1920s suits

[herringbonekid]

boxer, Jack Johnson:

 

[herringbonekid]

Gary Cooper, Jack Luden, Louise Brooks, 1927:

 

[DamianM]

yeah, there's none in my catalogues from 20-23 so this could be the first outing.

in case anyone is wondering if i'd wear that suit (or recreate it)... no i wouldn't.
jazz suits pretty much stand on the outer-limit of wearability for me, and the addition of flares (shudder) pushes it well over.
i post it here for historical interest.

This one is not that bad in high novelty. You should try it out. Its not like a zoot suit.
Just very peppy.


The bowtie is actually called A JAZZ Bow

 

[Dostioffsky]

These suits have been posted before but I found some nice HD pictures:

And some more Harold Lloyd:

And Rudolph Valentino:

 

[Dostioffsky]

boxer, Jack Johnson:

This construction might be designed especially for him?

This jacket is the same, I think:

 

[herringbonekid]

This construction might be designed especially for him?

i don't think so. there were loads of variations of the pleated-front about.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

Nice tweed. "German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 1673/1, 1927-1928. Photo: Alex Binder, Berlin."

 

[herringbonekid]

1927 Derby outing:



i would have assumed this photo was early 20s had it not been dated.

(click for larger version)

 

[herringbonekid]

i recently bought M.Ward's Spring-Summer 1924 catalogue. nothing super-exciting in the suit section, but here's one of my favourites:

 

[herringbonekid]

HS&M, 1922-3:

 

[herringbonekid]

note the narrow-wrap DBs with 'semi peak' (1st image) and notch lapels, 1922:

 

[esteban68]

loving the 4 button DB models!

 

[Claudio]

mid 20's looking very early 60's

 

[Nobert]

The origin of the "Golden Era" suit?

So, I wasn't sure where to put this, but this seems as good a place as any. This is a sort of double article from the October, 1924 issue of Vanity Fair, one highlighting fall fashion for men in the states, the other reporting on the latest styles from London (you can tell the fellow's English because he has a monocle). I thought it might be of interest to the suit fanciers as the articles mention the importance of the well-dressed man's wearing suits with big shoulders and full, pleated trousers. I don't know as much about the history of this stuff as, well, any of you, probably. but this is the earliest scrap of evidence I know of for the shifting away from the slim, long, straight cut of the 10's/early 20's, to the more sculpted, streamlined style.

A few quotes:

For the Well Dressed Man
The Essential Note in the Smart Sack Suit for Autumn and Winter

"The following details are essential in the cut of a well made suit either by the custom tailor or the ready-to-wear manufacturer. The shoulders should be broad--even to the point of exaggeration. Trousers should be worn full, but not too long. They should taper in at the bottom so as to slightly hug the instep instead of being, as so often seen, the same measurement at both cuff and knee.

"A word about broad shoulders; in the first place they are comfortable and undoubtedly give a man--and particularly a man of medium height--a much taller and slimmer appearance. The properly cut jacket with broad shoulders should have a decided wrinkle in both in front and back in the vicinity of the armholes. For those who do not understand this feature in tailoring, it may be stated that these wrinkles are not a fault, but a feature which only good cutters can produce.

Our London Letter on Men's Fashions.

"This autumn the one very noticeable change in men's clothes is in the trousers. These are now cut very full, wide and as long as possible; and, as Vanity Fair predicted some time ago, the well dressed man is hardly ever seen with his trousers turned up, except for country wear. The fullness, which is maintained through the whole length of the leg, must be most carefully pleated at the waist...the top of the trousers should be cut from the natural waistline of the body as this creates a good "hang." Just here there is a very noticeable difference between English and American cutters. To the Englishman, American trousers always seem be cut much too low in the body...

"It is the "line" rather than the details of the cut, which undergoes radical changes from time to time. At present, the "line" should run continuously from the shoulders to the foot, following the contour of the figure.

 

[herringbonekid]

thanks for the info.
1925 is generally seen as the point when trousers (and shoulders) began to widen into what we think of as the classic 30s silhouette, so the date of October '24 is bang on.

 

[nihil]

The silhouette on the last picture, on the right hand side, is simply amazing. That is exactly what I go for with my own suits. I especially like the flawless continuation from jacket unto trousers that come from the suits of the 20-40s, and is drawn to perfection on that illustration.

 

[Two Types]

Interesting that their version of a 'wide trouser' is 17and a half inches at the cuff. In the UK at the time i believe the average was two inches wider. Six months later they had hit 24 or 26 inches in the UK.

 

[herringbonekid]

Interesting that their version of a 'wide trouser' is 17and a half inches at the cuff.

and 10.25" at the knee.
so the trouser they're talking about sounds 'full' to the knee with a fairly quick taper to the ankle.

 

[Nick D]

Nobert, do you have the continuation on p. 112 for the last image? Very interesting comments in that one.

 

[Nobert]

Nobert, do you have the continuation on p. 112 for the last image? Very interesting comments in that one.

I do.