Heritage Aesthetics: A Case Study

Personally, my two favourite decades for tailored menswear historically, are the 30s and the 60s. Both eras heralded significant developments in menswear, and both represent completely different aesthetics and attitudes to what was considered stylish at the time. Most 60s tailoring still feels modern today. Its highly fitted, slim, plain and the application of colour is understated - minimalist cool was the order of the day. The 30s on the other hand, was a time for distinctly maximalist taste. It was in this decade that men really started to view a good suit as a means of self expression. The fullness of shape, richness of colour and pattern applied to 1930s tailoring reflects this. Take a look below - I'm wearing two blue suits, but they couldn't be more different.

Firstly, this is my 60s offering, my Gieves & Hawkes double breasted suit. This was an off-the-peg suit which formed part of an Autumn/Winter 2012 capsule collection based around 1960s patterns taken from the Gieves & Hawkes archives. I love it, its cool, beautifully constructed and finished and the styling is very distinctive. Let me talk you through the jacket; its sharply slim and fitted: the shoulders are close-set as is the waist. Similarly, the trouser legs are also slim and taper quite sharply through the leg, finishing in a narrow, neat plain hem. The line through the body then is very close and plain - no extra cloth is used to fill out the shape or to build stylistic features into the design; its all in the simple silhouette.

The a sense of minimalism is continued through into the suit's closure. A set of four low and closely placed buttons finishes the jacket - no breast buttons here. Patch pockets are also plain and clean, and given that they're flap-less, they don't alter or interrupt the lines of the suit. The angular notched lapel is also an understated way to make a statement, it is both more common and less flamboyant than the peaked lapel, but is rarely seen on a double breasted suit. Its angular shape is also a real focal point.

Equally, consider the construction of this suit - obviously you can't see - but its half-lined for comfort and to help the suit to breath. The canvass is soft, as is the shoulder (which has a very natural line) and the patch pockets and low-set double breasting help to produce a casual feel. Similarly, the trouser has a low rise and sits on the hips. The jacket's twin vents also aid comfort and mobility. The whole thing feels soft and comfortable on; this is a sharp suit to relax and feel cool in. 

Contrast this with my blue flannel bespoke suit by The Cad & the Dandy. This is my own personal take on a 30s suit - and is very true to the cut and style of the original form. Its heavily structured (comfort is not a major consideration) instead, statement making is de rigueur. It features a long coat, very rigid structured shoulder and full chest, alongside a sharply suppressed hourglass waist and heavily flared skirt. It is designed to look dramatic. The authentic 30s peaked lapels and double-breasted waistcoat complete the imposing aesthetic. Lots of cloth is used to create a big, flamboyant shape - those lapels are 4.25 inches wide! The jacket is finished with a deep-cut single rear vent, a far more common shape in the 30s. It was considered the most elegant option, given that the evolution of jacket vents was still taking place and the twin vent had yet to make an appearance. Commonly Jazz-Age jackets would be finished without any vent at all.

Equally striking is the difference between trouser cuts. Whereas the 60s trouser uses a slim, flat fronted leg with a low rise, the 30s trousers are so high waisted they actually sit on my belly button. Similarly, they're held up with waist adjusters and braces, whilst the 60s suit uses a belt with belt loops sewn to the trouser waistband. Equally, the legs on the 30s suit are considerably more full with a straight leg, and are finished with chunky turn-ups and a wide hem which helps balance the fullness at the top of the trouser. This fullness takes the form of the popular 1930s combination of twin forward-facing pleats which gather the body of the trouser into the waistband and create the illusion of a long, flowing leg and fan out from the hips, creating the bottom half of an hourglass figure that runs into the waistcoat and through the jacket. The addition of the waistcoat is a statement symbol in itself and it similarly works to accentuate the figure of the wearer. A waistcoat, by its very definition, defines the natural shape of the wearer's waist.

I find it hugely exciting to explore the ways that the suit has changed and evolved through time, and I hope that this 'case study' as I've called it will open up new possibilities as to how you can influence your own dress sense using heritage style and cuts in your tailoring. Perhaps it might encourage you to explore the rich archives of tailoring history a little more? You can get a better sense of the differences by exploring my two Pinterest boards:
http://www.pinterest.com/studenttailor/a-jazz-age-aesthetic/
http://www.pinterest.com/studenttailor/retro-style/