Food for thought and comment

[Claire Shaeffer]

We went to the opera on Mon. The man sitting next to me in not-cheap seats was wearing a chalk-stripe coat and cords. The coat had plain buttons and I would consider it a suit coat.

I looked around at the next intermission and noticed that several men were wearing jackets that looked like suit coats with unmatched trousers. Is this a new trend? or a borrowed coat?

It raises the question about suit coats and odd jackets. What are the differences?

A blazer is generally a navy worsted with metal buttons--any other specifics?
Claire

[crazy1503]

A new trend - any jacket put with jeans/trousers is VOILA apparently a blazer. I blame Kanye and other assorted morons. Its not totally their fault though. I think it was Gucci that recently had mens coats with daffy duck patches on them? Pukeatronic to the stars and beyond. Makes a jacket with mismatched pants seem amazing in comparison. Anything goes these days.

[Schneiderfrei]

I saw a pair of trousers last week that were so fitted as to sport a dart down the back of the undersides, from the outer dart to the knees.

[Henry Hall]

I wouldn't say it's a new trend, but there appear to be ever more people who keep on using suit jackets as odd-jackets.

There seems to be an almost universal refusal to wear actual trousers and I've seen some horrible combinations like a summer linen jacket in cream paired with jeans!

BTW, this is not really concerned with 'coat reference' and should probably be in the general chat section or 'fashion' or whatever. 

[Greger]

I think a lot this has to do with a younger population never being around suits, or rarely. The old saying, "It's all Greek to me", applies. The history of clothing is interesting, and history is still being made. So many tailors of the past said, "Let it happen." SR is mostly for high end business men and bring in enough money to stay in business. Some other tailors have to include other garments to stay in business. And they have to know what those markets are about. If you don't know what the market is about, then how are you going to represent that market with the clothes you make for it? This subject of fads and non fads tailors need to very shrewd about. There are many questions to know and answers to those questions. Customers don't always know what they want or need, and why. All these questions sort out to the best long term answer. Rich young can buy the latest fashions every day or week. Somebody with less money, may be a few fads and the rest mediocre. Some people never fads. Some parts of fads become standard. There are many horse feathers about what clothing should and shouldn't be wore. Some tailors have two or three doors so one type of customer does not mix with the others. Rich business men in door one. Middle class use door two. The rich young in door three. Read that Henry Poole had three different shops for that very reason, and they were scattered around town to keep them even farther away from each other.

[Schneiderfrei]

Wasn't the Stresemann suit a bit like this, controversial in it's day, now a valid choice?  And thinking back to Beau Brummell, a non-matching trouser? Scandalous!

[Hendrick]

Late to the party... But I am an admitted "broken suit" wearer. But I never really "break" a suit. I just like wearing sportcoats and soft structured jackets. Interestingly, these days I even feel overdressed in a half lined fresco jacket and a pair of chinos.