Gshen,

I agree with Kotmj-Nice suit. The cut & drape looks similar to A & S . Would be interested in viewing the pictures of the finished product especially close up shots of the lapels, the cuff button holes etc to better assess the quality of the finish.

A real classic

Be ready for what's about to come here. Just came back from first fitting of my fully-canvassed DB. Pics!

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Added on August 17, 2010, 10:26 pmRU READY?!!

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Added on August 17, 2010, 10:34 pmWe decided on far-reaching changes to the jacket and trousers. The pics to follow depict a suit in a very early stage.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Aug 17 2010, 10:34 PM

Fai tits

i feel so tired. mebbe tmr la.

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Added on August 17, 2010, 10:54 pm



This post has been edited by kotmj: Aug 17 2010, 10:54 PM

So?

Seems like lots of shaping need to be done.

What are those 'buttons' made of!?

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Added on August 17, 2010, 11:03 pmWhat do you feel about the shoulders? I think they can be reduced.

Jacket must be shortened.

This post has been edited by bloke1: Aug 17 2010, 11:09 PM

The cloth drapes very well.. something heavy? 12+ oz?

IMO - too big overall, jacket less so, trousers very much so. Needs to be shortened alot, but I'm sure you know that.

More shirt needs to be shown, and buttoning point can be lowered a bit.

Lapel needs more 'belly', which tailors in Singapore call 'Guan Dao' in mandarin, as in Guan Yu's blade.. love that description.

Gorge is way, way high.

I don't know if you can take a slightly narrower shoulder.. looks a bit too extended to my eye. Seems like you have a serious right shoulder drop - same as I do. Needs some extra padding on that side if so.

Sleeves are excellent though, the pitch is pretty much spot on. Fullness is nice, but maybe you might consider a slightttt taper under the elbows?

I love you guys. So fast.

Calvin: What do you mean by "reducing shoulders"? Do you mean softer or do you mean narrower?

Gshen: Yeah, it's 12 oz. This will be my cold weather suit.


The trousers should be ignored at this point. They were cut for braces, and in the pic they are resting on my hips without braces. We later put safety pins into the trousers to simulate buttons and held it up with braces. Even then it needs to be shortened at the hem by 3/4" and the back balance shortened 1/2" to keep the "line" from breaking at the back.

The buttoning point will be lowered by 1". The top row of buttons will remain though, as will the bottommost row. Just the middle row will move down 1".

AL likes the shirt to just peep out. I will have them moved higher on Saturday.

One side of the jacket will be completely recut to take into account my shoulder drop. It will not be compensated for by more padding in the shoulder.

The feel of the jacket is very different from AL's usual make. There is no stiff haircloth for the chest. The FC sifu was against it, and he says jackets ought to be soft. So there is simply another layer of hymo in the chest. The shoulder pads are also from the sifu, not AL. They feel different on my shoulder (I'm too used to AL stuff).

This post has been edited by kotmj: Aug 17 2010, 11:23 PM

Darn,I missed kotmj fitting session,had to tell my driver to turn back as it was heavy rain with max traffic congestion from cyberjaya

Yup....the gorge is muchhh too high...BUT pls correct me if I'm wrong..as I believe most of english DB cut has one thing in common...high gorge

This post has been edited by silencer: Aug 17 2010, 11:24 PM

The waist will also be suppressed more.

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Added on August 17, 2010, 11:27 pmAlso, a half-inch dart will be taken out at the gorge/lapel.

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Added on August 17, 2010, 11:32 pmI've never felt a jacket this limp. It's like a cardigan with shoulder pads.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Aug 17 2010, 11:32 PM

Thank you. The similarity to A&S took me back and I will need some time to come to terms with that - I am NOT in the drape camp!

Most certainly. Pics will be posted when I get the final product.

I am not so convinced by the positioning of the bottom 2 buttons. Something tells me the original position (chalk marks?) were better.

My last 2 jackets were cut to fit my shoulder rather than padded, but I'm trying something new this time. Will see how different it feels.

The softness is nice eh? Same thing i thought to myself when i put on a jacket made by Peter Lee. It was made for someone else, but somehow fits me fairly well. I am so enamored by the softness that for my next project i'm purchasing my own canvas from RJW to be used.

High gorge is right, but one has to be careful to cross the line. Sciamat crosses the line with the details that make an Eyetalian suit, for example.

Uncheck my next plan for DB suit at ALT

Softer and narrower.

That's minimal padding?

A & is the least structured & has the softest feel in the Row . Contrast that with Dege & Skinner or Gieves which has very structured jackets ( due in part to their military heritage )A & S tends to be more padded as compared to the Italians but paddings tend to be much softer as compared to Gieves & Dege.

I hope you opted for a clean back instead of the "gatherings" at the part where the sleeve connects to the jacket body. The gathering seems to be a feature that A & S incorporates in order to provide greater comfort & arm mobility. I personally do not like it for aesthetic reasons.

Having said that, A & S is one of the few tailors that match patterns on all their suit jackets ( even on the jettings )

Speaking of soft tailoring , I came across a very soft fully canvassed jacket made by one Sze Sze Tailor in Singapore. The owner of the jacket claims that the tailor makes for TCS/Mediacorp celebs.

Any thoughts on this tailor would be appreciated

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Added on August 18, 2010, 10:57 amAgreed-

1. Narrower shoulders
2. more suppressed waist
3. Lower button stance



This post has been edited by beau: Aug 18 2010, 10:57 AM

I'm OK with the softness, but not with the drape associated with A&S' style.

I have seen Graham Browne's interpretation of 'soft' & that is no where near what I am getting..

You can be the judge of that:



If you pop by to Singapore, I will show you in person what my jacket looks and feels like. You might be surprised at the softness!

I have no idea about Sze Sze, but I think I recall an article about them saying that their suits start at S$300. I find it hard dealing with tailors that work with polyester fabrics.

Ditto

I got so excited last night I couldn't sleep. So I just woke up. At 11:30 a.m. Taking a half-day leave.

I am actually very happy with the drape at the back of the armscye. Notice that there is more drape at the right side than left. The left is how it should be, and I do not find that sort of drape offensive. The right side, as previously mentioned, will be recut. The upper sleeves have no drape, which explains their sculptural cleanness. All of it has been packed into the back of armscye. It makes for a jacket which allows for exceptional arm mobility, even with a thick sweater underneath. John Hitchcock wants the effect, but implements it differently, with the drape going to the upper sleeves, which makes things ugly.

The shoulder pads are pre-made ones and are thick (but soft). I think I will get him to make thinner pads.

My instructions were to extend the shoulders 1/4" each side. I think I am right in my suspicion that extended shoulders ONLY WORK if the shoulder seam droops somewhat.

As to the lapel belly: I admire it on gshen's jacket, but there is a school of thought that says there should be no perceptible belly (cf. Whife). I have till Saturday to decide if I want a belly or not.

'("The finished edge will be almost straight.")

I will call him to have it shortened at the front. 1/2".

My jacket will not be like gshen's because mine needs to fit over a sweater and still be comfortable to wear.

Yesterday's fitting session took 1.25 hours and was very intense. I was drained at the end. Indeed, there are more variables in a DB.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Aug 18 2010, 11:49 AM

Do you mean extende the shoulders further than in the picture? That sounds crazy.

The drape at back near the upper arms are fine (& i have that too), but the mid back needs a bit of cleaning IMO.

Indeed, mine is a 8/9 oz tropical worsted intended to battle the heat in Singapore and should certainly be less roomy than a winter suit.

1.25 hours, wow. Then again, I walked around the shop in my trousers held together with basted thread for an hour or so admiring the extra comfort that the single forward pleat provided.. such madness.

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Added on August 18, 2010, 11:54 amI subscribe to Alden's school of thought - follow the eye and do what looks right.

http://thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7665

This post has been edited by gshen: Aug 18 2010, 11:54 AM

My previous jackets have spot on shoulder widths. For this DB I asked for them to be extended 1/4" both sides. The pictures already depict this additional width. No more width will be added.

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Added on August 18, 2010, 12:03 pmI dunno, but the mid back (along the back seam) has no drape? I can see none. The cloth seems flat.



The right side has more drape but that's because of my right dropped shoulder. There is a 8.5 degree difference in shoulder slopes (there is a device for measuring this AL used yesterday).

This post has been edited by kotmj: Aug 18 2010, 12:03 PM

I dont know, it just looks a bit too big overall. I think comfort can be achieved even with quite serious shaping, as Jeffreyd aptly demonstrates.

Everyone is probably over critical though. Based on what ALT has done for you in the past, I trust he will do a decent job on this. Looking forward to pics of your next fitting.