What is Wednesday.

This weekly What is Wednesday post is aimed at answering some of the more basic and critical aspects of tailoring and the terminology we use to describe them. It stems from realizing that I’m constantly throwing out different terms with my clients and quite often they’re unsure as to what I exactly mean.  The goal of this section then is to alleviate this terminology gap and provide you with some know-how to talk tailoring with a little more ease.

What is…meant by the drop between a jacket and pant?

A crucial concept to understand – particularly when buying a suit off the peg.  The drop simply refers to the difference between the chest measurement of the jacket  and the waist measurement of the pant.  A standard drop these days is 6 or 7 inches; as such a size 40 jacket will have a 34 or 33 inch waist.  A size 42 would then have a 36 or 35 inch waist; while a size 38 would have a 32 or 31 inch waist.  Pretty simple in the end.

The key however is how much alteration tailoring can occur in the pants waist and seat area; this is crucial for when the suits drop does not combine with your actual measurements.  I’ll use myself as an example as I wear a size 39 jacket and thus the pants would have either a 33 or 32 inch waist; this is a problem as my waist is a 34.  Check back next week as I’ll build on this critical theme.

As always I’d love to hear your opinions on this or any sartorial subject for that matter.  Better yet book a free appointment and we can banter in person and see if we might be a good fit to work together.

Take care – Michael

info@martinfishertailors.com

What is Wednesday.

This weekly What is Wednesday post is aimed at answering some of the more basic and critical aspects of tailoring and the terminology we use to describe them. It stems from realizing that I’m constantly throwing out different terms with my clients and quite often they’re unsure as to what I exactly mean.  The goal of this section then is to alleviate this terminology gap and provide you with some know-how to talk tailoring with a little more ease.

What is…meant by a half-lined and unlined jacket?

I’m going to assume that everyone is comfortable with the idea of a full lining; they make up the bulk of jackets and as the name implies they cover the entire inside of the garment. Considerably less common in our climate is the half-lined and unlined varieties.  I’ll start with their similarities; firstly both will always have lining in the sleeves as this enables the jacket to easily pass over the arms.  Secondly both will have the inside of the front “lined” with the same cloth as the jacket itself; this is necessary to cover the canvas that runs along the front of the jacket and provides it with its shape.

As for the differences; it simply comes down to whether or not there is lining covering the upper back area.  As you can see in the image above there is such coverage – the result is this is a half-lined jacket.  No upper coverage and it becomes unlined – pretty simple really.

The idea behind having the lining is that it allows for the jacket to move smoothly over the shoulders; something which comes into play when the cloth is a touch rougher resulting in friction between the shirt and the jacket.  This effect is both uncomfortable for the wearer and leads to unnecessary wear and tear on both pieces hence the half-lining option.  Smoother cloths simply don’t need the layer.

As always I’d love to hear your opinions on this or any sartorial subject for that matter.  Better yet book a free appointment and we can banter in person and see if we might be a good fit to work together.

Take care – Michael

info@martinfishertailors.com

What is Wednesday.

This weekly What is Wednesday post is aimed at answering some of the more basic and critical aspects of tailoring and the terminology we use to describe them. It stems from realizing that I’m constantly throwing out different terms with my clients and quite often they’re unsure as to what I exactly mean.  The goal of this section then is to alleviate this terminology gap and provide you with some know-how to talk tailoring with a little more ease.

What is…a slanted pocket?

Last week the discussion was about the different styles of pockets; this week is all about the different angles for those pockets.  In the three examples used last week all of them had straight pockets – that is a pocket that sat perpendicular to the center front of the jacket.  This by far represents the vast majority of suit jackets and sportscoats.

The good news is that slanted pockets are very easy to understand.  As the name implies and you can see in the image above it simply refers to a pocket that is on an angle; for the most part the angle is downwards from the center of the jacket towards the hip.  The degree of the angle can be very subtle – 15 degrees or so – or it can be quite aggressive getting close to 40 degrees in certain cases.  This style is often referred to as a hacking pocket; a name that comes to us from the country pursuit of horseback riding as “to hack” is to ride a horse for light exercise.  Why the connotation to horse riding?  Because gentleman back in the day always rode horses in a jacket; as such it was easier to get your hand in the pocket when riding if the pocket was on an angle as opposed to being straight across.

As for today – it simply comes down personal taste and nothing else.  Some people hold the view that the slanted pocket makes the torso appear slimmer when cut in conjunction with a nipped waist.  To others it represents a way to subtly differentiate the jacket from the majority of straight pockets we usually see.  While others yet might feel it’s a touch rake’ish for their liking.  As I said it’s all about personal taste and what looks good to your personal eye.

As always I’d love to hear your opinions on this or any sartorial subject for that matter.  Better yet book a free appointment and we can banter in person and see if we might be a good fit to work together.

Take care – Michael

info@martinfishertailors.com

What is Wednesday.

This weekly What is Wednesday post is aimed at answering some of the more basic and critical aspects of tailoring and the terminology we use to describe them. It stems from realizing that I’m constantly throwing out different terms with my clients and quite often they’re unsure as to what I exactly mean.  The goal of this section then is to alleviate this terminology gap and provide you with some know-how to talk tailoring with a little more ease.

What is…a patch, besom & flap pocket?

A pretty simple topic this week – specifically we’re talking about the styles of front pockets found on suit jackets, sportcoats or blazers.  Generally there are three kinds – patch, besom and flap.

On the outsides we have the patch and flap styles – both are easy to remember as they are simply physical descriptions of the pocket.  As for the besom style – if anyone can let me know where the name comes from I’d be much obliged as I can’t seem to find an answer.

The big question though – which style to choose and when?  The easy answer is whatever you aesthetically prefer – today the rules are interpreted quite loosely and you’ll see all three styles with relative frequency.  That said the most formal of the bunch is the besom style – it is typically what you would find on a tuxedo and black tie jackets; however as you can see in the image above it also just as useful with a standard suit.  On the other end of the spectrum is the patch pocket – definitely the most casual of the three.  Traditionally found on sportcoats and blazers; they are presently gaining a lot of momentum and finding their way into more standard suits.  They are in fact a great way to relax a suit and give it a touch more playfulness.  As for the flap style – it sits right in the middle and will forever be the most popular choice for its versatility which enables it to be equally appropriate in both formal and more casual environments.

As always I’d love to hear your opinions on this or any sartorial subject for that matter.  Better yet book a free appointment and we can banter in person and see if we might be a good fit to work together.

Take care – Michael

info@martinfishertailors.com