Fancy-colored suit linings

[JohnMS]

Holy cow... I was thinking of stripes or something different.

 

[Suitednyc]

That is really beautiful. I would not have a suit made without some bright colors inside. People do notice the linings because I have been stopped on the street and told how nice they look. Keep up the good work PeterMetro.

 

[Nick M]

I'm highly in favor - it's just another fun little thing to set yourself apart from the crowd. And people do notice, sooner or later. So far, all the suits I've had made have had solid-colored contrast linings, but I'm sure I'll diversify eventually. For my next solid black suit, for example, I already have a lining waiting: A massive black, silver and white satin gingham check. People are going to notice that one, I'd imagine...

 

[LabelKing]

I was planning to have something made with the lining having an Aubrey Beardsley drawing embroidered.

 

[FCS]

That is really beautiful. I would not have a suit made without some bright colors inside. People do notice the linings because I have been stopped on the street and told how nice they look. Keep up the good work PeterMetro.

Uhm, how did they notice it? Took a peek inside your sleeves?

 

[Suitednyc]

[Uhm, how did they notice it? Took a peek inside your sleeves?]

Not exactly. I think they are called side vents or maybe even walking with your jacket open. Uhm.

 

[T4phage]

Trivia:  I just read about a man in New York City who has his suit jackets lined with Hermes scarves.  At about $300 a pop this must be a costly way of lining a jacket.  

Incidentally, at one point in time some suspenders would feature a naughty sort of printed pattern.  This tended to be a private sort of indulgence since jackets were never removed and rarely unbuttoned.

Most of my bespoke items have a "fancy" lining.  Most of the time I purchase the silk at Ratti's or Mantero in Como, and bring it to my tailor.  Paisley's, tone on tone flowers, and yes on some occassions, scarves.

Btw: I've heard that Mantero screens Hermes' scarves.

 

[General Koskov]

Not to get away from the subject of 'fancyness', but are there any suit linings which 'breathe'? I prefer lining, but during the summer it gets pretty damned hot, so I'm looking for a middle-ground.

 

[BlvdDandy]

how many Hermes scarves do you think it takes to line a coat? In general, how much material is required, were one to provide a tailor with their own lining material?

 

[RJman]

Lennie Logsdail confirmed that it takes two.  The society writer A.A. Gill is a devotee of such Hermes scarf linings.  I once picked up a 1960s Charvet scarf for a euro and thought of finding a counterpart for the next Darren suit I was ordering.  I ended up asking Darren to turn it into pocket squares which sometime, one of these days, should be forthcoming.  

Bright linings were one of the shibboleths of the bespoke tailoring mythos.  The idea that City pinstripes could be lined in hot pink was a catchy idea.  Like working buttonholes, it's a cheap and easy to duplicate bespoke feature which requires no extra skill.  Paul Smith used such things in the early 1980s in his suits.  Richard James and Timothy Everest were doing such things about ten years ago.  Boateng came onto the scene and made it his stock in trade to use guido-friendly flashy colors.  Of course he glommed onto the lining thing.

My first expensive suit was a Richard James navy suit with a turquoise pinstripe and a turquoise lining.  The fabric is nice but the quality was disappointing.  Essentially this suit had a bespoke pretension without anything near a bespoke fit or bespoke quality.  It's also far too loud to wear most places.  For some years now RJ, ahead of the curve as usual, has not featured such eyepopping features.  Boateng continues to flounder along, quite well, too, now that Givenchy picked him for a Stella McCartney-style PR stunt.

The thing about the bright flashy lining thing -- and I'm not far off the ages of any of the younger whippersnappers here -- is that it's kind of naff.  That said, a great  feature of bespoke is that you can pick a lining of your choice and have a signature color, whether it's flashy or subtle.  I've picked burgundy (in a nice, heavy, frighteningly expensive silk) in my bespoke suits and it's very cool.

A friend of mine told me the story of a Royal Army friend of his dad's who years ago had gone to Gieves to have his uniform tailored.  As a whim, he asked for a red lining, to personalize it.  They flat out refused.  A far cry from now when they'll bespoke-weather your jeans or make you a hamster-fur coat.

 

[Manton]

Lennie Logsdail confirmed that it takes two.

Only two?

I've picked burgundy (in a nice, heavy, frighteningly expensive silk) in my bespoke suits and it's very cool.

I have one suit with a fancy lining -- also burgundy -- and I'm wearing it today, as it happens. When I first received it, I fretted that I had made a terrible mistake. It's 3-piece, and I wear it without the coat in the office most of the day, so everyone can see the burgundy on the back of the vest. It is rather striking. My wife calls it my "dracula" suit. But I have gotten used to it, and now rather like it.

 

[Vintage Gent]

Did you know that when Alexander McQueen worked on Saville Row he sewed dirty words on the inside of Prince Charles's suits. I think the loud suit linings follow the same principle.

As I recall, it wasn't anything quite as sinister as that, only something to the effect of "McQueen was here" scribbled in tailor's chalk on the inside of the lining.

An interesting side note: In 2001, McQueen was recognized as "Designer of the Year" at the British Fashion Awards. Presenting him with the accolade was the putative victim of his sartorial mischief, Prince Charles.

 

[RJman]

Darren says that when A&S opened up Prince Charles' suits there was nothing written in there. Maybe the tailor's chalk wore off.

 

[gamelan]

ha. this thread is rather appropriate for me. after the window shopping i've been doing on eBay the last few months i've decided that i want a Dolce and Gabbana jacket with one of their non-standard jacket linings (probably something in plaid).

-Jeff

 

[globetrotter]

I have some very nice watermarked linings, one is in red but that is the fanciest - O bought the linings as well as the fabric for the suit and took it to my tailor. I would very much like to turn some bright sari silk into suit lining.