Pattern matching a bold stripe

"The brute covers himself, the rich man and the fop adorn themselves, the elegant man dresses!"

-Honore de Balzac

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st.tully
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Wed Apr 25, 2012 1:45 pm

At Anderson and Sheppard's "Notebook" blog, is posted a picture of a bold stripe double breasted suit - the matching of the stripes around the collar is way off. To my eye, if the stripes are very bold - then they need to be matched. Am I just being too obsessed?

http://www.anderson-sheppard.co.uk/then ... ch-9-4.jpg
kamil
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Wed Apr 25, 2012 2:36 pm

I agree the stripes should be matched, and I am very surprised that they are not. The only legitimate (if hardly plausible) explanation I can think of is that such was the customer's specific request.
DFR
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Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:07 pm

st.tully wrote:At Anderson and Sheppard's "Notebook" blog, is posted a picture of a bold stripe double breasted suit - the matching of the stripes around the collar is way off. To my eye, if the stripes are very bold - then they need to be matched. Am I just being too obsessed?

http://www.anderson-sheppard.co.uk/then ... ch-9-4.jpg
If you look about the Internet you will find a number of tailors explaining why this cannot be done in reality and the aspiration cannot be delivered. One of these is Thomas Mahon, a son of A and S.

Regrettably I have not preserved links though have noted the facts in my mind.
Concordia
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Sun Apr 29, 2012 3:17 am

It's really difficult on the shoulder seam. OP was talking about the lapels, where if the tailor were more careful and laid down the top of the lapel after the collar were cut, one of the lapel/collar stripes could probably be matched. Of course, because they come at that seam at different angles, it would be geometrically impossible to match more than one stripe.
andreyb
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Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:00 am

st.tully wrote:At Anderson and Sheppard's "Notebook" blog, is posted a picture of a bold stripe double breasted suit - the matching of the stripes around the collar is way off. To my eye, if the stripes are very bold - then they need to be matched. Am I just being too obsessed?

http://www.anderson-sheppard.co.uk/then ... ch-9-4.jpg
Just a note -- while not matched, they are symmetrical (on left and right collar and lapel).

Also, one can see three stripes on [a side of] the collar, while only two on the corresponding section of the lapel. Indeed, it might be geometrically impossible to match -- without rotating direction of stripes on the collar.

In short, they are fine for me.

Andrey
Costi
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Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:55 am

My guess is that the stripes on the collar match the ones on the back of the coat. With such bold stripes, it would look terrible if they didn't, as they both run on the vertical. This makes it impossible to match them to the lapels, as well.
DFR, I also remember something Mr. Mahon once wrote on his blog, but I think it referred to matching stripes along the shoulder seam, back to front.
Costi
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Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:05 am

Concordia wrote:It's really difficult on the shoulder seam. OP was talking about the lapels, where if the tailor were more careful and laid down the top of the lapel after the collar were cut, one of the lapel/collar stripes could probably be matched. Of course, because they come at that seam at different angles, it would be geometrically impossible to match more than one stripe.
Impossible is nothing...
Image

However...
Image
DFR
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Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:49 am

Costi wrote:
Concordia wrote:It's really difficult on the shoulder seam. OP was talking about the lapels, where if the tailor were more careful and laid down the top of the lapel after the collar were cut, one of the lapel/collar stripes could probably be matched. Of course, because they come at that seam at different angles, it would be geometrically impossible to match more than one stripe.
Impossible is nothing...
Image

However...
Image
Costi, now you remind me, the shoulder seem might have been the subject of Mr Mahon's writings but your illustrations do seem to suggest that this is also a trade off between the back of the collar and the lapel. I think I prefer the back of the collar to be matched.
Costi
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Sun Apr 29, 2012 6:38 pm

Me too - this is a "youth" :) experiment, when I insisted that the tailor match lapels and collar. He obliged... Must have laughed looking at me from behind when I left the shop :wink:
Jukes
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Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:19 pm

Most tailors will match the back of the neck (the fall) bearing in mind that the top collar has to be stretched with the iron along the fall and the stand (the inside bit where the lining is) if then the stripes match along the gorge (lapel line) it is more of a happy accident. Some stripes can be matched along the gorge depending on the width of the stripe, but rarely.
hectorm
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Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:26 pm

This problem is only more apparent in the case of bold stripes, but it´s always present when matching patterns.
I agree with DFR and Costi. If you are forced to choose between matching collar and lapels, or collar and back, I choose the latter (which may not be the obvious).
The front will look fine provided the two sides of the collar are symmetrical.
Take a peek at the same A&S jacket but pictured from a distance:

Image
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