Along with John & Paul, 'Smoking Cat Vintage' was launched by me in there.

Summer of '11, as I recall.

All my latest JS stuff has been very generous gifts. I miss my involvement now.

Kind of odd looking things with those frogmouth pockets, aren't they?

Although, what other kind of pockets would you find on French trousers?

I've got a pair. They're a good cut actually. Pretty narrow in the leg though. Narrower than anything else I own. Quality feels good too.

^Totally agree.

The trousers just don't sit well with the jacket,  despite how casual the jacket is.

On seam pockets and they were onto a winner, back pocket detail would have been the icing on the cake.


I really like the look of the cord jackets this year. The olive shade in particular.

I've a suit on the way and will give an honest opinion.

I'm already thinking I might wear the trou. & jacket independently.

Last time I was at Chiltern Street & got a lift from a chum from the Bristol Harbourside where I was living then. It was a few hours in the car. The train was just under two hours as I recall. I'm in Bath now so the trip is  12 mins shorter.

I put aside a day for it, usually spending a good 6 hours in the Barley Mow seeing people. I pop in and out of the shop. In total during my day I must only spend about 30 mins in there. Mainly in the basement nattering.

Mail order works very well for me. I just get in touch with Paul directly and he sorts me out. He knows my size & taste.

The suit held up very well today but is now rumpled to death which suits it very well. It was a mistake to press it and pretend it was a real suit. It now looks fab. I went with Black Penny Weejuns & a White Brooks Makers. I slept in the car in both directions & then snapped to for the drinking and talking inbetween. Not a bad day.

The suit was a gift from a guy I do some work for so I can't bitch, but I wish it was cut like a J*Keydge up top (A longer line to the jacket) & didn't have the froggy pockets downstairs. At some point I have to go to Paris for him in return and write some Jimmyness about Montparnasse & my previous & current experiences there.

The needlecord fabric is great. A very good weight and a nice 'dusky' finish to it. I wasn't too hot or too cold.

I still think I'll wear it as two separate items though more than I'll wear it as a suit. But it's nice to have the option.

It's a very informal suit (Is it a suit? The trou. & jacket match, but is that all it takes to make a suit?) & very Hip. You can't help but slouch in it. Any better posture would be wrong. It's kinda an 'Ivy' suit & kinda not. It isn't 'sharp'... It goes beyond that into a strange world of self confident relaxation. It's carefully careless maybe.

I don't like the button fly. I know it's meant to add value, but I spend so long having a jimmy anyway that staying in there any longer fumbling away with fly buttons really does make it look as if I'm loitering with intent. It's easier to fix your fly than your prostate so maybe I could change the buttons for a zip.

So...

The verdict: It's the suit which isn't a suit, so decide what your life is like before you buy one. Do you hang out a lot or do you have to sweat in a boxy little office all day ?

In the right industry it could be a suit to get you that new job, but I wouldn't try it down the Nat West when they are next after new cashiers.

Best -

So, temporarily putting aside the discussion of whether they ARE or ARE NOT jackets- is there anything out there to compete with the J. Keydge "thing"?  Is there a sack suit replica being made somewhere?  Is there a natural shouldered jacket to be had?

I think the weight of the cord is a very good selling point - It has a drape to it like the Herringbone ones did. I was talking to a clothes nut last year in my Herringbone and I took it off so we could pick it apart and see how it was 'engineered'. The verdict was that it wouldn't work in any other fabric, ie Harris Tweed.

Cloth, cut and construction have to be a marriage (or ménage).