Show us your suits

[kyboots]

This is my post-'75 suit I picked up just today. I am brand new to all this and definitely still at the 'tip of the iceberg' with regards to knowledge, but I find it all fascinating and extremely fun to learn about these clothes from a historical perspective.

It is a 70s-does-30s suit. I suppose the things that differentiate it (from what I can tell, which may not be much), is the full liner, the vent in the back, the faux surgeons cuffs (were they faux back then, too?), the lack of button hole on lapel, the button location (being a little lower from the chest pocket than vintage suits I've studied on here), the slightly shorter length of the coat, and the fabric. The pants were pretty easy to tell.


It has a lot to like and where it comes close to the 30s (again, limited working knowledge here!) as opposed to the 1970s are the lapels which look decently proportioned, the square corners at the bottom flaps, the chest pocket (albeit not really slanted much), and the button stance. However, the best part about the suit is the overall fit, which is fabulous and doesn't show up in the pictures at all - pictures of me wearing it will definitely be in order. It it broad in the chest and pulls in at the waist, giving it the upside-down triangle framework. The pants have the bottom cuff and don't flare out either. And the good news - it fits me perfectly! It is my first new suit in 8 years and while it has a little more wear than my former one, it looks and feels to be of a much higher quality as well.

I still know almost nothing but it seems I learn something new everyday. I'm longing for the day that I can stumble upon a vintage 1930s-1940s suit, but until that day this one will do nicely!

I just saw this picture and it blew me away. Had a dark gray wool Hartz just like this around 1981. Has the button hole in the lapel,full liner, but had double vents. The problem Is I still have this somewhere and I must retrieve it from where ever it is hiding. What an eye opener. I loved this suit and had totally forgotten it. Now! ahem! can I get into it???lol.-- John

 

[Enigma1947]

Gents,
I got this suit awhile back but wore it tonight to a party, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to showcase the suit, and to invite the collective wisdom of the Lounge in terms of likely age, and any details that jump out at you about it. A few things I didn't snap pictures of - the pants have a watch pocket on the right front side, double pleats, and dropped belt loops. suspender buttons are sown inside the waistband. The trousers are secured by a simple snap button closure, and a zipper. All relevant jacket details are photo documented. I love the prominent, sculpted lapels on this jacket - and you'll notice that there are some very faint and thin blue vertical stripes in the fabric which should be visible in one of the photos below. Jacket is petal-lined, and it looks like the sleeves have been altered to accommodate the larger cuffs of modern shirts. Everything about this suit says "bold look" to me - the slightly slouchy button stance, the longer jacket, the lapels that pop. So based on my limited knowledge I would guess late 40's or early 50's? Looking forward to reading everyone's thoughts!

A great suit from the Early 1950's! You should move your post over to the "Display Your 50's Suits" Thread.

 

[Patrick Hall]

It's been added to that thread. Thanks Enigma!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

My newest suit. German (it has the tell-tale rear suspender buttons on extender tabs and a keyhole buttonhole on the lapel); I'm guessing about the middle 1930s, based on my comparisons of the lapel shape with dated British examples.

bk

 

[Red Leader]

I just saw this picture and it blew me away. Had a dark gray wool Hartz just like this around 1981. Has the button hole in the lapel,full liner, but had double vents. The problem Is I still have this somewhere and I must retrieve it from where ever it is hiding. What an eye opener. I loved this suit and had totally forgotten it. Now! ahem! can I get into it???lol.-- John

John,

I'm glad you like it. I'm starting small. Gaining lots of info, even daily. Finding new 'little things' on what to look for. I figure if I can get about 90% there in a suit that fits me but isn't necessarily vintage, that is a good place to start. My only other suit is a year 2002-ish Evan Picone that is black and although it is supposedly my size, it is cut rather large. With a very small budget to work from and needing more professional clothes, I figure that I'll jump on what I can and the vintage will eventually come. I'm waiting for the day when I'll find a nice 1930s-1940s suit on the rack, but until then I still get a thrill from just looking through everything and learning more about the suits.

 

[pipefan413]

First & only suit:

Pretty sure the sleeves and legs are overlong; would really prefer there to be cuffs on the latter to give 'em some weight, since they're pretty light (you can see here they're pretty creased after being on for a few hours). It ain't much, but y'know... I'm a student ;_;

 

[Red Leader]

Nice threads everyone!

Here are my latest finds:

I know it needs some tailoring - the coat sleeves are a little long, the pants are a touch big around the waist, and the legs go on forever!! However, better to have too much than too little, right?

Even though the fit was slightly off, I had to get it. The fabric feels fantastic! It has a 'R' restricted Union tag in it with red number lettering, so I'm thinking the suit dates to the early 60s perhaps? Once I get it tailored, this might just be my favorite suit! Couldn't beat the $8.99 price either

The second suit I got I just took a chance on. It was $2. Maybe you guys can help with some identifying and dating?

Here is how it looks on me:

The coat seems fine, the pants are...weird. They get really skinny and they are short! Not sure what to do with them. What do you guys think?

Ah, almost forgot...picked up some shoes and my first vintage tie

 

[GoldenEraFan]

A great suit from the Early 1950's! You should move your post over to the "Display Your 50's Suits" Thread.

The cut and style seems a little too short and fitted to be early '50s. The R in the circle on the company label also makes me think it's early '60s at the latest. The big lapels seem a little too big for the era, but it may have been designed to sport the older pre-WWII look.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

no coubt 'bout it

^^early 50s. no doubt about it.

quoth: The trousers are secured by a simple snap button closure, and a zipper.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

^^early 50s. no doubt about it.

quoth: The trousers are secured by a simple snap button closure, and a zipper.

I agree that this suit is early '50s, or 1949 at the earliest. Its style is a milder, more conservative version of the 'Bold Look': something that Harry Truman or Dwight D. Eisenhower might have worn in office.


I disagree that "a simple snap button closure, and a zipper" indicate that the suit is from the early '50s. The combination of a snap button closure and a zipper was applied to American mass-manufactured trousers as far back as the later 1930s. (I've seen 'em in Esquire and Apparel Arts issues from that period.)

 

[GoldenEraFan]

Yeah, now that I look at it, it has a very conservative "political" look to it. Speaking of which, why was the double breasted abandoned by politicians in the recent decades? It seems the black/navy two button single breasted has become the only suit style in the presidential wardrobe since the '80s.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

It seems the black/navy two button single breasted has become the only suit style in the presidential wardrobe since the '80s.

With one exception: Bill Clinton wore double-breasted suits during the 1992 presidential campaign, and sometimes in his first term.

Dwight D. Eisenhower sometimes wore double-breasted suits during his first presidential term as well ... but by his second term, he pretty much stuck to three-piece, single-breasted suits.


From JFK to Bush Sr., no president wore double-breasted suits while in office.

 

[Patrick Hall]

Thanks for your thoughts gents - Glad to know I wasn't far off on my date estimation. I think the "restraint" in terms of style and cut is one of the things that makes that suit interesting to me. Often when I wear my other vintage pieces, people snap to the fact that they are vintage. That suit seems to have a kind of timelessness about it. Is there a name for the pattern in the fabric? with the faint and thin blue stripes?

 

[Greycheck]

Ah, yes, Blax in Sicilian Avenue - lots of great stuff. Shame the shop went, but those are good-looking suits.

 

[Thibideaux]

Seems like as good a place as any for a first post.

Picked up this gem in a thrift store. Judging from some of the lurking I've done around this site, it's probably not going to be very popular with folks around here. Oh well, I certainly enjoy it. And you know, it's kind of hard to argue with a 10 dollar suit.

Judging from the wide lapels and pure isolated funk (not an olfactory comment) that eminates from the lining, I'd say this bad boy was a 70's suit. Then again, I know precisely nothing about dating suits.

Another 10 dollar wonder:

This one was 20 dollars. The vest messed up my price point a bit. Ah well...

 

[Two Types]

Ah, yes, Blax in Sicilian Avenue - lots of great stuff. Shame the shop went, but those are good-looking suits.

I'm guessing you are referring to my posts about my 'Blax' suits (from a few pages back). It would be better to click 'reply with quote' so everyone knows which suits you are referring to.

But yes, it was a great shop. I only ever had the three suits made and a selection of trousers. I never got any of the vintage stuff she used to sell. If only her shop still existed ....

By the way, welcome to the lounge.

 

[Dinerman]

Interesting thrift shop pickup. Custom tailored in Hong Kong. Stitch-line lapel "buttonhole", selvedge- trimmed pockets, button fly, single flapped back pocket, link-closure two button. All the buttons, even on the inside pockets are nicely shanked.

 

[Patrick Hall]

From Etsy awhile back. Replaced black plastic buttons with cordovan colored corozo buttons. The suit is constructed out of heavy, dark navy, herringbone patterned wool - which accounts for the exceedingly harsh light in these pics. Sorry about that, I had to find the BRIGHTEST room in the house for the suit to show up at all. Trousers are very wide at the cuff, seemingly no taper at all. Button-fly, suspender buttons inside the waist-band. Strangely, I could find no union tag. My very amateur guess is that the suit dates from the 30s?

 

[thunderw21]

Wow, very high button stance. I'd say late '20s/early '30s.

 

[djd]

I finally got around to paying for my suit from Ravistailor last month (measured for it last summer!). I'm very pleased with the result although this picture hardly does it justice. Pants are high waisted and fish-tailed with 2" turn-ups. Jacket has a half belt at the back, working sleeve buttons and is made of a wool/silk italian tweed fabic. I really wanted something with a real 30's vibe and I think they're nailed it.