Men's Suits Single Breasted
There are two main types of suits,
classified by the jacket – we will use the proper tailoring term
coat – The Single Breasted suit and the Double Breasted suit.
I will only describe bespeaking of
suits suitable for business wear. In bespeaking a suit, one will
begin with the silhouette, select the model, and define the details.
I will leave the silhouette for a later article, as it is more
advanced and requires understanding of the elements described in
this article. In this article I will begin with the Single Breasted
Suit, and describe the various models.
The Single Breasted coat is
constructed such that the front panels overlap minimally only to
provide space for the buttons to button. In contrast, the
Double Breasted suit has a layer of overlapping fabric, where in
a man’s coat, the left panel covers the right panel by several
inches.
To be speak a Single-Breasted coat, the parameters
to be defined are as follows:
Number of Buttons
A Single Breasted coat can be
fastened by means of 1, 2, or 3 buttons. Anything more than 4
buttons on a coat are fashion statements and not within the
consideration of an elegant man’s clothing for few men are
sufficiently tall to be able to wear one and still look well
balanced.
The 3-button variety can be further divided into
true 3-buttons, faux 3-buttons, 2-button roll to 3, and 2.5-buttons.
In the true 3-button, the coat is designed for the
top 2 buttons to be fastened normally.
A 2-button roll to 3 is a favorite amongst elegant men, because
this allows the tailor’s expertise in shaping the belly of the
lapel – the lowest part of the lapel – to form an elegant roll, a
bulge of sorts, with the top button behind the belly of the roll.
This is a sign of a hand-stitched lapel, for no machine-made or
fused lapel is able to exhibit roll.
The 2.5-button is constructed
almost like a 2-button, but with the top button and accompanying
button hole hidden behind the lapel.
In both 2-roll to 3 and 2.5-button coats, the bottom button is meant
to be left unbuttoned. Indeed, many elegant men bespeak the coat
such that the front panels are cut to open up, showing the trousers,
and prevent the last button from being fastened.
For a true
3 button coat, the last button is also to be left unfastened,
and one only fastens the top two. However, buttoning up the top two
buttons will shorten the lapel line and consequently make the wearer
look shorter. Because most men will benefit from a tall, slim
silhouette, as such the true 3-button coat should only be the choice
for the few men who are tall and thin enough to wear it elegantly.
On a 2-button coat, you would only fasten the top button, and in the
1-button version, keep the button fastened. Always keep the middle
button of your coat buttoned. Although many men leave their coats
completely unbuttoned, and this creates a nonchalant air, it is to
me sloppy. A gentleman should never take his jacket off, and so as
to create an elegant look, should always button his coat. The slight
nip in the waist and the button point creates a fulcrum for the
coat, gives definition, and provides the coat with both shape and
silhouette.
This brings us to the matter of
button stance. In either the single-, 2-, 2.5-, 2 roll to 3, or
3-button coat, the buttoning point must be designed so as to create
a balance between the top part where the swell of the chest is, and
the bottom part where the panels are. In almost all men, this
balance point is best suited at almost the mid-point of the coat.
The traditional placement of this button point is half an inch below
the natural waist. The natural waist is defined as the narrowest
part of the waist – the part where the circumference measurement is
smallest. For most men, except for the unusually portly, this would
be an inch or two above the navel, and be roughly mid-point of the
coat.
For a
single button coat, the buttoning point must be where the single
button is placed. Based on the principle of the buttoning point as
the pivot, this would end up the same position for any model coat.
For the 2-button coat, the top
button defines the pivot. The bottom button is placed where it is
pleasing to the eye, and typically about 3 to 4 inches below.
For a 3-button coat – either true,
2 roll to 3, or 2.5, the middle button is placed at this buttoning
point, and the other buttons are placed as it pleases the eye, and
usually about 3 or 4 inches above and below this point.
A coat designed as such will give
ease of movement, as the buttoning point, always fastened if you
remember, will provide the fulcrum to allow fluidity of the top half
and the bottom half.
Next we must consider the height
of the notch. The notch provides a break in the lapel and occurs at
the point where the lapel joins the collar.
As it is beneficial for most men
to want to look taller, it is advisable for the notch to be placed
as high as possible on the coat, giving a lapel which is long and
sweeping and creating the added illusion of length. The typical
Saville Row suit has the notch fairly high, almost at the clavicle.
Many Italian masters have the notch even higher, almost riding at
the shoulders. This will be covered in more detail in the later part
of this series, where we talk in detail about the Silhouette.
The shape of the notch should be roughly a 90-degree right angle,
and should be angled such that the line bisecting the notch should
point upwards to the shoulder. This bisecting line, if pointing
downwards, will give the illusion of a sad and droopy coat, and
should be avoided.
The lapel width is also an
important consideration. Fashion dictates a large lapel or a small
one, with the current fashion leaning toward thin lapels. An elegant
man, however, should select his lapel to suit his build and not the
fashion, for he knows that fashion is only so for but a season,
after which he will look out of fashion. An elegantly selected
lapel, however, is evergreen.
The top of the left lapel, about an inch or so
below the notch, should carry a buttonhole for the gentleman to wear
a flower. This buttonhole should preferably be hand-stitched, and be
a plain slit, instead of the keyhole-style ones used for the coat’s
buttons. This kind of buttonhole is a carry-over from the historical
beginnings of the Single-Breasted coat – which came from the Ghillie.
The collar was later folded backwards – hence the term revers
(reverse) being used for the part of the lapel which is folded back.
So folded, the lapel still carries the buttonhole and corresponding
button (now hidden behind the right lapel).
This will become clearer when we discuss the double breasted suit in
subsequent instalments of this series.
The vent is the opening made at the back of the
coat. Coats can be single-vented, double-vented, or unvented. The
single-vented style is the traditional arrangement, and shows the
heritage of the Single-Breasted suit from its equestrian origins –
it allows the tail panel of the coat to splay elegantly as one rides
on the horse, each panel falling on either side of the horse’s back.
Many elegant men do not prefer this, except for when actually horse
riding, because when one puts one’s hands in the pocket of the
trousers, the vent opens to reveal one’s backside.
The dual vent is the typical
Saville Row arrangement, where two vents are slit, one on each side.
When you put your hands in your pocket, the rear panel remains in
place keeping one’s modesty. The unvented coat is simply designed
without a vent.
The
business suit always carries three pockets on the outside – one
breast pocket to display a pocket-handkerchief, and two at the
waist. Elegance rules require that you always display a pocket
square in the breast pocket. The purpose of the breast pocket is to
display a handkerchief, and it thus looks incomplete if left empty.
Another interesting feature of
some coats is the hacking pocket, which are cut at an angle to
horizontal. The origins of the hacking pocket are equestrian, as
when seated on a horse, it is easier to reach into your hacking
pocket than if it were horizontal. Another feature is the ticket
pocket, which is a smaller pocket, only proper if there is one, and
appearing above the right outside bottom pocket of a coat.
Traditionally, this was meant for a tube ticket.
The coat should be of proper
length to look elegant. It should be long enough to cover the seat
of the trousers, and not longer. It should visually divide the man
into two halves. There are several methods to determine correct
length. One method to determine this is to hang your hands by your
side. The side of the coat should fall roughly at the point where
your thumb meets the forefinger.
Or, when viewed from behind, the
coat should cover roughly half the distance from the collar to the
ends of the trousers. Another way is to make sure the rear of the
coat covers your seat. The best method to determine is to use all
three during the first fitting, and make small compromises by
adjusting to ensure a pleasing look in subsequent fittings.
The sleeve length is another point
where many gentlemen get it wrong. In many of the ready-to-wear
suits, the sleeves are cut much too long. The proper length is to
show half an inch of sleeve when standing with arms on your side.
The shirt sleeve should be about half an inch to one inch below the
wrist bone.
When be speaking a suit, you should make sure that the coat is cut
such that the armhole is as high as possible. Many men feel that a
high armhole is uncomfortable as it restricts movement of the arms,
but the contrary is true. A high armhole will allow the coat to hug
your body, and ensure that whatever you do, the sleeves never ride
up. See Fred Astaire in motion, dancing – you will note that never
will you see his sleeves run up and expose more shirt when he is
moving his arms than when he has his arms by his side.
The armhole should be as high as
it could possibly be, no more than an inch below your armpit. This
would also, by extension, require shirts which are also cut with a
correspondingly high armhole in order not to bunch up under the
coat.
[By:www.goldarths.com]
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