The importance of hangers

Bear with me while I rant a little bit.

Nothing makes me crazier than those stupid little wishbone hangers that some stores use to hang their garments. I really, really hate them. The way that you store your garment has such an impact on it, the same way a shoe tree is so important to the life of a good shoe. Two of the most delicate parts of a coat are the top of the sleeve and the collar, and they are shaped to contour your body; it would make sense, then, to hang a garment on something that closely resembles the body, no? Then why do department stores insist on those skinny little wishbone hangers which in no way resemble the body, are usually too wide so they poke out the sleeves, do not support the top of the sleeve so the sleeve buckles, and do not support the collar?

Take a look at the way this coat sits on this hanger. The ends are poking into the sleeve and the sop of the sleeve buckles; there is a piece of canvas in the sleeve head which is meant to support it because, over time, the rippling you see can become semi-permanent, requiring a skilled pressing to remove. If the garments are stored too closely together on these hangers, the creasing can actually become very difficult to get out, even by an experienced hand. Worse, if you expose the garment to humidity while on this hanger, like hanging it in a steamy bathroom to remove other creases (not something I recommend doing, by the way), the damage can be even worse. Maybe you've never observed this before but I hope now you will.



See how the collar sits away from the hanger with nothing to support it? It can get crushed or stretched out like this, again requiring a good pressing to fix.




Better makers know that hangers are important so the garments are placed on hangers with a very wide shoulder that supports the sleeve and collar. Not only are these hangers, themselves, much more expensive than standard EQ14-type hangers, but they are also more expensive for shipping. But we consider it important to the garment. Some stores choose to switch these hangers at their distribution center for the smaller ones, others don't. The ones who don't, I thank you. The ones who do, well, grrr.

Why do the stores use these awful little hangers, then, if they are so bad? Well, space. And space is money. Space in the distribution center, space in the trucks which ship the product to the stores, and space on the selling floors. They can cram more garments into less space using these little hangers, which saves them money. Grrr.


You probably know where I'm going with this.

I got a message from Kirby Allison, asking if I would mind putting an ad for his products on my blog.

He offered to send me some hangers for review, but accusations of shilling are rife on the internet, and not having seen his hangers yet, I wanted to feel free to say they were not up to par, if that were the case. So let me be clear here- I did not accept any free hangers, I paid for them, though he gave me free shipping. This is not a review in exchange for free stuff. This is me ranting about something I feel very strongly about.

Here is the same coat again, on the wishbone hanger, and then on one of Kirby's hangers. See the difference in the sleeves and collar? The hanger is the proper width, since he offers 4 widths, and it supports the shoulder and the collar. For me, it's a no-brainer.






I am fortunate to have access to good hangers at work, otherwise I would have to buy them somewhere. I guess Kirby was faced with the same dilemma when he started his hanger project- I'm not sure where else you can get good suit hangers. They're not cheap, but then, compared to the price of a good suit, it's a worthwhile investment. And compared to the price of a lasted shoe tree (I pay $160 for mine- ouch!) they're a bargain! So if you are currently hanging good quality suits on crappy little hangers, I strongly recommend thinking about investing in a few better ones.

Your clothes will thank you for it.

The Mother Lode

The granddaughter of a tailor was selling vintage bolts of cloth and buttons on the internet recently and I noticed she had some thread. Regular readers are familiar with the difficulty I sometimes have in getting silk buttonhole twist, particularly good stuff, so I told her I would take everything she had. And she had a fair amount. Some of it is from Belding Corticelli, who used to make a really excellent silk buttonhole twist. But not anymore- the spools are stamped State Tailors 1950.

Am I really getting excited over some old thread?

Really?

Well, yes.

I need to get out more.

Another DB

It got really chilly this week. I leave the house around 7 am and it's particularly nippy at that hour (especially on a Vespa) so I decided to break out some flannel- something I had made this summer and was just waiting for the right weather for it.






The cloth is from Minnis, number 0300.


EDIT

Thanks for all your wonderful comments.

JC- I'll post trouser shots next time I wear it, which might not be for a while if the weather starts cooperating again.

Jeff- It will only wrinkle if I fall off, which I don't :)

Detlef- not just in a photo, but also in a very light colour, which shows up all the little defects, much more than a dark suit

Jordan, you may be right, but I already have this (but in a vastly softer, lighter 9 1/2 ounce Italian flannel!)

So it was an about-face from that. Not that I disliked that- not at all. My dog, apparently did, though. She ate the flower when she was a puppy.

Anonymous- I have been sewing for about 30 years now.

More softness

Readers may remember my last soft coat which was the first prototype for a model which became very popular. So when it was recently suggested that I might want to attend a certain event in Atlanta in the next few weeks, I decided it was as good an excuse as any to make another soft coat- they are particularly fond of soft, rounded shoulders in the deep south and I don't have much clothing for that kind of weather.



The coat has a self-cloth facing, and I used cotton pocketing for the yoke and trimming. Bemberg in the sleeve.



There is no haircloth or chest piece and no shoulder pad- only the front canvas and some light felt to cover it.



This is how thick the shoulder construction is, which has been done in the "spalla camicia" style



which gives this soft, round, slouchy look.



I'm sure somebody knows the name for this kind of jigger shank- I don't know how to call it. Anyone?



Since I won't make many coats in this colour, I ordered the small 10m spools of silk buttonhole thread from Tristan, in BC, Canada. As far as I know it is the only source in Canada for buttonhole silk in small quantities, and they are the exclusive North American distributor for Tre Stelle's Bozzolo silk. It has a nice sheen to it and is worth trying out.

EDIT- I got the following message on another post- We are a sister company to Tristan Italian threads. We are the US importers of Cucirini Tre Stelle thread from Milan, Itay. The Seta Bozollo silk is a 24 wt thread that comes on a 11 yd spool. Our shopping cart is www.carmenwarehouse.com or catalog is www.GilbreathThreads.com

Oxxford Clothes - Made in the USA

Thanks to Mark for pointing this one out.

Discuss.

Summer

I got called out for neglecting my blog. And it's true. I've been a bit lazy lately.

But in my defense, I moved, and then went on vacation for 3 weeks, so the forensics have fallen behind. However, I am now in discussions about acquiring several pieces to chop up, and it will be time to think about some fall clothes soon, so I'll be back in the swing of things soon.

I hope everyone had a great summer. I did.

On stripes and lapels

I noticed some discussion on Noveporte about the positioning of stripes on the edge of a lapel and thought I would give my opinion on the matter here.

Because of the way I was trained, things like this just jump out at me, and strike me as being a bit careless. I understand that to others it may not be important. Notice the stripe line vis-a-vis the edge of the lapel.



People will point out that the edge of the lapel is not straight, and that DB lapels in particular benefit from a pronounced curve to the edge, and they are correct. The curve is quite noticeable in the photo above. Also very noticeable is the concave curve at the tip of the lapel which I find particularly objectionable. This curve also causes stripes to be cut off toward the top or the bottom of the lapel, another thing which I don't particularly like. You will see the stripes cutting off at the bottom of factory-made garments because it is not practical in an assembly line to do otherwise; sartorial, or bench-made garments, can be done differently.

I was taught that the edge of the facing should be worked up with the iron, stretching and shrinking the facing so that a nice belly can be cut, but that the stripe will still follow the shape. Notice in this photo that there is a pronounced belly (the yardstick is used to show the shape); notice also that the stripe, rather than running parallel to the yardstick (which is straight) follows the curve of the edge of the lapel.



The facing has been worked up so that the line will run straight, parallel, and won't be chopped off by the curved edge of the lapel. The result is that the shape draws much less attention to itself and is more subtle and harmonious. In my eye, anyway. And this is, of course, a matter of personal preference and as such is open to debate.

I much prefer this



To this



but I have, after all, been brainwashed into thinking that.

Thoughts?

EDIT

there was a question about stripes cutting off. Here is an example of what I mean. You may have never noticed these things before, but once you start looking at them they can drive you a little crazy. Or maybe it's just me. But those sleeves are just dreamy.....



The stripe on the lapel on the right (wearer's left) has been highlighted to show (I hope I'm being more clear now) how the stripe is cut off by the shape of the lapel- the stripe is straight but the lapel is curved so the stripe stops 3/4 of the way down. On the left I have shown how the stripe would run if the facing had been worked up in the manner shown above- the stripe would run parallel to the edge all the way down the lapel despite the curve in its shape.



rnssnc is correct- this is a Tom Ford suit. I haven't examined one closely- I had a quick look when they first came out and my first impressions were quite good but I know they have made some changes since so I would rather not comment ( I would very much like to get my hands on one to have a good look but they are rather expensive, even on ebay). Certainly the "hanger appeal" as we call it in the trade is exemplary.

Chris Despos on Caraceni

For those who may have missed it, Chris Despos left an interesting comment on the Caraceni post that I am going to reprint. Those outside the U.S. may not know that Despos is considered one of the top bespoke tailors over here, so his input is greatly appreciated. Even more appreciated is his direct insight on the subject which is why I am reposting his comment here.

Jeffery,
Interesting post. I worked 3 years with a tailor from this shop. We would blunt the corners on sleeves and vents even for the basted try on. The process after the try on was to make the lower pockets then turn the front edges, sew them down then baste on the facings. After the lapels were done we would position and make the breast pocket, cutting thru the canvass, haircloth and flannel. This is a nice method and accommodates a pocket square quite well. Because the pocket is put thru the canvass to the inside, the bulk of the square is between the canvass and the lining rather than between the canvass and the cloth. We would cut the haircloth for the chest in two pieces. from midpoint of the chest up it was cut in the normal way. We would cut the bottom piece on the bias and attach it to the other piece. This gave a firm shoulder and a soft chest. This was the last 3 years of 9 years apprenticing. Great experience and opportunity to make clothes in this way. Most of these techniques have been abandoned.

Cutting the breast welt through the canvas is pretty old-school. Frank Shattuck was telling me last week that he still does it this way as well. Caraceni's method seems to have changed slightly in the meantime, from what Chris described.

Here is a view of the inside of the breast welt, which is more often now made before applying the canvas and as such is sandwiched between the cloth and the canvas. Chris is right to point out that it makes a cleaner chest to cut it through the canvas. I'm not a fan of cutting through the haircloth, but we will see that in this coat, that was not done. Nor was it sewn through the felt, which, in this case, has been applied by hand and trimmed around the pocket.



With the felt gone, we can see that the chest piece was split just below the breast line, and another piece of wool canvas butted to it. The breast welt was sewn through two layers of wool canvas, rather than canvas and haircloth. We can see that an additional piece of wool canvas, on the bias, was added to the shoulder for additional support, and the whole is heavily padded by blindstitch machine.



Oh and Chris' thoughts on the mezzaluna tacks:

Mezzaluna tacks hold the interior pipes in place and help support the stress on the pocket pipes. It binds the pipes to the cloth. Much stronger than a hand bar tack that is more decorative than functional. Actually I do bar tacks with a buttonhole stitch on trouser pockets.
Despos


Thanks, Chris.

Twice in one week

Sometimes I hear about things being done that I find a little hard to fathom; pad stitching a chest with a blindstitch machine is one of those things. I had heard rumors of it, but I had never seen it before. Until now.

And twice in one week.

Don't get me wrong. I am not against the idea of machining a chest- with the right equipment you can do a great job of it. A blindstitch machine, however, does not afford the kind of control necessary to get a good shape, and I was afraid that you couldn't handle the layers properly without it shifting too much during sewing.

So when I opened up the Caraceni I was rather dismayed to see that they had done the chest with a blindstitch machine, and the sort of thing that I was worried about is, in fact, a problem. This is the side that sits toward the cloth- it has been stitched from the inside. The canvas has shifted during sewing and there are little bubbles of fullness, just as I had expected there to be; these are much more obvious when you handle the chest than in the photo.



Then this weekend I saw a vintage garment that Dominik Kufner has in his collection.
This, too has been done with the blinstitch machine, but from the outside of the chest. Not good for shaping the shoulder, IMO.



Anyways, something to think about. I am not a fan, and am even less of a fan now that I have seen it up close and personal.

A. Caraceni

It finally came!!

SF member Vaux le Vicompte kindly donated our latest specimen, a DB he had made by A. Caraceni in Milan- you can see images from some of his sartorial adventures at his lovely blog here- legrimod.blogspot.com. (merci, Monsieur le Vicompte!) The following is excerpted from Wikipedia;

Caraceni was founded in Rome in 1913 by the father of Italian tailoring, Domenico Caraceni. At one point in the 1930s, Domenico and his family operated ateliers in Rome, Milan and Paris. The Paris atelier was operated by Domenico's brother, Augusto, who closed his atelier when Mussolini declared war on France.
Today, there are several businesses going by the name "Caraceni" in operation. The original shop operates out of a small location in Rome with a very small workforce. This is run by Tommy and Giulio Caraceni, nephews of Domenico. There are three branches in Milan, all founded by offshoots of the clan, one even claiming to be the "real Caraceni." However, the cognoscenti consider A. Caraceni, currently operated by Mario Caraceni (son of Augusto) to be the best of the Milan branches. These suits are what is known as "bench bespoke," meaning they are made one at a time, by hand, to a pattern specifically drawn for each individual customer.
The various Caraceni "sartorias" have crafted handmade suits for various celebrities over the years, including Tyrone Power, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Yves Saint Laurent, Gianni Agnelli, Sophia Loren and fashion designer Valentino Garavani. The Caraceni label is also famous for dressing generations of The Kings of Greece and Italy, The Prince of Wales, Prince Rainier of Monaco, Italian Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi and Aristotle Onassis.

It is worth noting that Domenico Caraceni regularly obtained King Edward VII’s castoffs (which had been made by Henry Poole) which he dissected and studied, so in a sense he is the spiritual grandfather of this blog. Or parts of it, anyway. He also wrote an essay in 1933, compiling his thoughts on the trade which I have yet to find; if anyone knows of a copy of Orientamenti nuovi nella tecnica e nell'arte del sarto, I would very much appreciate knowing about it.

From the outside are all the hallmarks of a very well-made bespoke suit- entirely respectable hand-made buttonholes, hand pick stitching, hand-sewn besom pockets with mezzaluna tacks, and a very nice curved, hand-made barchetta breast pocket.










Under the lapel is the “cugno Martello” (I don’t know how to call it in English) a type of dart we don’t see much anymore.



The lining has been inserted entirely by hand, and it looks as though the facings may have been applied by hand, though I will have to get it open to know for sure.



Gorges which have been drawn on by hand can usually be spotted from ten meters away, but this one has been done so neatly and expertly that I almost believed it had been done by machine, even on very close inspection it was hard to tell. Easily the best finishing work I have ever seen.



One notable feature is the blunting of the corners; I was taught to do this but it is hardly ever seen anymore. The points of the collar, the pocket , the vents, the sleeve vent, the bottom of the front edge have all been blunted with a few well-placed hand stitches. A subtle distinction of the hand-made suit.



Vent


Sleeve vent



Breast welt




The lapel has been padded rather exuberantly by machine, which is a bit surprising considering the amount of handwork everywhere else. In fact, now that I have it open, I am able to say for sure that the facings were applied by hand, a step which Frank Shattuck tells me takes him a full day to do. One wonders why, then, they would choose to pad the lapels by machine- perhaps they do not see any added value to it. Similarly, the collar has been padded by machine.



It doesn’t show up very well in photos due to the dark colour, but the shoulder seam has been sewn by hand and the sleeves have been set by hand.

Shoulder seam



Armhole



There is a monstrous amount of padding in the shoulder, but this may have been a personal preference or a way of concealing overly sloping or hunched shoulders.



The suit was made in a slightly softer cloth than I have seen coming from some of the English tailors, and it gives the garment a bit of fluidity which is typically Italian. Despite the more challenging cloth, it has been made up very neatly, and expertly- it really is a tremendous garment which I will be continuing to study so there will likely be some updates to this post shortly.

Sleeves on an overcoat

I didn't get a chance to photograph the blazer before shipping it, sorry. To make it up to some of you (well, at least to Kim who has been begging for this for a while) some thoughts on setting sleeves. Not a full tutorial, but just a few pointers, this time a woman's overcoat. (Cheating, she says- those sleeves are easy!) This will appeal mostly to homesewers, so if that's not you, check back soon when I will be opening up a Caraceni that is somewhere in the postal system (I hope it's not lost!)

The first thing I will mention is the importance of stabilizing your armhole- if you distort it by even 1/8" in some areas you can have sleeve trouble and will have to adjust the pattern. The most common way of doing it is to stay the armhole with 1/8" cotton india tape, drawing in slightly in the sharply curved area of the lower part of the armhole. By drawing in, I mean to pull slightly on the tape to shrink that area a bit.


With very full sleeves or difficult cloth I will pre-shir (gather) the sleeve. In the factory we have programmable machines that will shir different amounts around the sleeve cap; at home I will just use a long stitch on the plain machine, run two rows, and draw them, easing the cap into a nice shape. Make sure that the shirring is smooth and that there are no areas that are puckery or lumpy- also, no easing for about 3/4" on either side of the shoulder seam notch.



If you haven't altered the armhole and are working from a commercial pattern, then you are good to go, matching notches- if you have eased the cap you shouldn't have much trouble basting it in; any puckering that shows up should be redistributed. Don't be tempted to fill in a puckery sleeve with a bunch of wadding- it may hide the puckers now, but they will come back. The wadding is just to help the sleeve, not to cover bad sleeve setting. But let's say you HAVE changed the armhole a bit during fittings, or, like this one, it's a new pattern that hasn't been tested yet. Then you may have to adjust a little.

There should generally be more fullness toward the front of the sleeve, near the front of the shoulder bone, than in the back. I have basted my sleeve in, and the back looks good,



But the front is too full- I don't want that much of a rope. Maybe you have puckering because the sleeve is too full or the cloth is difficult.



I take the sleeve out, remove the shirring stitches, and rip the elbow seam. Then I trim the top sleeve a bit (or a lot, in this case) like this



Then I re-sew the elbow seam, redo the shirring, re-baste the sleeve, and hope for the best. Lather, rinse, repeat, if necessary. The result is much better.



Then I will cut some wadding and canvas for the sleeve head, which will look like this-



The two pieces of canvas go on the front, with the smaller piece underneath- note how the hairline reverses on the pieces- very important. At some point I wrote an article on designing sleeve heads so I will try to dig that up rather than going into too much detail now.

EDIT

Here's the post

ot about shoulders in tailored clothing. One important element in defining the look of the shoulder is the sleeve treatment; first, the seam can be put toward the sleeve for a rope, it can be opened for a continental shoulder (one with a defined crown but no rope) or a natural shoulder, or it can be put toward the coat for a neapolitan shoulder.

Second element is the type of wadding used. The traditional wadding was usually a piece of lambswool with a bias-cut cotton folded over it (see photo, item on top of crappy iphone photo). The disadvantages are that this can be a bit lumpy, it is limiting in the style of shoulder you can achieve (it tends to be ropy) and it tends to break down over time. We hear a lot about traditionally-made coats “settling” over time; I, personally, would rather deliver a garment which will keep its shape over time, rather than one that changes. But that’s me.

The wadding shown in the lower part of the photo is more common in RTW garments now because it affords more control to the designer and will keep its shape. It also helps with the dreaded “hanger appeal”, which bespoke tailors don’t have to worry about.




Two types of felt are commonly used- one is a basic needle-punch felt with a foam backing which is quite lofty and good for rope-style shoulders, the other is a needle-punch felt with a scrim (net) backing which is lighter and softer. I, personally, prefer the scrim felt for all applications over the foam but the foam keeps its shape better.

The canvas used is a special weave designed especially for, and only for, sleeve heads. It is a broken twill weave and is denser and has more roll to it than regular canvas. It is easy to tell the difference when you look at the back of the canvas. The canvas helps support the sleeve not only on a hanger, but on the wearer, and prevents disasters happening if the wearer should inadvisedly steam his suit


The pattern for the sleeve head will depend on the type of shoulder you want. It starts with the sleeve pattern; start shaping the sleeve head as shown in figure 1. The degree of curve from this point will determine how much bulk you introduce into the sleeve cap- for a rope shoulder or one with a very defined crown, make a straighter shape, as in figure 2. For a natural shoulder (and by this I mean of the J Press/Southwick/Paul Stuart type) make a much more curved shape (figure 3), which will make a flatter profile with less bulk. From this basic shape you can develop your pieces.




For the felt piece, I don’t run it all the way down the front, though some do- it’s up to you. The first piece of canvas that you make will support the sleeve and define the crown (or not)- for a rope or continental shoulder, start the canvas about 2” down from the shoulder point. Be very careful to observe the HAIRLINE indicated on figure 1. I indicate the hairline and not the grainline because the canvas is streaky in the direction of the hair line and is easy to identify visually (the hairline is the crosswise grain). The large piece must be cut on the bias with the hairline RUNNING DOWN or you will get a dimple on the cap. A second, smaller piece is usual, as shown in green on figure 2. The hairline is also bias but the opposite to the large piece- this will ensure a nice forward roll on the front of the sleeve. A third piece can be cut, as shown in orange, on figure 2. Note the direction of the hairline.



A natural shoulder requires less canvas. The scye seam should be opened as much as 4” to either side of the shoulder point, and there should be no canvas in this area. It’s not as clean on a hanger, but is nice on the wearer. Start the canvas 4” down from the shoulder point as shown in figure 3. There should be no canvas in the top of the sleeve, and a third (sometimes fourth) piece is added to the back, as shown in orange.

A certain amount of experimentation will help you develop a sense of how the shape and size of each piece affects the final contour of the sleeve cap.



Now back to watching my mail box for that Caraceni....