Technology Is Eating Fashion

[Gerry]

I agree that the stuff on the photos is horrible but I do think that the Brioni clothing in earlier movies was nice...

Gaetano Savini, who started Brioni, created some really sharp designs in his lifetime (before 90s Bond though). A tailor by trade he pretty much invented the 'continental look' in the early '50s, long before it was adopted by all and sundry in the 1960s. This still, from the 1951 film Bellissima, features one of Brioni's 'proto-mod' suits:

https://flic.kr/p/2oeUVBf

[Steelmillal]

...just'an instaspam FT post. I so miss getting the FT when it was still a broadsheet.


As to the movie, we were at war. A suit is nothing more than modern armour for bankers, etc. Craig/Bond was a recruiting 'poster' for "battle rattle" infill.

[SO_tailor]

Eww that looks disgusting. Seriously who in their right mind thought this looked good? It looks like the tailor was making a DB, ran out of buttons, and said "I guess I'll just do one". 

Exactly. The overlap is too much, it wears like a dressing-gown. And the asymmetry is awful, the lapels look really weird. Pure novelty.

I don't get why designers think slim lapels look nice on men. On average men have wider chests, and wider lapels help with that girth.
Speaking of design is anyone going to mention how cheap that fabric looks? The sheen makes me think it's a polyester cloth. It looks like a spray-painted plastic wrap.

[Hendrick]

Could be a blend with viscose... Looks like something from Zara in a poly-viscose blend "coolwool imitatation"

Narrow lapels weren't all bad on the mohair suits from the 60s in "Sammy Davis Jr" style and let's not forget Charlie Watts in his mod 60's period...

Cheers, Hendrick

[SO_tailor]

Could be a blend with viscose... Looks like something from Zara in a poly-viscose blend "coolwool imitatation"

Narrow lapels weren't all bad on the mohair suits from the 60s in "Sammy Davis Jr" style and let's not forget Charlie Watts in his mod 60's period...

Cheers, Hendrick

I don't really like the mod styles of the 60's. I prefer the mid-20's—40's, but I guess each to their own. I guess you can say I'm more of an "vintage" guy.

[Gerry]

I don't really like the mod styles of the 60's. I prefer the mid-20's—40's, but I guess each to their own. I guess you can say I'm more of an "vintage" guy.

It was a stylish period for men and women if you had the right body shape (straight-up-straight-down). The look never suited more masculine or curvy frames, though. Roger Moore looked dreadful during that period, even though he wore a lot of two button coats (the lapels were still too skinny for him).

A lot of British Mods carried the look well because they were so puny. They'd grown up with post war austerity and food rationing. When John Stephen started his Carnaby Street business, his trousers came in a 28 inch waist (the most popular size). And because of their smaller chests, Mods looked sharp with those skinny lapels (there was at least some balance).

I wore the look in the early 80s. Fine when I was 14, but within a year I'd shot up to six foot and developed broad shoulders. All of a sudden those skinny lapels looked terrible on me: nothing but an expanse of cloth across my chest. That Brioni suit I posted has a little more width in that respect, but I still wouldn't wear it now. I prefer the double breasted look.

[spookietoo]

He's been sitting for quite some time in that suit. Look at the pulls on the inner legs of the trousers. Could easily be a silk/wool blend of the poor quality weaves that was passed off as something better.

If it had much polyester in it, the pulls on the legs wouldn't be as pronounced. And yes, a viscose blend would do the same thing, but would generally be even worse.   

[Hendrick]

I personally nevergot "modded", not my thing. I stiil think that the 60's icons were great movers and shakers, however silly their suits may look now... Trust me; I'm a "retro" type too

[Greger]

There are some differences to consider. Store bought is least likely to fit right, much more, adjusted to look good. Real tailors, but not very good ones, some of these struggle with making garments look good on the person. The best tailors can really shine because, they have so many mental images to help guide adjustments of the fit that looks good, concerning style or fashion. Never look at shoddy work as an example. Like a good diamond cut bad is not the best it can be. That same diamond with an excellent cut will have marvelous sparkle. Then, there are some fashions and styles that were never about good looks. They are about something else.

[SO_tailor]

I don't really like the mod styles of the 60's. I prefer the mid-20's—40's, but I guess each to their own. I guess you can say I'm more of an "vintage" guy.

That Brioni suit I posted has a little more width in that respect, but I still wouldn't wear it now. I prefer the double breasted look.

IMO you can't go wrong with a double breasted. It gives off that V-shape silhouette that many including myself find flattering.

[Schneiderfrei]

Ok, here's what the 1920s did to women.  I'm still not convinced some of them aren't young tradesmen, but I just can't tell. 

The woman in the centre with the darker headband is my grandmother, she was a Eurythmics teacher at the Humpybong State School (yep), Brisbane Qld.

The outfits are Edwardian fantasie and the two older ladies are quite Victorian.

[Greger]

The 1920s? Think you had to be there to understand it. Probably had to be young, too. A couple of great aunts would get excited when they saw me, a preschooler, old magazines of that time, wondering why they wore the clothes, hair style and outrageous jewelry. If I remember correctly, even the shoes were outrageous. Watch them, old bones coming to life.

[Schneiderfrei]

Hi Greger,  It was a sweeping out of the old Victorian stuffiness. I think you would have had to be young.  I think it compares to the 60s.

[pfaff260]

This is Stephen Jones the milliner from the UK. wearing the suit.
It's by Dior. I agree, you have  to be the slim type to wear it.
I thought it was a nice twist to the traditional suit.

[pfaff260]

And here is a video of the creation of the suit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpwOQCShzjI