Cable Car Clothiers / Southwick Suits

[Phil]

After being very disapointed with what J. Press calls a natural shoulder, I discovered Cable Car Clothiers. My only experience with them is on the website, which has some great photos. They are selling Southwick suits. Does anyone know if Southwick suits are less padded than J. Press at the shoulders? Not applicable of course if J. Press suits are in fact made by Southwick, which I suppose is a possibility.

 

[Phil]

Well, I took the plunge and ordered one of their Poplin cotton suits. Poly/cotton, washable. Gray. I will report on it when it comes in the mail next week.

 

[Tyto]

Only the Pressidential (Press' top-of-the-line) is made by Southwick, and is probably cut differently from Southwick's usual stuff.

I've not held a Press jacket, so I couldn't compare, but I know that Southwick has a very lightly padded shoulder.

Also, Cable Car is very expensive for Southwick--almost twice as expensive as some others (e.g., Dann-online).

 

[Phil]

Yes, comparing prices with other Southwick goods, I can see the upcharge at Cable Car.

 

[Horace]

After being very disapointed with what J. Press calls a natural shoulder, I discovered Cable Car Clothiers.  My only experience with them is on the website, which has some great photos.  They are selling Southwick suits.  Does anyone know if Southwick suits are less padded than J. Press at the shoulders?  Not applicable of course if J. Press suits are in fact made by Southwick, which I suppose is a possibility.

What particular coat from Press caused you disappointment? There was some talk on AAAC about the shoulders on teh Canadian-make Press jackets which they are sorting out. Don't give up on Press necessarily, but I like Southwick a lot too.

 

[Phil]

I tried on a variety of Press suits. The shoulders were all WAY too padded for my taste. Keep in mind most of my suits are RL and Isaia, which basically have no padding. Im sure in the big scheme of things the padding at Press wasnt excessive, but in comparison to what a "natural" shoulder suit is to me, it wasnt satisfactory in the least.

I should be getting that Cable Car suit early next week, and the guy at the store swore to me there is virtually no padding in it. We shall see. I love that the fabric is washable. To me, a summer suit like that should be worn in, a bit ruffled and wrinkly. Im curious about the lining since its washable. Im assuming that means there is basically no lining, which I would be very happy about.

 

[ROI]

Assessing the difference between a natural shoulder and an unnatural one iinvolves more than measuring the amount of padding. The clothing industry shorthand for the heart of the difference is "expression." Think of expression as the three dimensional, sculptural shape of the skin of the shoulder. It is possible both to construct a squared shoulder with little padding and to fashion a rounded shoulder with padding, though you wouldn't want both on the same coat. You can recognize a coat with natural expression without squeezing the shoulder.