When I mentioned this jacket in a post this past summer, a reader wrote that he thought it was made of flannel, but viewed in this screen grab I think it more likely cotton gabardine or Palm Beach cloth. The chest pocket, for example, appears too thin to be even a light worsted flannel. This of course is A Good Thing as even the lightest flannel would wear too warm for a summer day on the Riviera, or nearly anywhere else for that matter.
I am in New York for a few days this week and one of my planned destinations is Tender Buttons, home to one of the world's larger supplies of buttons of all kinds, where I intend to seek out a set of silver buttons that might be appropriate for a coat like this, should the issue of the cloth ever be settled. But I am currently leaning towards cotton.
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I've never been to Tender Buttons, but I have been very impressed by the selection at Archangel Antiques on 9th Street between 1st and 2nd. They have a lot of very interesting buttons, as well as other vintage pieces.
Dear Will,
Try and watch the film(to catch a thief I think) on blueray if you didn't already. You'll get a much better sense of cloth.
Kind regards,
Chris, the Netherlands.
love it :)
http://haideeandco.blogspot.com/
Will, I've heard of Palm Beach Cloth, but am not certain what it is. Would you please enlighten? What is it, exactly? Is it available these days?
Perhaps a more important question has been overlooked: why could Cary Grant have fastened the bottom button on this jacket?
One thing. Forgive me if I am being dumb on this, but aren't 3 buttons too many to buttoned on the coat? Even though they are great looking buttons!
Palm Beach Cloth is a weave of mohair with cotton or later rayon & nylon, as chronicled in TIME magazine here:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,888658,00.html
As a tropical suiting, it was popular from the thirties through the fifties.
If a jacket's fronts are cut stright rather than open, as are the fronts on Grant's coat, the bottom button becomes buttonable.
Thanks Will, for answering my question on how many buttons may be properly buttoned. Appreciate the good information, enjoy your posts and comments as always!
Chris,
To Catch a Thief doesn't exist on Blu-ray yet.
Cheers,
Roland
Hi, Will.
After a long research (and a considerable amount of money spent in failured experiments, including solid silver buttons) the best silver buttons set I´ve found is the "Plain Domed Antique Silver Finish", made in England by Holland & Sherry and used by many Savile Row tailors.
http://www.henrypoole.com/product.cns?cID=4&iID=222
(They look even better in reality than in that photo, beautifully crafted but not too showy)
To confuse things more, I read one article that, without substantiation, said the buttons on CG's jacket were gold colored.
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