Photo: Jonathan LaiAt A Suitable Wardrobe, the most obscure tailoring details are grist for the mill. In the photo, trousers with an English back are on display while Patrick Chu of Hong Kong's W. W. Chan tailoring firm assists with a jacket. The split waistband helps trousers to move with less strain as the body moves.
I visited Chan with a friend who had had several nice looking jackets from there this year, and I wanted to see the firm in action. The measuring process was perhaps the most thorough I've encountered, which is good practice for an organization that strives to minimize fittings. In addition to the usual measurements, the customer is pinned into a trial jacket, photographed for reference and has the slope of his shoulders calculated with a special device.
I look forward to learning about the rest of their customer experience.
Posts
6 comments:
Will,
I notice the back your trousers ride up higher then the front, is this intentional and part of an English back? My next suit I plan on having made for suspenders without belt loops. Is that a detail I should be looking for?
where did you get those beautiful suspenders? I've been looking for some distinctive ones that don't look too dressy, but not too "farmer-boy like" either, which can be worn with a suit and still look great.
Oh bravo. Bring back the split back trousers / pants. Also mention to people that, as an original twist, you can also have the suspender buttons on the outside of the trousers, and (because the waist is often cut a touch higher than 'belt-loop' pants) quite often with buckle-fastenings at the each hip.
Turling, the raised points of the English back help the trousers to ride a little better.
The braces are made by Albert Thurston and available from their online store.
Ray, I do get my front brace buttons on the outside but buckle fastenings are just extra cloth with an English back as the trousers are never worn without braces and tightening (which is the function of a side strap) is never necessary.
The "house style" of Henry Poole of Savile Row has the English back. I've heard it also referred to as "fishtail". My Poole trousers have a quite noticeable higher back and split in waistband. And, as Will says, there would be no belt loops. I actually keep a couple of pair of braces just for these suits since they would be adjusted to be shorter than braces for typically waisted trousers.
I do find the trousers on my (sadly) few Poole suits do fit and "ride" much better.
I would say to Turling that, regardless of whether you go for this style, if you know you will only wear braces rather than a belt, have trousers made without belt loops. It gives a much superior appearance.
Since the waistband interfacing adds considerable reinforcement to the back, is there any additional reinforcement to keep the back seam from tearing out over time? I would think that would be a weak point otherwise.
Post a Comment