J.L. Taylor men's fashion catalog, 1927

[fluteplayer07]

Great resource, Mario. I always love to look at these.

 

[RobStC]

Disagree. I have rather good eye for proportions because of live drawing classes in the university. the 1920s fashion illustrations are not that bad and the heads notthat small. maybe in the 1940s with that boxy and bold drape stuff.

FFF: I assume that it is my post above that you are referring to here - I was actually commenting on how nicely these 1920's illustrations were done with respect to anatomy and proportions, and how it is the Apparel Arts/Esquire pictures (especially in the 40's) that are the more distorted..... So hopefully no disagreement required

RobStC

 

[Oldsarge]

What is with all the buttoned bottom buttons on the suits and vests?

 

[Qirrel]

What is with all the buttoned bottom buttons on the suits and vests?

Back in the day, they knew that buttoning the bottom button was not a matter of (sartorial) life and death, but personal stylistic choice.

 

[Mario]

What is with all the buttoned bottom buttons on the suits and vests?

Ladies and gentlemen! Playing for you tonight in The Brighton Beach Ballroom: Bernard Brooks And His Buttoned Bottom Bottons!

Sorry...

Take a look at this 1951 photo of Cary Grant in his 3-roll-2 jacket:

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

While 826 is definitely ecclesiastical, 824 appears to have been intended as some sort of uniform perhaps for a valet, chauffeur or footman.

 

[Cobden]

While 826 is definitely ecclesiastical, 824 appears to have been intended as some sort of uniform perhaps for a valet, chauffeur or footman.

Such outfits were quite commonly worn in this period in South East Asia - could be intended for that

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Looks like flaps on the pockets of those dinner jackets, too.

Pocket flaps were very often seen on midweight and heavyweight dinner jackets from about 1900 to the end of the 1930s. On the other hand, summer-weight dinner jackets (of tropical worsted wool, Palm Beach cloth, etc.) rarely had pocket flaps. Go figure.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Pocket flaps make the suit too hot for summer.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Pocket flaps make the suit too hot for summer.

Yeah, right. By that token, lapels should have been omitted as well.

 

[VintageEveryday]

I've always loved the variety of suit lapels in this era. They're good references for someone like me who can only afford the 60s reproduction belt backs (in the sense that the purists turn their noses up at the 60s-does-30s/40s sport coats, saying the lapels make it unable to pass as a vintage style coat. To which I turn to illustrations such as these, with low lapel gorges and slightly skinnier lapels than the true 20s-40s suits they own with high, wide lapels)

(I'm open for comments on this thought)

 

[Dirk Wainscotting]

The two-button arrangement of the 20s suits is not dissimilar to the two-button arrangement on some 50s suits and the suits from about 2010 onwards. The top or middle button being quite high.
So what you get now is people doling out advice about which buttons should be fastened - largely based upon classic 3-button jackets and where the button actually hits the waist rather than being halfway up the sternum - and the result is shirt and tie-blade ends on full display.

 

[Patrick Hall]

the result is shirt and tie-blade ends on full display.

Of all the ignorant solecisms of modern tailored clothes, this is the one that makes me the most crazy. Like a panting tongue wagging around beneath the coat front.