Double Breasted Style.

[whnay.]

Prince Charles...

 

[Cordovan]

I prefer the way Prince Michael wears them.

Cordovan

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Originally Posted by whnay.

Prince Charles...

Is that the Cali bear on his tie?

 

[Manton]

Originally Posted by Film Noir Buff

Is that the Cali bear on his tie?

It's "Cal". And, yes, that does look like a California Golden Bear.

 

[Joseph K. Bank]

Originally Posted by poelow

This attached Brooks Brother's Regent fit is one I really like:

Since I don't feel that double breasted suits are appropriate for business environments it's probably better that I don't comment but I cannot help to note that the shortness of this man's sleeves brings attention to his hands which seem to be out of proportion which the rest of his body.

 

[Cordovan]

Originally Posted by Joseph K. Bank

Since I don't feel that double breasted suits are appropriate for business environments it's probably better that I don't comment but I cannot help to note that the shortness of this man's sleeves brings attention to his hands which seem to be out of proportion which the rest of his body.

I agree with your remark about the sleeves on the jacket the model is wearing, but don't see how that has anything to do with your position regarding DB as acceptable business wear.

Cordovan

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Originally Posted by rnoldh

I wonder if a sartorial historian like Sator, FNB, or perhaps Will or Manton would provide an explanation why DB suits were so popular back then. Was it just the vagaries of fashion? Or were there other factors too?
I don't know that there was a single reason. Seems the younger English guys wore them because the walrus moustached set that sent them out to die in Flanders did not. Mustve been fun to wear those vulgar double breasted's while the monocled set were scandalized by terms like right-o and 22-skadoo. Then they were imported by the Duke of Windsor, who was his set's poster boy, over here. Maybe the depression solidified the style because it was more cloth to cover up the feeling of vulnerability. The style has more buttons and covering which has a connection to control. The people who could afford to get dressed up could afford to spend the time to get dressed up; and then button and unbutton their suits all day. You might have had to pay slightly more for the DB suit's extra cloth (The 3 piece was also popular at this time so maybe it was the same idea). At a time when the high life was vaunted and elegance/formality were in vogue, movie stars emulated aristos and the movie goers emulated the Stars. And while more formal to American eyes, the DB has the odd duality of being youthful and a bit supercilious. I have the image not only of the uptight wearing it but also the hero with a spring in his step and the girl on his arm, the gun toting gangster and the precocious bookworm. In some ways the movies of the 1930s are what united us and defined the American attitude and character for the modern age. It is interesting that this suit, the DB, could be in some ways the most American of suits and yet the most alien of outfits for the common man.

 

[Joseph K. Bank]

Originally Posted by Cordovan

I agree with your remark about the sleeves on the jacket the model is wearing, but don't see how that has anything to do with your position regarding DB as acceptable business wear.

Cordovan

I was just trying to express that perhaps it is not appropriate for me to respond in this thread in the first place because of my overall negative opinion on double breasted suits.

 

[OxxfordSJLINY]

Originally Posted by Joseph K. Bank

I was just trying to express that perhaps it is not appropriate for me to respond in this thread in the first place because of my overall negative opinion on double breasted suits.

A bit OT, but what is your opinion of vested suits, Joseph?

Vested suits have always been my trademark.

However, I am starting to like DB suits a great deal. However, I will only wear a low cut or lower cut 4 X 1 button double breasted jacket as I think it is the best looking DB jacket by far.

I am probably too short (5' 9.5" and evenly proportioned, 200-210 pounds) for the 6 X 2 button (which is usually medium cut) that most people on SF and AAAC choose as their favorite DB jacket style.

My favorite vest style, FWIW, is a medium cut 6 X 5 button classic style SB with a notch lapel, which I would only wear with a low cut one-button or low cut two-button SB jacket, preferably with a peak lapel, though a notch lapel would certainly be a excellent choice, IMO.

 

[OxxfordSJLINY]

DB are the sh*t...there should be a DB Appreciation thread...

That is an excellent idea, micbain. While we are at it, there should also be a vested suit Appreciation thread.

 

[Joseph K. Bank]

Originally Posted by OxxfordSJLINY

A bit OT, but what is your opinion of vested suits, Joseph? Vested suits have always been my trademark.
I hope that I don't offend you but suit vests remind me of sleeveless shirts which could be psychologically offensive on a subconscious level to certain people in a business environment. I don't understand why it is called a double breasted which has a feminine connotation. I feel that double chested would be a more appropriate classification for the style of jacket discussed here.

 

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Joseph K. Bank

I hope that I don't offend you but suit vests remind me of sleeveless shirts which could be psychologically offensive on a subconscious level to certain people in a business environment.

I don't understand why it is called a double breasted which has a feminine connotation. I feel that double chested would be a more appropriate classification for the style of jacket discussed here.

This is much more entertaining than the boiled peanut thread.

 

[Toiletduck]

One cannot forget this guy...

 

[Brad]

^Wow. What great fit. Who is that?

 

[OxxfordSJLINY]

Originally Posted by Joseph K. Bank

I hope that I don't offend you but suit vests remind me of sleeveless shirts which could be psychologically offensive on a subconscious level to certain people in a business environment.

I don't understand why it is called a double breasted which has a feminine connotation. I feel that double chested would be a more appropriate classification for the style of jacket discussed here.

No, I am not offended. If you or anybody else dislikes vested suits for whatever reasons, that is fine. I have absolutely no problem with that, what so ever.

But from 1987 and prior, men wore vested suits in business environments all of the time. From 1988 onward, much less so and less and less as the years went by. However, vested suits, to this very day, are still worn in business environments. I don't think that vested suit will ever disappear completely from business environments.

FWIW, I get compliment after compliment after compliment when I wear vested suits. So do a lot of men, for that matter.

But again, you did not offend me in any sense of the word with your opinion of vested suits, Mr. Bank. I promise you that you can rest assured on that more than most things you have rested assured on and will rest assured on.

Unfortunately, I cannot speak for anybody else regarding your opinion about vested suits, however. But you are 100% safe with me with your opinion on vested suits. I can give you that much. IMO, that is far more than fair.