Blue Suit

I have already written about what I believe are the merits and advantages of the grey suit, here with this blog post I shall outline my thoughts on the blue suit.

In my opinion the blue suit, or as I call it, the bog standard IBM blue suit, has to my eye been absolutely done to death. Plus, it is just too safe…..

I do have to travel on the London underground tube quite frequently whilst visiting clients in London and I am somewhat disappointed to see the tube, and the workplaces of clients I subsequently visit, literally awash with staff adorned in dull cookie cutter blue suits !

It has also become very difficult to turn the television on and actually see a politician, presenter or celebrity that is not adorned in what has become to my eye the dreaded blue suit.

Blue Suit

Let’s not be too shy about telling the truth here, the problem is definitely exaggerated by the issue of extremely poor quality off the peg suits that are sold by many of the high street chains.

The fit of most off the peg men’s suits today is bloody awful to say the least. The fit of some suits I have seen almost makes my eyes bleed, others make me want to cry, and it’s not pretty seeing a 17 stone man cry my friends.

Another reason is the cloth that most of these rubbish blue suits are made from, and they truly are rubbish, it’s shiny. Shiny cloth is never a good look at the best of times, the exception to that statement is unless it is a quality mohair that is meant to have a sheen, shiny cloth is a sure-fire way to spot cloth that is extremely cheap and poor quality.

A blue suit has to chosen with care and the reason is this, choose the shiny cloth number and combine it with the white shirt look that seems to also be rather prominent lately and it will make the wearer look like a lost schoolboy, or even worse a member of the boy band One Direction.

Choose a classic cut two button coat with a subtle overcheck, or a muted glen check that breaks up the actual solid colour of the cloth. Stick a pocket square in your outside breast pocket combined with a light purple shirt and a mixed muted colour tie and you will look great.

Blue Suit

The pictures below show a few solid blue cloths fanned over each other to show the different colour tones. Non of these cloths are shiny……

The next picture shows a clients partially made bespoke DB coat on my tailors dummy. This cloth has a lovely blue hue with a subtle, but defined glen check running through it and is a perfect alternative choice to the dreaded solid blue. The overcheck blends in so well you can only see it when you are quite close.

More pictures of the checked blue cloth.

Chesterfield Overcoat

I have recently cut and made a double-breasted Chesterfield overcoat for a client of mine who lives in York. Before I tell you about this Chesterfield Overcoat, let me tell you how I ended up getting this particular client. His story is not unique, I have many clients that have found out the hard way, and very expensive way before landing at my workroom door.

This guy has been, and still is a very good client of mine. This particular client came to me after having had a bad experience with two ‘tailors’ who are based in Leeds city centre.

Having physically seen the actual suits and the state of the so called ‘fit’ and the quality of the suits these chaps have passed off to my client when he was a client of theirs is embarrassing to say the least. If this was the product I was palming off onto the unsuspecting public that walked into my establishment, I couldn’t live with myself or face myself in the mirror. I would sooner pack in tailoring and start carrying coal for a living.

Chesterfield Overcoat

You could write on a postage stamp what these two clowns know about tailoring, and fill a library with what they don’t know. These two particular ‘tailors’ are full of bullshit and waffle and simply sending your suit to a factory, one sends your suit to Carl Stuart in Ossett, the other to Cheshire Bespoke in Crewe. Click the links of the company name and go to them direct and save yourself hundreds of £’s. Do not spend one penny with a ‘tailor’ until you read this article here. End of.

Anyway, onto the Chesterfield overcoat I have made. The picture below shows the right front forepart laid on my work table next to my tailors shears. This Particular cloth is from J+J Minnis cloth merchants who are based in Huddersfield West Yorkshire.

The next picture below shows the left forepart and the out breast welt pocket. You can see the obw matches nicely, and look close you will see the hand stitching down the sides and along the top edge of the welt. This picture also shows the ‘chest’ of the coat, ie, the form. It’s certainly not flat and lifeless like the off the peg overcoats you may purchase.

Chesterfield Overcoat

The picture below shows the left side pocket. This pocket is a welt style pocket. You can see I have also carefully matched the pattern in the cloth with this pocket. My client asked for a through pocket, ie a pocket he can also access his lounge coat whilst wearing his overcoat without having to undo or take his overcoat off. Of course I accommodated his request with this overcoat.

The next picture shows one of the sleeve cuffs and the four working hand-made button-holes I have made. The finished look of this Chesterfield overcoat was to be classic British, very fitted lines and a slight flare over the hips. So four fully working button holes on the cuffs is the only way to really go.

The next picture shows a close up of the double-breasted peaked lapels, velvet collar style feature and the hand-made lapel hole. We settled on a black velvet collar to complement the colour and strong herringbone weave of this particular cloth.

The next pictures show a close up of the inner pocket detail. This Chesterfield overcoat has two inside breast pockets, both sewn onto the cloth. You can see my label which has been hand sewn in, as has the linings onto the cloth tongue of the facing.

The next picture shows the overcoat with the side seams finished, the shoulders have been closed, the lapels are also fully made and the collar is also complete and basted in place.

The next steps will be to hand baste the sleeves into the coat and then conduct a forward fitting on my client. I will then start on all the hand finishing of the overcoat, which is a considerable amount.

The following pictures shows the overcoat almost finished. When I took this picture I had done most if not all the considerable hand sewing, and there was really only the buttons to add to the coat front and give this coat a good hand press. The front hand button-holes have been done. So, there it is, almost finished a DB Chesterfield Overcoat cut and fully made by myself. I hope you agree, it doesn’t look too shabby even if I say so myself……

Speak to me here to discuss your tailoring requirements, I would love to hear from you. You can telephone me direct, on 07871877061 to discuss your tailoring requirements. Or, if you have the chance please feel free to call in for a no obligation friendly chat and a pot of tea.