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Cuffed or Un-Cuffed, that is the question?

DoolittleRaider

Familiar Face
Messages
78
Location
DFW Metroplex,Texas
i just recently bought a suit, its a three piece grey suit and the pants have not been altered yet and im trying to get that 60s look from madmen. but yet i like the style of the 1940s as well

so my question is, should i have them cuff the pants to give it the 1940s look or no cuff for the 1960s

im trying to find some middle ground here so i can look either or.
 

scotrace

Head Bartender
Staff member
Messages
14,376
Location
Small Town Ohio, USA
Agreed. There really is no way to have a leg in both decades, short of Feraud's solution. Plus, there's really no way to make a true 40's suit look 1960's. Apples and Oranges.
 

DoolittleRaider

Familiar Face
Messages
78
Location
DFW Metroplex,Texas
ok, thanks gents

as always yall have been a treasure trove of help.:eusa_clap

the suit i have looks very 1960s and goes well with my horn-rimmed glasses.

i really want a 1940s era suit and the one that i have my eye one is from magnoli, i was originally going to get it but it being wool and summertime in texas, i would be uber-uncomfortable.:eusa_doh:

dont worry, i will post many pics when i get it.

its a modern suit, but looks quite vintage and fits me like a glove

i cant wait to see what yall think of it :)
 

avedwards

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,425
Location
London and Midlands, UK
I'd say cuffed. Nearly all 40s suits had cuffed trousers with the exception of some wartime austerity suits, and some 60s suits had cuffs too, even if it was a less popular/fashionable option by then. There seems to be a big misconception that all 60s suits had flat fronted mid-rise rise trousers with plain hems, which is simply inaccurate as I've seen plently of high rise pleated and cuffed trousers on 60s suits.
 
Last edited:

DocMustang

One of the Regulars
Messages
144
Location
Michigan, USA
With the exception of his formal trousers, a gentleman always has cuffs on his pants. It adds weight and improves the drape of nearly every fabric.
 

Tomasso

Incurably Addicted
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13,719
Location
USA
im trying to get that 60s look from madmen

How wide are the lapels on the jacket?

Like Roger's (40s) or the rest (60s)?

mad-men-2.jpg


BTW, capitalizing your text makes reading it so much easier for other members. ;)
 

avedwards

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,425
Location
London and Midlands, UK
I say cuff if the pants are pleated and no cuff if they're flat front.

I disagree. There seems to be some modern belief that cuffs should only be on pleated trousers, though this seems completely illogical to me. Back in the "Golden Era" nearly all trousers had cuffs regardless of whether flat fronted or pleated. Similarly trousers can have pleats but no cuffs (quite common on British early 60s suits).
 

Gene

Practically Family
Messages
963
Location
New Orleans, La.
I have a 1968-dated suit with 3-button, thin 60's lapels and drop-loop pleated and cuffed trousers.

Remember the Seinfeld joke? "Old people pick the best year of their life and dress that way forever. My father's best year was 1976." Clothes way beyond the era were still made for older folks.
 

djd

Practically Family
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570
Location
Northern Ireland
I'm just watching From Russia with Love and I note that Robert Shaws character is wearing a 60s style suit with cuffed pants (you can see it clearly before the fight on the train)
 

Chasseur

Call Me a Cab
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2,494
Location
Hawaii
I have late 1950s and early 1960s suits both and without cuffs (2 with and 1 without, all with at least 1 pleat). It really depends on the suit. As Edwards and DJD mention above contrary to the assumption that suits of this period did not have cuffs (or pleats for that matter) you see both in surprising numbers in films of the period.
 

Gene

Practically Family
Messages
963
Location
New Orleans, La.
Let it be known I also have a suit with a pre-'49 union label that has pants with no cuffs. Then again, they could have been let out but there's no evidence to the contrary.
 

Cobden

Practically Family
Messages
788
Location
Oxford, UK
I think another relevent question is double or single breasted? If double breasted, it natch needs to have cuffed trousers
 

avedwards

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,425
Location
London and Midlands, UK
I'm just watching From Russia with Love and I note that Robert Shaws character is wearing a 60s style suit with cuffed pants (you can see it clearly before the fight on the train)

If I'm not mistaken Sean Connery's suit also has cuffed trousers in that film (as does his suit in Dr No). It's in Goldfinger and the films that followed that his suits lost the cuffs but still kept the pleats (with the exception of Diamonds are Forever which has a truly horrible wardrobe and a disappointing plot in my opinion).
 

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