Reader Questions

From Harry

"I am rather intrigued by the idea of a wearing a matching jacket and vest with non-matching trousers. I've seen this done in pictures and movies of the Thirties and there was a 'tiny vogue' for this when I came of sartorial age in the 1970s. You mentioned this combo once in your postings.

My idea is to get two three piece suits that can be switched around (I don't like the idea of a contrasting jacket with matching vest and trousers). Could this be done in tweed only or in lighter weight fabrics? Similar weight fabrics would be necessary but what color and texture? Can this be done with a double breasted vest or best left to single?"

I've read speculation that this style is the result of men wearing suit jackets after the trousers wore out. That might have sometimes been the case, but Alan Flussers' Dressing the Man has a photo (page 4) of society architect T. Markoe Robertson wearing a tweed jacket with matching double breasted waistcoat and flannel trousers. I think it likely that Robertson, a resident of Tuxedo Park and married to a high profile Biddle, simply liked the look.

To me, the interest of the combination lies in the contrast of both pattern and texture between trousers and a jacket with either style of matching vest. Without a distinct contrast there'd be a risk that people might think you'd dressed in the dark and inadvertantly donned the wrong trousers.