Proper summer jackets have patch pockets, meaning the pockets are sewn onto the outside of the jacket like the ones in the illustration. They may have flaps or they may be unflapped but there they are, for in a proper summer jacket there is nowhere to hang them on the inside of the coat.
You see, those non-patch pockets on 99% of the suits walking by you on the street are attached to the lining inside the jacket. That is as it should be, except that linings wear hot, and proper summer jackets have as little lining as possible. Not enough to hang a pocket, that is for certain.
The secret to staying cool in the heat is the permeability of the cloth, for air flow is cooling and the most effective summer fabrics cause a man to look down to check that he still has his clothing when a breeze pops up, for the air feels as though it is flowing unhindered past his skin. Lining is an air blocker, and more of it than a bit in the shoulders is a convenience for the tailor rather than the customer (sleeve lining is controversial since it does make a coat easier to put on and off, however if you show me a summer jacket with lined sleeves I will show you a man who has sweated through his shirt sleeves).
It is in the making of summer jackets that one separates wheat from chaff, tailoring-wise. I am unable to convince two of my three tailors to make anything much less than a half lined jacket, for lining hides the unfinished interior of a coat and they do not want to take the time to clean up the seams that is required for a proper summer jacket (one would think they would simply have a surcharge for the work, but there must not be enough demand for them to pay attention). Fortunately, I live in a place that rarely gets hot, so it is less of an issue than it would be if I spent summers in Manhattan.
Summer jackets have patch pockets.
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I recently had an unlined navy blazer made in a wool/silk/mohair basketweave cloth. I requested flap pockets (including a ticket pocket) and the jacket looks great. Not sure why flap pockets need to be sewn into a jacket's lining. Even unlined jackets have interior pockets so adding a flap pocket to the infrastructure should be no big deal.
What I neglected to say in my prior post was that the flap pockets I requested (and got) were not patch pockets.
Question: Do unlined sleeves work?
In other words, is the sleeve lining necessary to give the sleeve some shape?
Most of my summer jackets certainly have them.
Mine have lined sleeves too. I have one that is not, and the sleeves do wrinkle more, but I am undecided whether I should care.
Jeffrey, there is an old saying to the extent that there ain't no free lunch. If you have flap pockets, your jacket is lined (that or the pockets are sewn to the jacket itself and the stitching is visible from the outside). It may be lined with the same material as the exterior but that is still extra cloth that blocks air circulation.
Perhaps we need an ASW expose on types of “unlined” jackets--half-lined, how is that different from buggy-lined, if at all, completely lined, drop us line? And how is drape and shape best achieved and maintained if the front is not self-lined?
As a new yorker, I can attest to the problems with linings in the warmer months, especially thicker synthetic materials. on the subject of linings, what materials/weaves do you think are best for various seasons, or year round? is there any lining for the warmer months that you recommend, for those of us whose profession or predilection calls for jetted/flap pockets?
Will, there is no problem making flap pockets on a skeleton lined summer jacket (meaning a jacket where lining is minimal, just a bit in the shoulders).
The pocket is never stitched to the lining, but to the canvasing. Where it sewn to the lining, the stitches would show in the inside ;)
Flap pockets made for an unlined jacket are much more work than for a lined one, and much more than for a patch pocket too. But there is no problem making one.
Unfortunately, I don't have an example ready at hand, as my linen jackets have patch pocket too, but I'll try to make a sample to show.
That said, patch pockets are a great design feature, and there is a lot of fun to have with their shape. So you're right to recommend them !
To Seitelman :
sleeve lining does not make shape. Lining has absolutely no structural role, quite the contrary lining is cut just a tad too big so that it never pulls anywhere.
Sleeve lining is there to give "slip". I've made myself a coat with an unlined sleeve, the cloth kinda "catches" the shirt sleeve under. But I'm sure famous Will's shirtjackets' sleeves have no lining.
Nishijin, the only flap pockets I have seen on an unlined coat were stitched to the jacket's front and the stitching was indeed visible on the outside.
We would all be interested to see your example. I did not think a light canvas could support a pocket.
I am sitting here looking at the inside of the jacket that initiated this debate. Will is correct, part of the inside of the jacket is lined with the same material as the outside, just enough lining to cover both the patch pockets as well as one interior pocket on each side. The back as well as half of the skirt on each side is unlined. But this brings up another question -- I presume, Will, that all of your unlined jackets are without interior pockets? Is that not inconvenient?
I'm thinking that patch pockets create as much extra (if not more) cloth as flapped jetted pockets. The inner pockets are made of pretty thin stuff so it's a slit on the outer coat leading to nothing really substantial. Patches are another layer of outer shell material. Isn't that thicker?
To me the argument is one of tradition and summer style, rather than a structural heat issue.
All coat, lined or unlined, have some shell fabric coming to the inside. That is called facing in English, I guess. On a lined coat, the facing goes around 6cm to the inside, and frequently has a "tongue" to support the pocket mouth. Shape and size of the tongue depends on the tailor. Some don't make shell fabric tongue, and make their pockets right in the lining. Others again do put a tongue, but "hide" it by sewing the lining just to the border of the pocket mouth's piping.
On un unlined coat, the facing is usually a bit larger, to have somewhere to place the inner pockets, and to hide the canvas that is still needed on a summer jacket (except on Will's shirtjackets, which are uncanvased I presume, but this is not standard summer jacket).
The hip pocket bag is sewn to the canvas on the front, just like on a regular jacket, and the back of the bag is left hanging loose. The bag itself shows, so it must be done in a nice and decorative way, which is more work.
It is possible to sewn the pocket bag to the front fabric, making then an "inverted" patch pocket, and indeed in this style the stitches show on the outside. It can be made to look good, but it is a very casual style that makes a very sporty garment. It can looks a little like a polo coat pocket, for example.
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