The Thread to Display 1950s Suits

[Dinerman]

The suit above.

 

[Dinerman]

Kuppenheimer

 

[Dinerman]

Harilela Emporium

 

[Hap Hapablap]

Harilela Emporium

Is there a specific name for this type of gorge, where it is "sloped" and the seam of the gorge runs parallel to the collar's shape?

 

[SteveAS]

Your most recently posted suit is great, Dinerman!

 

[herringbonekid]

Is there a specific name for this type of gorge, where it is "sloped" and the seam of the gorge runs parallel to the collar's shape?

not that i know of.
here's a jacket i used to own with a similar lapel (also mid 50s).
the combination of the rather steep downward-sloping gorge-line, wide lapel and high top button results in a very short lapel length which is quite distinctive.

 

[Hap Hapablap]

Thanks, HBK.
It's such a defining element of those decades, and I like it, even though it was co-opted by the '80s designers. But I feel like a wider notch lapel WITHOUT it feels very '70s, unless that lapel has a nice belly to it.

 

[LuvMyMan]

I will have to take some pictures and toss them here in the next week or so....I just was lucky enough to find the "holy grail" suit for my Husband, as we have been searching for it many years...and finally found it.

The suit is a thin lapel silver sharkskin three button. The overall examination of the suit proves to have NO issues at all. Not a snag or rip or stain anywhere on it. The inside says it is a blend of silk and worsted wool. I have not yet turned the pockets inside out to check on any other labels....but I did some research on the origin of the suit. It was made at least by 1957 or older. I know that as the name of the clothiers in Reno Nevada. Paterson's. The store burned down in that year. The area actually had an interesting story about what happened. The strong smell of natural gas made a few people go down into basements of business buildings all surrounding the corner where Paterson's was located. One fool went down stairs and actually lit a match...lol! He lived however as the explosion and fire took a few minutes longer to happen. But the explosion and fire did some real damage to the clothing store, a shoe store and several other retail and commercial buildings. There was a nice article to read about the events. What I appreciated is that I can date the suit to being at least that old....and for how nice it looks knocks the ball out of the park. This has a very high waist, a small "fish tail" on the back of the trousers, pleats and cuffs that are 1 3/4 inch not like the shorter cuffs you see on todays trousers. The trousers need to be shortened one inch on the inseam and that is all for them and the suit fits my Husband like it was made for him....well I am having to shorten the sleeves 1/2 inch, as they are 26 inches long. But in all this was the "catch" for him...he loves the fabric and the sharkskin....the silver grey sort of has a shine with some slight red/green/gold in it. Nothing overpowering but you can see it there. The lapel does not have a "button hole" on it as most suit jackets do....and the very outer edge is hand tailored similar to "pic" stitching. The trousers have a really high quality zipper that appears to be steel, and a few turtle shell buttons for fasteners. I was amazed on how this suit looked after just hanging it up...it was wrinkled to death when it first arrived in a very small box...but just hanging it up over night and almost all the tight wrinkles were gone.

My Husband will enjoy wearing this suit...and we had fun finding out the history behind where it came from....we actually wrote to the person who wrote the article about the fire in Reno, in hopes he may be able to tell us more about Paterson's and maybe if someone is still alive? "Calling Mr. Paterson"...????? We love it. It is so much fun to track down the history of vintage attire such as hats or suits or shoes, etc.

 

[Dinerman]

Allen

 

[Luftwaffles]

Just bought this off the 'bay. What color shoes and belt should I wear with it?

 

[Two Types]

Reddish brown would look great with that suit.

 

[Luftwaffles]

Do you think Moc toes/Norwegian shoes would work well? It's a 50s look, if I recall correctly.

 

[Guttersnipe]

^^^Absolutely^^^

 

[Dinerman]

 

[Christopher Scoggins]

I recently bought this late 50's/early 60's tux for a song at an estate sale. It must have been a real nice suit fifty years ago...

And worst of all...

I really want to see how this tux looked fifty years ago, so I wanna know, what would a repair like that cost? Is there even a tailor that can make that kind of extensive repair? Recommendations? Would it even be worth it?

 

[Dinerman]

Keep an eye out on ebay. Tuxes of this era can be picked up inexpensively, and the damage on that is too far gone for repair.

 

[esteban68]

I've picked up three in the UK within 18 months all pre 1950 and virtually immaculate all £ 20 or less, as Dinerman says there's plenty out there.
They usually get put out near Christmas and because they've changed little over the years shops rarely know the difference between newer and older stuff so they don't tend to get put into the 'vintage' section....at least in the UK!

 

[Christopher Scoggins]

Keep an eye out on ebay. Tuxes of this era can be picked up inexpensively, and the damage on that is too far gone for repair.

Well, shoot. So begins the hunt for a vintage size 34 tux! Here goes nothing...

 

[brendanm720]

Here's my (probably) Late '50s Blue Pinstriped Suit. It's got a '49 union tag.













Aside from needing to let down the leg hems and seeing what's going on in the arms (maybe letting those down a little, too) It fits great. This is my first suit that fits this well without alterations.

 

[Patrick Hall]

Welcome to the Lounge! That's a beautiful suit. HS&M made good stuff, back in the day.