The ideal smoking jacket

[alden]

And I've never seen an English one in a green that I liked enough.

Nor have I. And its strange because the English, in interior decoration, porcelain, painting and sports cars, are capable of some wondrous greens. But not in cloth!

Cheers

Michael

[castiglione]

I used to make smoking jackets for A. Sulka and also handmade robes for Alan Flusser and The Saks 5th Avenue Club.{ just one for the club}. I still make them now and then. Some of the old school ones were made of heavy vicuna or cashmere. The facings of the same. Alan Flusser liked these. They might be more comfortable and more relaxing and they might not be trying so hard. Just a thought.

My two cents. A historical and illustrious smoking jacket.

Self_PortraitVanDyk.jpg

[old henry]

yea, thats the one I made. Green. Right.. That guy was a pain in the ass..
{btw.. Johnstons of Elgin has perfect cashmere for a smoking coat}

[hectorm]

Now I see what you meant when you said that you couldn´t do the underarm halfmoon darts. Poor Van Dyck.

[ethandesu]

Dear All,
I have stumbled on this thread looking for inspiration in a smoking jacket for myself - hopefully if I can materialize one, I can document the process here for your amusement.
As a little background - I live in Hong Kong, about a ten minutes walk from the central business district, with a store in a 1920's building. I regularly have whiskey and wine tasting nights in store, which inevitably end up with us at one of the many cigar bars in Hong Kong. I also smoke at my own club, which is just a floor above my store, at least 4 times a week. Having a jacket that I could wear to absorb the smell of tobacco would be ideal. While it is unlikely that I would wear the jacket out and about, I would wear it in store on events and probably after black tie evenings when we end up smoking.
My thoughts have been a SB shawl, with the body perhaps in a blackwatch check or velvet. I'd like something reasonably substantial, as it will always be worn in Hong Kong's aggressive airconditioning, and a heavier cloth would feel more robe like. I currently wear my dinner suit in the black 465gram Fresco, so the trousers from this will often accompany the smoking.
My question would be - the best cloth for a blackwatch check? So far I have only found a Scabal from the Festival bunch, which is perfect in colour and pattern, but at 260gr a little lighter than I'd want. Any suggestions out there for something heavier?
A second point - how appropriate would a smoking jacket be with a lounge suit trouser? If I am wearing a plain grey trouser, would the coat work for a quick afternoon smoke? I was thinking of going self faced on the shawl collar lapels, to allow it to be worn sans black tie. Which gives rise to another question - can I remain in a four in hand tie, or does it need a blow tie to work?
I'd be very interested to hear the opinions of you all here on LL.

ethandesu

[davidhuh]

Dear Ethan,

I'm about to commission a smoking jacket for similar use. The plan is to have it made as DB with shawl collar in purple velvet, similar to the Duke's http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum/vi ... 977#p53904 - with self facing though.

I have found and already purchased this purple velvet from Scabal, 70% cotton, 30% modal, no 500876 which is on the heavy side with 470g (short cut: https://www.scabal.com/fabric/500876). I don't want a patterned cloth, just a beautiful velvet.

Will I wear grey lounge suit trousers with it? At very private occasions at home and when wearing it in a hotel bar where I'm staying, certainly. About the tie: I have not thought about this yet. I am skeptical about a normal tie - perhaps a solid reppe silk tie? A scarf might work; if not, I might stick to a bow tie. But I would love to hear from others.

cheers, david

[Costi]

If you take the historical point of view literally, the smoking jacket would, of course, be worn with dinner suit trousers and a black silk bow tie + appropriate footwear. However, if you take the spirit of it, the smoking jacket is simply meant to spare the normal suit coat of strong tobacco smell. At the time when the smoking jacket was in frequent use, gentlemen would have been wearing dinner suits when the time came for a cigar, therefore it was natural to keep the trousers of the dinner suit and change the jacket. Today we no longer wear dinner suits regularly in the evening, therefore I would dare say any (suit) trousers you are wearing are appropiate. At least that's the spirit. As far as neckwear is concerned, I tend to agree with David that, in absence of a bow tie (and particularly with suit trousers), a scarf seems fit.
All this is unorthodox, of course, but it's a way to make the smoking jacket contemporary and useful, to keep it alive, preserving its function (which is the main point, after all) while adapting it to modern usage.

[Simon A]

Harrisons of Edinburgh have a good Black Watch at 350 grammes.
http://www.harrisonsofedinburgh.com/col ... .html?cs=h

[TuAutem]

I wear mine frequently at home with an ascot (day cravat), along with whatever shirt and trousers I had on that day, and I think it's a great look. (Especially when accessorised with a pipe and a snifter of brandy...)

I bought it to be worn with black tie in place of the dinner jacket, however mine is too new-looking (a smoking jacket ought to have a well-worn, broken-in look, in my opinion), so necessarily I try to wear it more frequently.