Any thoughts of having roped shoulders as well? They're not the most common thing but it might look good on a double breasted suit by giving it a slight military look. I have a black, single buttoned, peak lapel suit with slightly roped shoulders. It looks nice but I'm not too sure if I can actually pull it of. Bought it on impulse. Will post pics at some point.

Picked this up at an expat garage sale in Mont Kiara over the weekend. I've had friends who have successfully tailored something similar in Italy after having the tailors on the Row reject the commission .

I have not commissioned this largely due to the lack of fabrics. Binwanis ( who is having a sale BTW ) stocked Italian linen which doesn't have the same drape as Irish. I would look at making this in Beige or Khaki

Not sure if AL will utter Cantonese profanities that references one's mother if he was asked to make this.

The other hesitation is the quality of his buttonholes.

I am hosting a friend from Italy in the next few weeks & will ask him to lend me his trousers as a sample. He has his trousers made by Antonio Ambrosi in Naples , one of the more renown "pantalonaio" who used to make for the likes of Rubinacci .

The trousers look very slick & trim but has sufficient room for him to squat . Perhaps that could be the solution to ALT's trouser issue.

My thoughts on 150's fabric is the same as yours . This fabric is more suited for occasional wear like the infamous Zegna 15 mil mil. Better find a trustworthy dry cleaner as well otherwise there will be another piece for the thrift shop.

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Added on July 26, 2010, 8:22 amIt's challenging getting the local tailors here to offer natural shoulders with less padding , let alone rope shoulders.

It also depends on the individual's build too .

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Added on July 26, 2010, 8:33 amNice-very Huntsman

I am loaning the unstructured jacket to my Singapore based friend to be used as a template . The tailor he uses stock Shannon Linens , a lovely tightly woven linen with nice drape which will probably work well with this.

What brand is the linen fabric on your jacket? Where did you getting from?

This post has been edited by beau: Jul 26 2010, 08:33 AM

AL utters profanities that reference one's mother's reproductive parts. But he didn't do so when I was discussing unstructured jackets with him. Instead, he said such jackets weren't nice, and that the only reason they exist is because the Europeans like to wash everything in the washing machine. I've since come to take his objections with a large pinch of salt.

That jacket seems to suffer from severe sagging. Even the buttonhole is gaping open. The UJ I have seen uses strips of fusing in strategic parts to prevent just that.

You should try getting him to send the jacket to a different finisher. I will ask him to use the FC sifu's finisher for my navy DB.

The linen you see above is an 11oz number. Italian. I bought it at Harrison's Jln TAR.

Beau, how about posting a pic of you in your favourite jacket?

I downloaded a book titled "Sex and Suits". You can safely ignore the title: It was chosen by the publisher to help it sell. Here are some extracts:

"Innovations in armor mark the first real modernity in Western fashion, showing ways to redesign all the separate parts of the male body and put them back together into a newly created shape, one that replaced the naked human frame with another one that made a close three-dimensional, line-for-line commentary on it in another medium. Male clothing lost the unfitted character it had had since antiquity and began to suggest interesting lines for the torso, and to consider the whole shape of legs and arms in its tailoring scheme. Plate armor moreover required an undergarment made by a linen-armorer, a close-fitting padded suit that outlined the whole man and protected him from his metal casing, of which it followed the shape. Male fashion quickly aped the shapes created by the linen-armorers, who can really count as the first tailors of Europe."

Before the suit, men's dress was very ornate.

"But how did the look of modern man in his modern tailoring emerge from all this wrinkled fabric laden with rows of buttons, and covering pear-shaped male bodies down to the knee? To reform, to “modernize” the whole shape of the ideal man (not just to change the fabrics and accessories that clothed him) required an imaginative force more immediate than the uncertain work of technological and social change. Clothes had certainly begun to look different in keeping with the earlier change in belief about the sexes; but it was under the influence of a new radical shift in visual style that the collective eye for the figure was abruptly retrained. Ever since, in contrast to the early versions we have so far described, all modern suits have been cut to suggest a male body that tapers from broad shoulders and muscular chest, has a flat stomach and small waist, lean flanks and long legs. Modern development of the elegant coat, waistcoat, shirt and pants since 1800 required not only new materials, but a new anatomical foundation. The one offering itself at the time, then present on the esthetic scene with fresh power, was the heroic male nude of Classical antiquity."

She kept pushing her thesis of the suit as an echo of classical Greek marble sculptures of the nude male.

"But by the turn of the century, elegance had shifted entirely away from wrought surfaces to fundamental form, and away from courtly refinement to natural simplicity. And so tailors elevated the unfitted rough country coat into a triumph of art, whereby crude natural man became noble natural man, with references to ancient sculpture built into the structure of his clothes. With the help of nearly imperceptible padding, curved seams, discreet darts and steam pressing, the rough coat of dull cloth was gradually refined into an exquisitely balanced garment that fitted smoothly without wrinkles and buttoned without strain, to clothe what appeared to be the torso of a Greek athlete."

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Added on July 26, 2010, 6:11 pmBTW, I think AL's CMT price for a fully canvassed 2-piece is RM1.2k for most customers (unless you reek of big-timerism). This is not far away from Iris Tailor's charges for CMT.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Jul 26 2010, 06:12 PM

opps his price for me is about RM100 more.....i wonder how many suit and dress that i should commission before AL start offering discounted price for me...

Where are your negotiating skills? Use it!

Become clueless when I face an old person like AL.....whereas others at his age r spending their time....vacationing with 18+ mistress

This post has been edited by silencer: Jul 26 2010, 10:19 PM

And who is that in your avatar? That must be you in ALT shirt.

This post has been edited by bloke1: Jul 26 2010, 10:19 PM

thats the picture of ULTRAMAN wearing ALT shirt....looks at his necklace...blip ...blip...blip....

This post has been edited by silencer: Jul 26 2010, 10:25 PM

Am I hot?

I'm rather disappointed. Even L'ababy looks better.

I wonder if I should buy some Bemberg or just use AL's Mitsubishi Rayon for the DB.

AL had been complaining abt that bemberg lining..he said that it feels like polyester....but i still prefer the bemberg than my previous ermazine lining...

AL complains about everything. I think I'll just use his lining. Save some money, etc.

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Added on July 27, 2010, 12:08 amPerfect trousers on Luca



This post has been edited by kotmj: Jul 27 2010, 12:08 AM

You're just pushing blue cos u have one in light blue.

Waist coats can be tricky to tailor well. They need to be measured & fitted after the jacket & trousers close to completion to obtain the perfect proportions

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Added on July 27, 2010, 10:55 amThat's one about the Europeans I haven't heard!!

The jacket's several years old & the previous owner abused it by filling his outer pockets with stuff. I tend to keep mind empty & with the original threading in place to retain the shape.

Friends who have tailored unstructured jackets have told me that it's quite a challenge to do well.

In this particular instance the pockets were made heavier in order to give it the drape.

With minimal padding much thought needs to be given the cut & construction.

It may be interesting to put the video of the interaction between you & AL when you ask for & get fitted for an unstructured jacket. There may be more colorful Cantonese profanities uttered with the 2 galley slaves rattling their chains in mutiny!!

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Added on July 27, 2010, 10:57 amNot going to let the colorful Cantonese profanities get the better of you ?

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Added on July 27, 2010, 11:21 amSorry-here's my favorite jacket-will pose for it when time permits. Getting the tailor to construct it in Naples is another long saga in itself.





The fabric is black raw silk

I would go with the Bemberg lining -reliable & hardy.

BTW, I've seen some fabric with different patterns & colors on the inner side ( See Kei Jacket by Canali ).It makes up for the lack of lining where an unstructured jacket is concerned and makes it interesting. Have you seen this type of fabric on sale any where?

I've seen some trouser fastening constructed in the following manner:-
1. Side Tabs with hooks
2. Side Tab with zip & hook
3. Side tab with small belting buckles
4. Front self belting

Any thoughts on the above variations?





This post has been edited by beau: Jul 27 2010, 11:21 AM

The craftsmanship on that jacket is magnificent, I don't think anyone else foes it that way, not in HK, on the Row, or anywhere. I am seriously interested in the fit now.

No, I haven't seen linen with the reverse side printed.

I like my trousers with a button fly and hooks on tabs. It's a bit of a PITA when rushing to the toilet after a long meeting in a cold room, but a button fly has charm a zip doesn't.

I'm feeling like having a blazer made for casual wears....navy, double breasted with gold buttons....any idea approximately how much would it cost? and where would be the best place to have one tailored?

In Malacca? I'm still looking for the best tailor around here.

In KL, most would agree Bespoked and AL has the better workmanship. Bespoked is more expensive.

I told you guys EVERYONE will want a navy DB next.

That's not good news. Soon all the Bengs will start rocking it up with Havaianas and pants bought from Romp.

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Added on July 27, 2010, 10:30 pmOh, an excellent choice of avatar.

This post has been edited by bloke1: Jul 27 2010, 10:30 PM