I don’t know why I have always hated the term “pagoda shoulders”, but I do. Spalla insellata sounds a little better if you speak Italian but sounds pretentious to those who don’t. Well, whatever. But to something more important. I think that the survival of our craft depends not only on the propagation of the technique but also the survival of our suppliers. It’s getting harder and harder to find the necessary stuff for makingRead More
If you’re just joining us, back up one post first. We were discussing the ironwork involved in making trousers. David asked what the difference would be between a trousers done with this ironwork and one done without. So the first fitting I sewed the seams straight with no manipulation, no fullness, no stretching, no shrinking, and the result was this. Not a very nice line. The hem is turned up at the bottom so itRead More
We’ve been discussing trousers on the T&C forum & it occurred to me that I haven’t really looked at trousers on my blog. Largely because I feel that there is a lot less room for individual expression and nuance in trousers than in jackets, which I, of all people, should know is not really true. I explain. Working in the RTW industry in Canada gives me an interesting perspective in that I sell garments inRead More
Following up from the previous post, and because someone on Ask Andy asked for it, here’s a quick tutorial on sewing buttons on a suit. It’s a little different from sewing buttons on a shirt. Mark your button placement, make a large knot in a length of thread, thread the needle and insert it between the layers, 3/4″ away from the mark, and come out at the mark. Take a small stitch, forming a loop,Read More
Something I’ve been too lazy to do myself- a video on sewing buttonholes by hand. It’s in Japanese but I think the images speak for themselves. Slightly different technique from mine, I will try this one out and report (minus the paper template- how do they get that to stick?). And if anyone speaks japanese and feels inclined to translate I am sure there are many besides just me who would be interested. UPADTE: IRead More
A friend donated what was sold on ebay as a vintage Savile Row suit to my dissection project. At first glance it had most of the hallmarks of a SR suit but a few details were bothering me. I’ll get into those in due course. One of my first reactions was also that the finishing was quite a bit neater than I’m used to seeing from SR (except the buttonholes which were meh), but oneRead More
I just came off a cruise of the Mediterranean. One thing that struck me was the sophistication of Roman art, architecture, science and technology- they had lavishly decorated homes with running water, sewage, self-cleaning latrines, indoor heating systems…. then wandering the medieval village of old Rhodes it seemed as though the dates had been reversed. The simple, almost crude, architecture and sanitation of a thousand years later seemed as though it should have come first,Read More
Yet another look inside someone else’s garment, but this time a real treat; instead of looking inside one garment we get a look at a whole bunch. At the recent YSL exhibit the garments were, thankfully, not enclosed behind glass cases; I attracted more than my fair share of strange glances by lying flat on my back, trying to peer up the hems of dresses to see how things were finished inside and contorting myselfRead More
Pattern Drafting 101 There are a number of people who have expressed interest in learning how to draft suit patterns and are looking for a good text. While there are a number of (mostly out of print) texts on cutting (or drafting, I use these terms interchangeably) they all assume that the reader has spent the usual 8 years apprenticeship and is familiar with the rudiments. Of course, the best way to learn is toRead More
There are only a few factory-produced, hand-made suits available. Oxxford is one of them. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this factory produces one of the most labor-intensive suits available under their own label, Oxxford, and they now produce most, if not all, of Thom Browne’s suits. I recently put my hands on a not-recent Oxxford jacket. Many garments can be dated, at least to within half a decade, by looking at the shape of the collarRead More
