J.K. Wilson on Drape

Carpu65 posted a page from an issue of the Tailor and Cutter magazine from 1954. It is an article by J. King Wilson on his recollection of the drafts of Frederick Scholte, the "inventor" of the Drape cut.



He admits that his memory may be a bit fuzzy, but this draft is interesting nonetheless, for several reasons. He gives the size as a 40" chest.

The half waist is approximately 21", one can't say for sure since the dart and overlap measures are missing; it's generous but still within the realm of an ample size 40. The neck point is located 4 1/2" from the scye, which is roughly an inch of drape by my calculations. No surprise there. The point-to-point is a whopping 20", which is not surprising given the purpose of the drape was to give the appearance of broad shoulders and full chest above a trim waist, and there is 3/4" fullness in the shoulder compared to the 3/8" that was commonly given in Wilson's but I'm curious that there appears to be little to no drape in the blade. I would have expected some here , given what other drafts and certainly what other tailors who make some version or other of the drape cut, but it is possible that Scholte, whose purpose in cutting was aesthetic and not functional, may not have given much drape to the blade. I don't remember having seen a decent back view of any of his coats. The drape in the blade may have been a later addition, or else it is a mistake on the part of Mr. Wilson as the article was written about seven years after Scholte's death, and perhaps 20 years after the height of the drape cut's popularity.