HELP DB SUIT SINGLE VENTS

[Cgrate]

Hi all,

I just ventured into the world on men’s suits andI’m in the process of having a MTM DB suit made. I got the jacket back and it only has a single vent. While I love the jacket in general and during today’s alterations my tailor promised I would be pleased with the end result I’m freaking out because all forums I’ve read say that a DB suit jacket should never be single vented.
Again, the tailor says it’ll be fine as he’s bringing out the seat a bit while bringing in the drape of the chest and tapering the waste but I feel like men who know style would secretly snicker at me for being the only man in the world dumb enough to own a DB jacket with a center vent ??‍♂️

 

[FlyingHorker]

As long as it fits, I don't see the big deal.

It's just a vent.

 

[stuffedsuperdud]

Take a deep breath.... your concerns are understandable but unnecessary. I might be oversimplifying a bit, but in general, things used to come in zero vents (eveningwear) or one vent (e.g. morning coat) to facilitate riding a horse. The lounge suit, including double-breasted ones, descends from the morning coat, and includes the single vent. This is actually especially true for double-breasteds, as the were originally considered a more casual garment for keeping the rider warm on horseback.Two-vent suits jackets are a relatively recent development; IIRC I saw an interview with a Savile Row tailor who said it showed up in the 70s, as a form of youthful rebellion, so in a way, the single vent is the "purer" variant. Do you watch Mad Men? Roger Sterling wears a lot of 1960s era DBs, and they're all either single vent or ventless.

The other, answer is, it's just a vent; one vs two has minimal effect on how it drapes, and even if there WERE some sort of two-vents-for-DB rule, it'd be a completely arbitrary one. Unlike, say, not buttoning the bottom button, which, esp. for a SB, has an actual effect on how the jacket drapes. "Men who know style" would know these things. The only ones who might "secretly snicker at me for being the only man in the world dumb enough to own a DB jacket with a center vent" would probably be newly minted iGents who have been around long enough to know the rules but not enough to know which ones to bend/break, and who cares what they think.

This does remind me of an MTM blooper that happened to me though: the DB jacket came back with rounded corners on the front panels, instead of squared off. Didn't technically affect the way the jacket fit, but it did look awfully odd, and I ended up getting a remake. The other MTM salesguy on the floor was actually disappointed because he thought it was an intentional hyper-dandy maneuver rather than an oversight.

 

[Thin White Duke]

Yeah but all that said ^ a DB with a single vent is still a strange bird, and the whole purpose in having something tailor-made rather than OTR is to have it made YOUR way.
If you don’t like it get the tailor to re-do it either as a double or no vent. Remember your tailor is employed by you to do what you want have done. You’re HIS boss not vice versa.

 

[FlyingHorker]

Yeah but all that said ^ a DB with a single vent is still a strange bird, and the whole purpose in having something tailor-made rather than OTR is to have it made YOUR way.
If you don’t like it get the tailor to re-do it either as a double or no vent. Remember your tailor is employed by you to do what you want have done. You’re HIS boss not vice versa.

what is strange about it?

 

[stuffedsuperdud]

Yeah but all that said ^ a DB with a single vent is still a strange bird...

It's not though, was my entire point, and in fact, up till recently, the double vent was the odd bird. Now, to be faaaiiihhrrr I personally prefer two vents, because it makes it a smidge easier to reach into the back pockets where I keep my wallet and phone, but I also have plenty of OTR single vent jackets, SB and DB, and I don't think there's anything wrong or worthy of mockery with either, which seemed to be OP's root concern.

....and the whole purpose in having something tailor-made rather than OTR is to have it made YOUR way.
If you don’t like it get the tailor to re-do it either as a double or no vent. Remember your tailor is employed by you to do what you want have done. You’re HIS boss not vice versa.

This is technically true, and is OP's call whether or not this is something worth fighting for. On one hand, it's an expensive garment, the purpose of which is for it to be done his way. On the other hand, it's just a minor detail on a piece of clothing. Not exactly a life or death situation. I guess that's my way of saying that OP can't really go wrong either way. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Let's maybe see the final result before passing any final opinions? It'll probably look just fine.

 

[Andy57]

Hi all,

I just ventured into the world on men’s suits andI’m in the process of having a MTM DB suit made. I got the jacket back and it only has a single vent. While I love the jacket in general and during today’s alterations my tailor promised I would be pleased with the end result I’m freaking out because all forums I’ve read say that a DB suit jacket should never be single vented.
Again, the tailor says it’ll be fine as he’s bringing out the seat a bit while bringing in the drape of the chest and tapering the waste but I feel like men who know style would secretly snicker at me for being the only man in the world dumb enough to own a DB jacket with a center vent ??‍♂️

Unless you're gonna be riding a horse in the jacket, it should have either no vents or double vents. The big deal is it is your jacket, for which you paid good money and it better damn well be made the way you want it made.

Another way to look at it is this: making a double breasted jacket with a single vent is so unusual, that no tailor who isn't an idiot would presume without asking that the client would want that by default.

Either have the jacket remade or have the single vent closed.

 

[Cgrate]

Thanks for everyone’s input, I agree with all that’s being said. I’ll post pics once the jacket is complete, perhaps upon final decision I’ll just chose to have the vent closed.

 

[othertravel]

Thanks for everyone’s input, I agree with all that’s being said. I’ll post pics once the jacket is complete, perhaps upon final decision I’ll just chose to have the vent closed.

I'd be irritated as well, but it's not completely unheard of. I think Brioni was doing DB suits with a single vent as well.

 

[comrade]

In the good old days- 1960s, Brooks Brothers and Paul Stuart offered double breasted
blazers- and suits, if I recall correctly, with single vents. I had the PS blazer.