Fancy-colored suit linings

[Nonk]

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.

Military uniforms whether made by Gieves or otherwise have to comply with criteria set by the relevant Regimental/Corps dress committee, so I am not surprised they refused.

Incidentally, the British Army (which I presume you are referring to) is not a Royal Army. This is a misconception I have found common among foreigners.

 

[boston]

i had a navy blue jacket made with a deep maroon lining. a nice touch, but not too flashy looking.

i'm thinking of lining an upcoming charcoal suit with a purple lining. what do people think -- too much?

-boston

 

[Zubberah]

I'm a big fan. Especially the suit linings from Gianni Versace Couture suits made pre-Alias SpA by Zegna. Well before Paul Smith et al, Gianny was dishing out multi-coloured stripes, medusas, leopard spots, solids etc.

Also love Richard James linings , esp. how he matches the colour of the pinstripe with lining. I have a navy suit with hot pink pinstripes and shocking hot pink lining. I always get stopped in the street and congratulated when I wear this suit. Beautiful looking but I wish it wasn't armour-like fused.

 

[Charles Rogers]

I have a navy suit with hot pink pinstripes and shocking hot pink lining. I always get stopped in the street and congratulated when I wear this suit. Beautiful looking but I wish it wasn't armour-like fused.

Do you have a picture? I would love to see that.

 

[Concordia]

Chipp used to do a nice line of fancy linings. Foulard tie silks, and mirror-image Liberty scarves were the favorites. A pleasant shock under the very-serious exterior of their clothes.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

When I was ten, my mother had me learn to make all my own clothes. Needless to say, none of the other kids at school appreciated my efforts at unique tailoring back then.

I was fond of doing things like making jeans with clear pockets made of shower curtain and etc. Anyhow, my winter coat that year was a hand-me down grey silk jacket that I lined with 40 or so hideous thrift store ties. It was a very interesting effect, and every once in a while, I'll see it done somewhere else and remember the savage beatings that happened at school when I'd show up with clear pocketed jeans and a ratty grey jacket sewed up with neckties. Kids can be so cruel.

 

[Doctor Crane]

All this talk has inspired me, so here's my question: How hard, how expensive, and how competent must a tailor be to successful reline a suit jacket? Is it even advisable?

 

[Zubberah]

Quote:

(Baby Chickpea @ Feb. 05 2005,00:21) I have a navy suit with hot pink pinstripes and shocking hot pink lining. I always get stopped in the street and congratulated when I wear this suit. Beautiful looking but I wish it wasn't armour-like fused.
Do you have a picture? I would love to see that.
No, unforunately but I'm buying a digi camera over next few weeks so will try and remember to take a shot and post it/PM you.

 

[Trilby]

Does burgundy really qualify as a fancy-coloured lining? I think it's well within the bounds of a normal colour for a suit lining.

I use a light blue lining in many of my bespoke items -- it's a bit different, but is still relatively restrained. The very flashy linings (e.g., bright red) appear so frequently in less expensive RTW suits now that I wouldn't consider having one in a good suit. As others have pointed out, over the past few years, they have been adopted by some of the mass market manufacturers in the UK as a cheap way to make their suits look distinctive.

 

[Manton]

All this talk has inspired me, so here's my question: How hard, how expensive, and how competent must a tailor be to successful reline a suit jacket? Is it even advisable?

It's pretty easy. Much easier than a lot of other alterations that get discussed around here. Just be careful who you ask to do it. On better coats, the lining is largely attached by hand. Machine-attached lining doesn't quite "float" as effortlessly. And machine stitching has more and stiffer stitches, which can hamper the "fluidity" of the coat.

 

[Manton]

Does burgundy really qualify as a fancy-coloured lining?

I think so.  The Savile Row tradition -- which became the industry standard -- is that the lining should reflect, as closely as possible, the "ground" or base color of the coat.  Which means the vast majority of linings are going to be some darker shade of blue, gray or brown.  My burgundy lined suit is dark gray with a burgundy windowpane.  The default position would have been to line it in dark gray.

 

[Trilby]

Fair enough, Manton, although I still think plain burgundy is not especially flamboyant -- certainly compared to the suggestions to line jackets with Hermes scarves or cheongsam silk.

I rather like the idea of the cheongsam cloth, although it would have to be a very restrained pattern, and I would only use it with a very sober looking suit -- nothing that looks too flash even without the silk lining. If it was not done impeccably, it would quickly look like a very cheap Hong Kong suit.