Got small size formalwear?

[Miss 1929]

Hello gentlemen -
My nephew, who is 12, has expressed a desire for the Monopoly Man outfit, for a school play, and then for Steampunk role-playing use after! So I am on the hunt for either the striped trouser/cutaway/ascot look, or white tie and tails would work well too. Or even a frock coat. He is especially interested in a top hat and a monocle!
This brings gladness to my heart as it means that he might come to some vintage events with me, as they say get them young and teach them to dance.
Any suggestions, or bits and pieces languishing in the closet, would be appreciated! I will be checking out the local formal rental places, but I thought I should throw this out there.
He is about 5 feet tall so far, and slender. But he will be growing so it's OK if things are bigger, within reason.
Let me know if you think of any bright ideas! And thank you for helping to inculcate fashion sense in the youth of today.

 

[LaMedicine]

I don't know if this something you are looking for...
My father, who passed away the summer of '06, was a small man--about 5'2" and slim. My mother still has his closet full of clothes, and among them are a what do you call it, tail coat suit? due to his having been in the diplomatic service. The one in the pic, 1956.

Mom doesn't know what to do with it--wants to clean out the closet, but his outfits are too small for most people now, even here in Japan, so, I think she'd be happy if it found a good home.
The arms and legs might be short, given the difference in structure balance due to ethnicity, and I haven't checked it closely, so I can't say anything about its condition, except that it looks pretty good at a glance, so if you are willing to give it a try, I can ask my mother to let me have it and send it over to you.

 

[DecoDahlia]

La Medicine---If your father's tails don't work out for Miss 1929's nephew, I'd be interested in buying them from you, as I've been dying for a real set from forever! In the meantime, I'll also keep my eyes opened for a "Monopoly Man" outfit for Miss 1929's nephew.

 

[Edward]

The other suggestion I would make would be to trawl eBay... depdning on what size Nephew is, you may well find something suitable there. I've lost count of the number of perfect vintage tailcoats I've seen selling in the 34-38" chest band. Possibly cheaper, and more 'disposable' if you're worried about trashing vintage items (a lot depends on the nature of the LRP game in question - is it a 'combat' based system, or more esoteric?), might be modern ex-hire, though with that you may have to compromise on some details, e.g. notch lapels are common on tailcoats, as are linings stopping at the waist, tails themselves being faced with the same material as the exterior shell.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

The proposed would be an absolutely horrific use for true vintage pieces. Get Modern ex-rental. Anything else it would be a travesty to get trashed.

bk

 

[Miss 1929]

I don't know if this something you are looking for...
My father, who passed away the summer of '06, was a small man--about 5'2" and slim. My mother still has his closet full of clothes, and among them are a what do you call it, tail coat suit? due to his having been in the diplomatic service. The one in the pic, 1956.

Mom doesn't know what to do with it--wants to clean out the closet, but his outfits are too small for most people now, even here in Japan, so, I think she'd be happy if it found a good home.
The arms and legs might be short, given the difference in structure balance due to ethnicity, and I haven't checked it closely, so I can't say anything about its condition, except that it looks pretty good at a glance, so if you are willing to give it a try, I can ask my mother to let me have it and send it over to you.

Hi La Medicine!

That actually would be fabulous - Almost exactly the right size! I am sure we could make minor adjustments as needed, my sister (his mom) is a professional costumer (www.margospattterns.com). Do let me know if it's available, and I am happy to pay the shipping costs since it is so far away.

And Baron K, this kid is respectful of vintage! He doesn't plan to alter or trash in any significant way, just to accessorize for the Steampunk thing. Besides, he has to keep it nice to go to the Art Deco Preservation ball with me.

And with the possible hat and monocle from Deco dahlia... it's all soming together!

I just love the Lounge!

 

[LaMedicine]

I can check it out over the weekend (it's already Friday evening here ).
I believe there's a pair of striped pants, too, anyway, I'll send you a list of what's available.
And BK, I know that the outfit will be well taken care of, because Miss1929 is his aunt I wouldn't have posted otherwise

 

[Mike in Seattle]

You might also check out tux rental shops - they generally have good prices on former rentals, and you might luck out with a great deal on a former ring-bearer's outfit. Or you might consider simply renting the outfit for the two occasions. Youngsters grow quickly, and sad to say, their tastes seem to change in the wink of an eye, so rental...until you're sure you have totally and completely infected the lad with vintagitis, might be the best bet.

A friend's wife bought their 4 year old (!!!!) a pair of Prada (!!!!!!!) shoes for Christmas which she loved when she saw Cinderella in November...and now she hates "those ugly old shoes" and wants...(heaven help us)...Crocs.

 

[Miss 1929]

Kids do grow...
But the plan is to recycle it back into the Lounge once he's too big!

If he's like me, he might not grow for a few more years - I was the size of a 6 year old until 11, then grew a spurt, then stopped at 13 and grew 3 more inches in my 20s... go figure.

I will be checking the rental places for shirts, of course! But we are trying to steer clear of polyester.

 

[dhermann1]

I hope he realizes if he gets this outfit that he will have a suit with an absolutely astounding provenance. Medicine: can you hazard a guess what famous statesmen this suit might have met in its career? And how many different countries?
Get some good documentation.
Another example of what makes Fedora Lounge so utterly unique in the world.

 

[Tomasso]

LaMedicine, would you please be kind enough to post some pix of your fathers vintage wardrobe. I'd love to see them and I'm sure other Loungers would as well.

 

[LaMedicine]

I went through my parents' closet yesterday.
I was able to retrieve a morning coat suit--tail jacket, black vest, striped pants--and a double breasted tux (peaked lapel) and pants. Mom said that his wardrobe was prepared for everything --black tie, white tie-- so I vaguely remember that he had a white dinner jacket as well, but we weren't able to dig that up, and actually, I realised this morning after going through what I brought home that what I had was a morning suit rather than the white tie and tails in the pic, though from Miss 1929's description, I think that this is more what her nephew had in mind--the Monopoly Man
The two suits I retrieved were within easy reach. The other two probably are deep somewhere, maybe in one of the old suitcases in the back of the closet due to the fact that there were no occasions that these suits were needed once we were back in Japan.

Everything would have been prepared late summer-early fall in 1955 because we left for Ankara, Turkey the first week of November of that year and the majority of our luggage was sent out by sea a month ahead of our departure. Dad was trim througout his adult life, so his clothes sizes never changed to the point that alterations were needed. The label on the suits are that of Takashimaya, one of the major prestigious department stores here. Takashimaya's tailor shop has a very good reputation. The store's history goes back to 1831 when a secondhand kimono merchant opend his store in Kyoto. Over the years, his business grew and its present Tokyo HQ building (built in 1932 and known here as Nihonbashi Takashimaya building) is designated a historic landmark. fftopic: but if ever any of you have a chance to visit Tokyo, then this building and the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi building (built first in 1914 then rebuilt in the late '20s after having been destroyed in 1923 by the Kanto earthquake), which are within walking distance of each other, might be two interesting buildings to see.

Dad's morning suit got the most use as far as I know. He wore it at mine and my brother's wedding as well as at other multiple occasions that required the same degree of formality. Here, white tie events are very rare, and at most, it is black tie, or, during the day time, morning suits. He received his decoration for long time civil service in the presence of our Emperor (en masse, not personally --incidentally, wives are invited to the ceremonies as well so Mom went in a formal kimono. We--one of my aunts and I--got dragged into the search of the appropriate kimono, which was the bigger problem because Dad already had what was needed ) in this suit in 1991. My parents were also invited to a large garden party on the grounds of one of the imperial parks the next spring, which all the imperial family attends, though I think he went in a formal black suit that is now the most common formal suit here, rather than the morning suit. The Imperial Household sends out notes with detailed instructions of what are acceptable, which is very helpful for the attendees, and a very good excuse for the wives in aquiring a new kimono or an appropriate western dress.
I don't remember which suit he wore (most likely would have been the tux) for the Cherry Blossom Festival Ball during his tenure in Washington DC, so techincally speaking, he and his suit would have met all the dignitaries who attened the Ball during the pertinent years--1962-1965. (We arrived in Washington DC the summer of 1961 so the Ball was done for that year )

During our years in Turkey, the suits would have been in the presence of the Turkish president and ministers, and whatever diplomatic occasions with visiting dignataries as guests of honor, that the diplomatic corps were invited to. This would be late 1955-spring 1959.

That's all the details that come to my mind at the moment.
As for vintage pics, I have some up in the Vintage family pic thread and the Vintage wedding pics thread. Other old pics, I have some scanned in but not yet edited, but most of them are still on film and paper, yet to be scanned.

P.S. Miss 1929 sorry for the hijack

P.P.S./ F.Y.I: I have put the link to my mother's vintage kimono pics album in threads in both the Powder Room and General Attires & Accouterments titled "Vintage Kimonos" if any of you are interested and haven't checked yet.

 

[Rachael]

have you been able to locate a top hat? I have several small size hats, two top hats and a derby, that may suit. They all could use a little interior repair but wear nicely on the outside. Let me know his head measurement (I'm awful about hat sizes) and I'll see if any of them would work.

 

[Miss 1929]

Wow, absolutely wow

La Medicine, this is amazing! Not at all a hijack, but such wonderful history! And kind of funny, right before I opened this page this morning, my sister sent an email saying "get the provenance!" - so you can see it's going into the right sort of household!

Rest assured folks, that all items will be cherished and when done, cycled back into the Lounge for the next unsuspecting young person (or small sized person) to enjoy!

Rachel, I might need a hat, I did have a PM from another Lounger saying they may have a collapsible one (which of course is so very fun) and a monocle, but I will keep you posted as to developments.

 

[LaMedicine]

Here's a tux pic.
Around 1955-56. Group photo of the members of the Japanese Embassy in Ankara with the ambassador in the center. My father is second from the right, my mother sitting on the right end.

 

[Miss 1929]

Got top hat and monocles and all!

Amazing, it is all coming in!

The top hat arrived and n=monocles and one pair trousers (thank you Deco Dahlia!) and La Medicine has shipped!

I just want to thank everyone for this - it's really exciting for Rob and for me!

XOXO Sara

 

[LaMedicine]

I just checked. The package from me is going through US customs right now.

 

[Miss 1929]

Diplomatic Duds are here!

And I have never seen such beautiful tailoring.

Exquisite!

Before they go off to Rob (it's his 13th birthday next weekend, so the timing is perfect), I will take some close-up photos, for everyone's enjoyment!

Many, many thanks to La Medicine!