Having worn the drape coat a bit I have noticed one thing about the comfort- it is markedly more comfortable in the chest, but that has nothing to do with the drape allowance (actually, the drape in the chest bugs me a little when I move my arm forward).
Drape and soft tailoring have often been confused and I am inclined to think that the softness of the construction has much more to do with the comfort than the drape. While I have cut soft coats in the past, one thing I have not done is to put the chest on the bias; I am convinced that this is giving a lot more comfort than a straight-cut chest would since the hairline is not impeding forward movement. I think my next experiment will be to cut a clean-cut coat with a soft-construction and bias-cut chest to compare with the drape coat. I guess I’ll have to keep this a while longer.
Please do so!
le.gentleman
What you have in mind is what Caraceni did, I think. Do you have a copy of his 1933 essay, Orientamenti nuovi nella tecnica e nell’arte del sarto? Caraceni patented his technique…#28642.
– B
I haven’t read that essay, but would love to if someone can help locate it. It’s ironic but not at all surprising that someone who was well-known for studying and copying other people’s work should patent his. 🙂
J