Darted Fronts

[frat]

Hi Guys & Gals,

I've been a long time follower of the FL and recently decided to sign up. I've used this forum often for information, to learn, and to get a good perspective on vintage style. Along with a question I am going to post; this is also my introduction. I also recently came across two atomic fleck suits on a recent trip to Chicago that I will be listing in my Etsy shop sometime this week.

My question is: When did suit makers start adding darted fronts?

 

[Fastuni]

When did suit makers start adding darted fronts?

Loooong before the 50's in any case. Definitely already by the early 1920's... certainly also before that. Dartless jackets were becoming increasingly rare by the end of the 1920's - often for bigger sizes or "conservative sack cuts".

 

[Qirrel]

The earliest example of a pattern draft with front dart like the one which is now seen on almost all modern jackets I have seen is from 1909. I am sure it was "invented" earlier than that, but they don't start being common until the mid-late 1910s.

 

[frat]

Would you say that darted fronts were the norm then? And then in the late 50-60s makers moved toward sack cut during the ivy-boom and then moved back again to darted fronts with the MOD style?

 

[Fastuni]

The "styles" you mention didn't replace each other... front darts were a standard feature on the vast majority of regular suits in the 50's (and before and after that). The "Ivy" cut also existed already before and after that - parallel to the "regular" style. Mostly, as the name implies around College campuses - while for a time gaining in wider popularity. The "Mod" Style also was a "niche" style that was oriented towards the Italian style, which again was only one of several styles of the period.

 

[frat]

This is why I signed up. Thanks for the explanation.