blue serge suit with the belt in the back

[mike]

Anyone familiar with this Cab Calloway song? What is a "serge" suit..?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Serge in this context most likely refers to the fabric. Serge is a twill fabric with diagonal ridges either side - as opposed to gabardine, for example, which has ridges on one side, and is smooth on the other.

bk

 

[mike]

Do you think he's referring to this sort of cut? He mentions in the song, "no drape" and it dates to 1929 but this, as you can see, is 1921 so I suppose not even though this is what his description sounds like in my head... any ideas? thanks baron about the serge description, I don't think I have ever seen serge fabric in real life.. is it normally used for military/police uniforms nowadays?

 

[The Wingnut]

Also in 'A Fine Romance'; I've never mussed the crease in your blue serge pants

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Wool serge tends to be heavy and durable, but it quickly becomes shiny when ironed. Serge was the standard U.S. suit fabric of the early 20th century: if you could own only one suit, it would inevitably be a "blue serge." Sort of like the grey flannel suit of the '50s, but a half century earlier.


Most vintage suits that have survived from the 1900s to the '20s are made of serge, it seems.

.

 

[mike]

Wool serge tends to be heavy and durable, but it quickly becomes shiny when ironed. Serge was the standard U.S. suit fabric of the early 20th century: if you could own only one suit, it would inevitably be a "blue serge." Sort of like the grey flannel suit of the '50s, but a half century earlier.


Most vintage suits that have survived from the 1900s to the '20s are made of serge, it seems.

.

Wery interestin... so would you say if Cab's song is recorded in the early/mid 40's he's more pointing fun at the dated material used rather than the fact it's back belted? What year approx. did back belts fall out of fashion? Did they have a life into the war years of the 40's at all?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Cab Calloway was probably singing about a suit that enjoyed a short-lived, dubious vogue at the end of World War I. American suitmakers made the very wrong prediction that doughboys returning from Europe would want serge or tweedy suits cut exactly like their uniforms: with very high-waisted jackets, narrow trousers, and belted backs. Turns out that the last thing the ex-soldiers wanted was a reminder of wartime. (Duh!)


Dubbed "jazz suits," they were aggressively advertised and promoted between 1918 and 1921 or so ... but few men bought them. The fashion was dead by 1922.


Belted-back suits didn't return in full force until the early 1930s. By then, wool serge was out of fashion, except for stodgy old men.


.

 

[mike]

would you say the 1921 picture I attached above depicts one of these very Jazz Suits?
btw, thank y ou, I appreciate your insight once again!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Would you say the 1921 picture I attached above depicts one of these very Jazz Suits?

The suit at the picture's left, yes.



Some double-breasted examples of jazz suits. They didn't always have belted backs:

 

[mike]

I quite like this style, it's distinctive and classy. Very much dated, but I wonder if it would seem so if recreated (or found vintage in good condition) and worn today. Big fan of the high rounded collar aswell so any excuse for a full suit to wear one with sounds great to me

 

[mike]

Dubbed "jazz suits," they were aggressively advertised and promoted between 1918 and 1921 or so ... but few men bought them. The fashion was dead by 1922..

What replaced them in the stores in 1922?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Marc, do you still have the pics of Nathan Marzac's (sp?) jazz suit? Might be illustrative here.

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

What replaced them in the stores in 1922?

What replaced them was a type of (usually single-breasted) suit that hardly changed at all from 1923 until the mid 1930s: rounded, almost unpadded shoulders; tubular, close-fitting chest; a bit suppressed at the waist; two or three-button closure; medium width lapels; center vent or ventless back; and (usually) plain-front trousers with straight legs, neither narrow nor wide.


Conservative, safe, and pretty boring.


.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Marc, do you still have the pics of Nathan Marsak's jazz suit? Might be illustrative here.

bk

Here are several jazz suits:

 

[Marc Chevalier]

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Cab Calloway singing in the '30s about this type of suit is akin to MC Hammer singing in the '90s about leisure suits.

.

 

[mike]

sure certainly makes sense to me, very interesting indeed and I enjoy the thought of someone in the 30's/40's looking back at a previous generation. Very interesting photos aswell! Some strange nuances I wouldn't have guessed. Especially in the collars of those suits.

 

[Mr. Rover]

Meh- that look in the catalogue isn't THAT dated anymore...those tight jackets with short narrow pants are all the rage these days.

 

[Sefton]

Meh- that look in the catalogue isn't THAT dated anymore...those tight jackets with short narrow pants are all the rage these days.

As long as those closely spaced jacket buttons don't make a comeback!