure I could come up with a couple of 21st century pictures with exactly the same situations as above - but they would not be very easy to find...

You don't have to ask anyone permission to be yourself. If you like DB, you can wear it any way you please and NOT look like you're coming from a funeral. You can wear it with aplomb in your leisure time, day and night, in and out. Your dark blue blazer can you take you many places, depending on what you pair it with (and it's informal anyway, by nature).
It's no trouble driving in a DB coat, either, I assure you - none at all. They're great in summer, too - when and where it's not very hot, of course (but SB coats can be just as unbearable in certain climates).
Everyone is a minority in some respect or another. How everybody else dresses is their business, isn't it? So don't be judgmental, but don't let others dissuade you from dressing as you please, either.
Long live the DB coat!

[rodes]

Bootsie, When you said that the DB suit is less adaptable in our modern age did you mean the constant fastening and unfastening while driving, working at a desk, etc. My experience,while limited, is just the opposite. I have only one DB suit and two strollers. When I wear these I rarely unbutton them as I do a SB. Please refer to the August 17,2010 post on "A Suitable Wardrobe","Keep Them Buttoned" by Will ,also a member here. For this reason I find them more versatile though surely less common. My recent experiment with DB has shown itself favorable and I plan a few more.

[alden]

The DB is more critical than the SB: it is harder to get right. For every ten DB you see on the Pitti gang or on the style blogs, you will see one that looks really good. They almost have to be made bespoke and by an excellent tailor.

The DB is also subject to the most fiendish of styling exaggerations: the wide wing-like lapels, high set notches, too high or too low buttoning points, no shape or wasp(as in bee)-like tightness. So many forms of silly costume are seen that the elegant DB is all to rare.

My advice is to cut the DB as simply and as neutrally as possible...the style itself has charisma, so you don't have to turn on the juice!

Cheers

M Alden

[Bootsie]

Hi Rodes, I do mean buttoning and unbuttoning of a D/B jacket, otherwise the garment becomes horizontally creased.

[Bootsie]

Rodes, forgive my ignorance, but what on earth is a " stroller "?
Not a UK garment, I take it.

[Costi]

Bootsie, I never unbutton my DB coats when I drive (except on long trips, when I sooner take my coat off) and the belt does go over the coat. It never creases.

[Costi]

My advice is to cut the DB as simply and as neutrally as possible...the style itself has charisma, so you don't have to turn on the juice!

Exactly, no trills and drama, just keep to the score - that's how a master interprets a masterpiece.

Bootsie, here is a stroller:

The DB version. And a nicely balanced DB cut, too, since we're talking about it.

[alden]

And a nicely balanced DB cut, too, since we're talking about it.

....and a London Lounge drape cut as well....

[culverwood]

The Esquire illustrations of the 1930s and 40s that reported on men’s style in NY, London, Paris and Italy have been replaced by style blogs that report from exactly the same places in 2011. They are chock full of men wearing DB suits.

The depressing thing is that the style blogs you refer to still trot out the illustrations from the 30's as a template for all future fashion instead of looking for ways to move bespoke style forward. I have to say I am just as guilty of this but my template is more from the 50' and 60's.

[alden]

The depressing thing is that the style blogs you refer to still trot out the illustrations from the 30's as a template for all future fashion instead of looking for ways to move bespoke style forward. I have to say I am just as guilty of this but my template is more from the 50' and 60's.

I was thinking more of the style blogs that report from the street, from Pitti and the like. There are many DBs shown there that are worn in interesting (not so classic) ways.

[Rowly]

If you are in good shape and keep slim, wear the DB a little closer to the body than the SB, wear it well, and you will cut a figure to be admired.

Cheers

Michael Alden

My advice is to cut the DB as simply
and as neutrally as possible...the style itself has charisma, so you
don't have to turn on the juice!

Cheers

M Alden

Michael could you explain further...wearing it closer to the body, yet cutting it as neutrally as possibly...do you mean a slim cut but with non exaggerated details and not made into a characture as some of these online pictures refer to?...thanks.

[Costi]

And a nicely balanced DB cut, too, since we're talking about it.

....and a London Lounge drape cut as well....

But of course, what else?!

[Costi]

The depressing thing is that the style blogs you refer to still trot out the illustrations from the 30's as a template for all future fashion instead of looking for ways to move bespoke style forward. I have to say I am just as guilty of this but my template is more from the 50' and 60's.

I think fashion - which is perhaps a necessary laboratory of experimentation - does nothing but look for development. A few ideas are good, most are terrible, but look new, so they are successful for a while. I think there is no "forward" in matters of style - it remains an individual experience, not a mass phenomenon (like fashion).
Anything can be built with the same bricks. We don't need new garments, new cuts - we need new eyes, so we can experience things from a fresh perspective and come up with new visions. Bespoke is also an individual experience, so once you get the vision, you can manifest it. The style of the thirties is a strong source of inspiration because there is a lot of balance in it, it makes sense, it has message, substance, coherence, variety but also unity, creativity but also good sense, it strikes a balance between good looks and comfort / practicality, it is relaxed yet it has impact. No wonder it's still going strong, when there's so much in it