Film Noir Buff Style Forum / Jacket Length...

Just Jim · 2010-02-01 06:18:26

- Just while I'm thinking about it...

Many Vintage sacks often come up short by todays standards - Towards 30" can be common.

But a longer line jacket was also once common and the style was revived around 1958. John Gall has a great pic of Paul Newman in one.

So who likes what here?

Given that there is no 'correct' length & never was, just waves of fashion.

Last edited by Just Jim (2010-02-01 06:24:02)

Just Jim · 2010-02-01 06:30:12

At random: I've various lengths of 38R-ish jackets with a body length of 30 - 32" from various years. Brooks, Press & Chipp are included in this sample. The longer length I'm thinking of was quite a bit longer though.

RSMeyer once summed up Ivy League over here as having a typically longer jacket in much the same way that some say the style was cuffed & some say that it was cuffless. As with cuffs or no cuffs, there was a point in time when the longer jacket was 'in'.

Last edited by Just Jim (2010-02-01 06:33:07)

The Laird of Enfield · 2010-02-01 06:36:14

Own jackets in various lengths. Mair interested in details like the shoulders, lapels, etc.

Too auld/lard-arsed tae be wearin' "bumfreezers" these days right enough.

Jist team stuff up with them that looks okay and awa' ye go.

Moose Maclennan · 2010-02-01 06:42:25

I always just multiply my height by 0.4375...

Just Jim · 2010-02-01 06:43:03

M'Laird -

A bit like Lockerloop's observation that it's the collar roll on an Ivy shirt that matters most (and indeed it probably does).

Last edited by Just Jim (2010-02-01 06:43:48)

eris · 2010-02-01 06:46:20

I'm in a bit of a tough spot at 6'2" - right inbetween a regular and a long. I don't like the look of a 42L and usually just let out the sleeves on a 42R.. Maybe it's just me, but I think longer sack jackets just look very, very frumpy, whereas a shorther length works wonders for me - much more of an edge if you will.

But I guess YMMV, asl always...

Just Jim · 2010-02-01 06:48:56

I actually suspect that the '58 revival of the longer line was a retro-ish move back then.

No proof, of course.

Just Jim · 2010-02-01 06:58:39

... Which makes me recall the 'Fingertip Drape' American suits of the Cunard Yanks before Ivy was 'in'... A 30's-ish look in the 50's which was a stage of the evolution of Ivy from pre-war to post-war forms?

The highly stylised 'Ivy' look that came in around '54/'55 had a far more Anglo DOW-ish cousin which came before it. Then just to mess things up if you go back even further to the 20's (before 'Ivy' existed as a term) it's all slim lines again before things got fatter in the 30's (when 'Ivy' was invented).

What a muddle!

The Thin Repp · 2010-02-01 07:45:23

I'd say it depends entirely on the suit at hand. I have a vintage Jivy Ivy sack suit that is only about 30 in length but is very slim fitting with tight tapered trousers. Very mid-60s. A 32" inch jacket isn't "too long" per se, it just looks better with a more drapey jacket and looser trouser, more of a 1950s look.

Just Jim · 2010-02-01 07:53:23

I'm still trying to get a length for the 'longer line' cut - 33", 34"?

I've 32"s by Chipp & Press & they wear perfectly well when, as you say, you keep everything in proportion.

Patrick · 2010-02-01 08:27:01

At 5'9" but with a 29" inseam I'm between a 42 regular and short. The ideal length I've arrived at is about 31 inches from the top of the collar. Anything more than 32 inches and the jacket looks like a tunic; anything shorter and the vents flare out.

Also depends on the trousers.

I just fiddle around until I get it.

Last edited by Patrick (2010-02-01 08:27:43)

The Thin Repp · 2010-02-01 08:38:01

Just Jim · 2010-02-01 09:35:38

The Thin Repp · 2010-02-01 11:31:17

Just Jim · 2010-02-01 11:38:37

Very much like that Fonda jacket.

I'll see if I can find JG's '58 Newman pic, just to show what I mean.

Can't say I personally like or wear longer jackets, but they were a part of the story.

The Thin Repp · 2010-02-01 11:47:55

Just Jim · 2010-02-01 11:55:16

That's the cut, but in J.G.'s pic he's in a pale lightweight odd jacket, dark high rise flatfronts, White BD & a slim dark knit tie. Same hair though.

The Thin Repp · 2010-02-01 16:39:50

Just Jim · 2010-02-02 00:26:25

Good call.

Moose Maclennan · 2010-02-03 03:44:07

I think a suit jacket can be just that bit longer than a sports jacket.

Also the more casual (Madras?) or trim a jacket is, the shorter it can be IMHO.

Many 60s natural shoulder jackets were roomy through the chest, a relaxed fit (I generally look for 41" around in jackets for a 36" chest) that can take an inch or so more length without any ill effect.

Last edited by Moose Maclennan (2010-02-03 03:44:58)

Just Jim · 2010-02-03 04:09:55

eris · 2010-02-03 04:14:14

Moose put it succinctly, and I couln't agree more. That's probably why I subconsciously alway go for a shorter cut, as I lean more towards the casual end of the Look. Probabyl also a question of age, if you ask me. I just couldn't pull of a longish coat at my age.

Prof Kelp · 2010-02-03 06:12:19

Just Jim · 2010-02-03 08:10:21

Stage clothes are a tricky area. Then again so are the costumes in films...

Changes in fashion are what we will always have to come back to. Good point, Sir.

And Ivy was fashion (Sorry Trads).

Get Smart · 2010-02-10 14:43:22

at my height, 5'10ish, I like a shorter than normal jacket. a slight bumfreezer, about 28 - 28.5" from base of collar to bottom, whereas around 29-29.5" would be the traditional normal length for me

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Jacket Length...

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