Vintage Suitings: Discussions of, and sourcing modern equivalents, etc.

[Fletch]

By the pictures and info given they look like modern jackets with 30's inspired back and pocket styling.
I rather like the backs - but the lapels, sleeves, front construction and shoulders are to my eye not much different from contemporary fashion.

But after all it's vintage inspired - not replica.

Quite right. With jackets, even things like lapel width and shoulder shape have to conform to current fashion, or they can't be made at a popular price. Any vintage features have to be strictly add-on.

All you need for a pleated back is more material. But think about a new lapel shape. It would require a new roll and new canvasing, which your contractor might refuse to do without a large upcharge, as it is no longer traditional and takes time and resources away from his main business. The same with a bunched or roped shoulder head. He might do a wider shoulder or vary the padding, but it has to stay square.

The costs of certain features, even small ones, mount up quickly if they stray too far from the everyday.

 

[Qirrel]

are you sure that's not a lighter weight range ?

i have some samples from this place:

http://www.harristweedshop.com/tweed-harris-herringbone.html



...and they're as heavy as vintage Harris.



p.s. most of my vintage Brit fabrics are a tad wider than 140cm, but not much. about 58"-60" or 150cm

I have a couple of samples too, that measure 11oz./yard single width (28" or so), although not Harris, which feel similar in weight and finish to the tweed used in the couple of 30s-50s I currently have.

 

[Guttersnipe]

No sources, but I have access to analytical scales so I'm taking tiny snips out of my suit hems and weighing them up to get an idea of the actual weights of the fabrics. First up is a British Harris Tweed jacket, dated 1946. Weighs 503.7 g/m^2, or 14.8 Oz/m^2. If calculated on the basis of the running metre at vintage (apparently) 140cm width, it weighs 704.2 g/m or 20.7 Oz/m.

If this was Facebook, I would most emphatically press the "like" button on this! Using scientific instruments to determine cloth weights is AWESOME!

 

[cordwangler]

Yes, none of the new Harris I've handled is as dense as old Harris. I guess it's still possible to make dense tweed. But it'd be a lot more expensive. Has anyone seen dense new Harris out there?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

This is 480 g/m^2 (14.16 Oz/yd^2). American late '30s-mid '40s.

 

[herringbonekid]

i'm trying to find some traditional tan /khaki twill / drill that looks as close as possible to the fabric used for shop coats of the 1940s.
Old Town's fabrics (below, top) are very close. if anyone has seen this type of fabric for sale please let me know.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

The drill I use isn't canvassy enough. It's more the drill you would find on 30s-50s cotton military trousers etc. Good luck with the search, and let me know if you find any!

 

[Two Types]

Back in the early 1990s I wanted some very heavy cotton drill for some trousers. The heaviest my tailor found was from a sail-cloth manufacturer.

I don't know whether they still make heavy cotton drill for sails, but it might be a lead worth following.

Indeed the heavist drill i have seen for many years was on a modern French sailing shirt - so there seems to be a nautical theme here.

 

[Barmey]

A freind just showed me this.

"As part of Harrisons 150th year i am very happy to introduce Harrisons Anniversary Tweed.This cloth is a replicate of a Harrisons Tweed launched in 1922.Every care has been taken to reproduce this wonderful cloth even down to sourcing 100% British yarn."

Weigh about 16oz.

 

[herringbonekid]

not the most er subtle windowpanes in the world.

 

[Barmey]

I agree. Thought it interesting that they were making such cloth in 1922.

 

[herringbonekid]

I agree. Thought it interesting that they were making such cloth in 1922.

seems to defeat the point of reproducing a vintage cloth if it doesn't look vintage. :eusa_doh:
perhaps they went through the book and picked the ones with the most modern appeal ?

 

[Barmey]

I'm pretty sure that's the case. At H Huntsman they have a cloth ledger from the mid 20s. Loads of old Harrisons stuff. Really amazing variety in the stuff they used to make. Alot of the colour and patterns, not to mention the weights completely unimaginable in a modern cloth bunches. Whether half of them would appeal to most modern eyes, I'm not sure. It doesn't look like any of the mills are going to give them much of a chance.

 

[Guttersnipe]

not the most er subtle windowpanes in the world.

I agree. Thought it interesting that they were making such cloth in 1922.

I don't know that there's too much about mens fashion circa 1922 that I'd call particularly subtle. Insane patterns were all the rage for country cloths throughout the 20s and 30s, yeah?

However, more than choosing fabrics from the old books they thought would most appeal to modern tastes/aesthetics, it looks to me like they opted for the ones most reminiscent of what you see on Boardwalk Empire. After all, there's an emerging 1920s-esque fashion trend right now . . .

 

[herringbonekid]

Guttersnipe, have a look in this thread of 1923 fabrics:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?35612-1923-fabric-swatches&highlight=1923

... if you don't see subtle in there then i'm afraid we have different definitions of the word.

whether they deliberately chose those fabrics because they looked like the ones on Boardwalk Empire or because they were likely to appeal to modern taste is actually the same thing; Boardwalk Empire is designed by modern costumer designers, for a modern audience, ergo it reflects 'modern taste'.

besides, how could the BE designers have actually used the more complex / subtle fabrics without having to pay a fortune to recreate them ? far easier to reach for the nearest bold windowpane and change the story to 'all 20s fabric looked like this'.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Yes, we tend to look back and imagine that everyone was wearing those extreme fabrics which is obviously not the case and indeed very far from the reality. Men were as conservative in dress as they always are.

It's like everyone looks at the 50s and imagines that all men were getting around in drab shapeless "man in grey flannel suit" suits. Again, obviously not true, but certainly the meme that has taken hold of the imagination.

 

[Chrome]

I guess this is the place for cloth supplier:
http://www.wmboothdraper.com/

They got nice fabrics and in good? weights..

 

[Benny Holiday]

Ask your tailor

About the Dormeuil Royal 12 cloth collection. These are, as the name suggests, pure wool fabric at the 12oz mark with some very vintage flavourings. Here are some examples, the collection also features overchecks, birdseye and Prince of Wales checks and more stripes than I've shown; I've just thrown together a couple of stripes because most of my vintage 30s or 40s suits are constructed of the most outstanding pin- and chalk-stripe fabrics:

Navy blue:

Also navy blue:

Grey fancy stripe:

medium grey:

 

[Benny Holiday]

Beige (I've got a vintage Australian suit made from a cloth very similar to this):

Brown:

Brown fancy stripe:

Black:

 

[Qirrel]

Those fancy stripe designs are cool. Especially like the brown one.