What are your three go-to, favorite odd coats?

[voxsartoria]

Dear friends, I just delivery of a splendid tweed suit from Edwin DeBoise, and I am puzzling over my next commision from him when he shortly visits Boston...I am currently leaning toward something in a Glenroyal.

But I am curious: what are your three favorite odd coats? What fabric? What cut? Why do you reach for these three more than others?

Thank you.

Regards,
Bill

[alden]

Dear Bill

I would love to see the Edwin tweed suit, or maybe we have already seen it?

My three go to odd jackets change with every season of course. But the patterns and colors are often the same. Your post anticipated the clothclub's new 4x4 jacketing offering and you will find the patterns there: windowpanes, herringbones with windows and gunclubs (houndstooths.)

The Alden gunclub has been a favorite as I hasten to bang it about and get it broken in a bit. Its been getting worn hard and put up wet so its starting to show some shape.

You wont find any blazers on my list or coats with bland patterns...they always look too much like a lost suit coat. A sportscoat needs to be a sportscoat. Thats why I prefer to see herringbones with windowpanes, for example, and the one shown on the site made from Brora tweed cloth is another go to this Winter. It has a brown and violet base with a violet and green windowpane. You will find this association of colors in the new clothclub gunclub later this Spring.

What cloth did you finally pick? The glenroyals are pretty nice but they are not tweedy enough for my taste. There is a little worsted in them and make great suits.

Cheers


Michael

[tteplitzmd]

I wore one of my Glen Royal suits today. I got two comments, one from my 9 1/2 year old son, that I looked like a clown, the other from a colleague at my Hospital, and she commented on the elegance of the suit. The pattern is a scarlet windowpane on a dark brown ground.

The heavier Hartwist, is more hard finished, and makes a nice, heavier suiting.
I have an odd jacket in the works of Glen Royal, grey windowpane on dark navy ground. I elected no trousers on this one. I have another Glen Royal suit, a barleycorn, herringbone, with stripes, olive/taupe, and it is very nice indeed as a suit, and decidedly tweed like in appearance. My trousers are fully lined in these goods, obviating any need for a topcoat in the dash from garage, to parking lot, to office or hospital. Tweed cap completes the picture. All I am lacking is the Scottish Estate to go with it.

[Sator]

The horrors! You wear a tweed suit to work???

Their proper place is as casual wear on the Scottish estate or at least the country - or failing that at least during your leisure hours.

I am afraid I have enough time coping with the idea of wearing lounge suits in general as city attire. Naturally only a frock or a morning coat will truly do.

See Virchow knew how to dress:



None of this "I'm an academic so I always wear tweed" nonsense.

[voxsartoria]

Gentlemen:

I will try to photograph the tweed suit that Edwin recently completed for me...it is idiosyncratic since I was experimenting with a few things. I think some of you might have already seen the back of the lapel on Matt's weblog.

It's made up from a P&H tweed, LBD. A swatch:



It is a mixed metaphor suit: tweed; single-breasted; one button closure; double vents; peaked lapel; hacking pockets; out ticket pocket. I like it very much as a one-off. I will probably add one of Edwin's pleated waistcoats to it in the fall. I am very happy with the coat, but I am even more pleased with the cut of the trousers simply because it represents the two of us refining what I want over several projects.

I described my next two commissions in another posting: a brown nailhead suit from the Lesser 9.5/10, and then a DB dinner suit. And I think I will follow that with a Glenroyal coat in the fall as well.

As for wearing tweed to work, I am in fact, in academia. While my institution is perhaps the most sober of the great American institutions of higher learning, coat and tie is worn sporadically, suits seldom. Elegance is unknown. I suppose that makes me both sporadic and seldom, and slightly unknown, but I like that as well.

Best Regards,
Bill

[HappyStroller]

Currently, I have 5 odd coats: a morning tailcoat, a stroller, a navy blazer, a tan linen sports coat and a herringbone tweed sports jacket.

I have yet an opportunity to see the Queen in London, so the morning tailcoat remains unused in the closet.

The stroller is wonderful for taking a walk in the parks and sitting on the benches along the city streets of Shanghai, but it suffers greatly from competition from my red and my blue seersucker suits.

The navy blazer is very useful for air travel. In fact, lots of older Chinese executives seem to favour this jacket when travelling in executive style. A genuine club tie accompanies this jacket, usually for breakfast and dining. Mine was made according to the soecifications for a true blazer, as described in Monsieur Anton... The Suit, except the material is garbadine.

The tan linen sports coat is actually part of a 2-piece suit, jand I have not had the opportunity to use it as an odd jacket.

The herringbone tweed sports coat is also part of a 2-piece suit. After taking delivery, I commissioned the same clothier to make a French cap of the same material. I have yet to try on any part of the enitire set.

[RWS]

. . . . [M]y institution is perhaps the most sober of the great American institutions of higher learning . . . .

UChicago? Or have I been too long away from the tower?

[oldog/oldtrix]

1. Black and ivory 16 oz. Harris tweed large scale herringbone; three button, side vented, soft, slightly extended shoulders, moderate drape, bellows pockets w/ flaps (welt breast pocket).

2. Brown and camel mini-check 12 oz. Harris tweed, same cut as herringbone above.

3. Brown and cream glen check with medium gray overplaid 10 oz. tweed; three button, side vented, slight drape, spalla camica, open patch pockets (welt breast pocket).