Double Breasted suit / Balance

[newtrane]

What do you guys think about the balance of the following DB suit? The button placement look completely off to me.

 

[THORVALD]

DB Balance

What do you guys think about the balance of the following DB suit? The button placement look completely off to me.



I see what you mean as those two buttons are VERY high up. Think its the way the jacket is cut, so having a tailor move them may not improve the situation

 

[Matt S]

The button placement is completely off. The buttons are all placed too high. The buttons are spread too far apart vertically. The pockets are also too high. The top vestigial buttons appear to be a little too close in to the middle.
Here's a suggestion: One balance problem that could easily be fixed is removing the top two vestigial buttons. I think that this coat would look more balanced in this style. Here is a picture of how it would look sans the top two buttons:

 

[Srynerson]

When critiquing the suit, keep in mind that David Reeves explained the inspiration for it was unusual: https://askandyaboutclothes.com/community/showpost.php?p=978166&postcount=12934

 

[Kraken]

I don't think that the suit is unbalanced. I do agree that it does not follow the rules of other DB suits, but to me the overall look is very pleasant. When I first saw it, my impression was that something similar to this would look very good on me. I think it is more unusual and unique rather than unbalanced.

 

[amplifiedheat]

Top buttons should be moved out or discarded. I wonder if the bottom could be hemmed without exposing the bum/groin. (It's already a fashion suit, anyway.) With the sky-high buttons and the more reasonable length, it makes the wearer look weirdly disproportionate.

Lapels are pitiful for a DB, by the way.

 

[Sator]

None of what is being discussed is about "balance" in the proper technical sense of the word. The coat is probably deliberatly slim cut, with the buttons set more closely together to harmonise with the slim figure of the wearer. The buttoning point is somewhat higher than the natural or fashion waist length on this button-two reefer, which further contributes to the impression of slenderness, on a coat cut without much skirtiness.

 

[amplifiedheat]

this button-two reefer

My command of the semi-archaic-Commonwealth-tailoring-patois is poor, but I thought reefers had gilt buttons, not matching trousers.

 

[Sator]

Traditionally cutters refer to all double breasted jackets of this kind as "reefers". If it is single breasted it is called a lounge.

 

[Armscye]

Which era's balance?

Reviewing older fashion books or even watching old movies reveals that DB suits vary far more than SBs in the areas of button placement, crossover point, and amount of (I forget the precise tailor's term) wrap. Look at Bogart's DB suits in The Maltese Falcon-- a similar high-set 6 button 3, very high crossover, and yet a wide lapel. And he looks terrific.

This suit plays with all of those elements, I think successfully. It is unconventional but balanced:

All three rows of buttons are basically one step higher than traditional. It would be interesting to see if when sitting if the absence of the lowest row of buttons produces a more natural look with less "blousing."

In fact, the suit looks a bit like an 8-button naval uniform sans the lowest 2 buttons. These styles traditionally do not widen the position of the two top show buttons, since the focus is on the insignia that are placed on the chest

 

[Simon Myerson]

This is a slim cut suit that is clearly more familiar to English eyes than American.

It is cut to flatter the figure of the wearer (who also designed it). David has said he thinks it is a little too long, although I am not sure that shortening it would improve it enormously. It encapsulates the waist and the top buttons draw the eye to the slim fit, and provide proportion. You need an athletic figure to wear it and it looks truly bespoke (I am not a customer by the way).

Part of the problem is that the original poster provides no idea of what would improve it. The picture without the top buttons simply seems to me to make the suit look over long in the jacket. If those posting here have suits that fit them as well as this, they have my congratulations.

 

[Matt S]

Reviewing older fashion books or even watching old movies reveals that DB suits vary far more than SBs in the areas of button placement, crossover point, and amount of (I forget the precise tailor's term) wrap. Look at Bogart's DB suits in The Maltese Falcon-- a similar high-set 6 button 3, very high crossover, and yet a wide lapel. And he looks terrific.

This suit plays with all of those elements, I think successfully. It is unconventional but balanced:

All three rows of buttons are basically one step higher than traditional. It would be interesting to see if when sitting if the absence of the lowest row of buttons produces a more natural look with less "blousing."

In fact, the suit looks a bit like an 8-button naval uniform sans the lowest 2 buttons. These styles traditionally do not widen the position of the two top show buttons, since the focus is on the insignia that are placed on the chest

Do you mean something like this:

 

[newtrane]

David, as posting a picture like that could be rather dissuasive for potential clients, may I propose that you post some pictures of garments you made in your house style?

Thanks.

 

[rkipperman]

What do you guys think about the balance of the following DB suit? The button placement look completely off to me.

Are you using the term balance in the technical sense of the word?

 

[rkipperman]

David, as posting a picture like that could be rather dissuasive for potential clients, may I propose that you post some pictures of garments you made in your house style?

Thanks.

Don't know if this is his house style, but it may help you.

 

[Blueboy1938]

Originally . . .

. . . double breasted coat buttons aligned vertically. That was so that they could actually be used to fasten the coat. I'm not going to try to find pictures, but a few movies I've seen recently, specifically "San Francisco" which portrayed the 1906 earthquake, showed that style. The top buttons moved outward along with the heavily padded shoulders and almost arm-reaching peak lapels of the 40s.

So now that the shoulders and lapels are slimmer, I rather like that David Reeves and some others are corralling the buttons back toward something that would actually "work" to close the coat. Set way out as they have been, as exemplified by HRH The POW, they are just faintly ridiculous ornaments.

Far from being off-put by David's self-modeled creating, I would be very encouraged by his innovative and well-proportioned take on the DB suit to use him.

 

[Armscye]

re Prince Charles blazer

The young Charles' 8-button blazer is a cousin of a naval uniform, but its topmost buttons do flare. The stricter version is more like:

 

[newtrane]

What is going on here?

I just got the following PM from Mr. Reeves:

Do not post private messages on this board, no matter where they are from. That is what they're supposed to be, PRIVATE. Apparently you've also done this at Style Forum.

-Jovan

 

[DCLawyer68]

I was concerned I was missing something because I felt there was nothing "wrong" with the suit - only an unconventional button placement. Looking at the military heritage for the suit, however, I think it's inspired.

FWIW, I do think we should disclose what we know about a suit when we post it, rather than just putting it up and throwing darts. Clearly the OP knew this was a creation of the particular tailor, and failed to mention that, which does raise questions regarding the motive of the thread.

 

[newtrane]

Motive: The suit looked (and looks) off to me. I was rather surprised to find a suit like that in the "bespoke section" of this forum. As many posters here know much more about clothing than I do, I just wanted to ask what they think. Actually, I had never heard of David Reeves before I read his post.