Last edited by formby (2008-06-07 15:34:20)

Looking at the M&S, Next, and Austin Reed as a good cross sample of UK RTW retailers the double breasted suit looks doomed in the UK. On their web sites M&S have 2 DB suits out of 110, Next and Austin Reed have none. On the other hand nobody would care if you wore a DB suit.

Personally the DB is my favorite style and I buy and wear them regardless. I prefer the look and like the way they sit, somehow they seem more stable.

I agree with much of this concerning the double breasted suit:


http://www.forbes.com/forbes-life-magazine/2008/0915/084.html

I had no idea the button inside was called a jigger.

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/23/style/cool-again-the-double-breasted-suit.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

Cool Again: The Double-Breasted Suit
By WOODY HOCHSWENDER
Published: Tuesday, August 23, 1988

 

The V-shaped man in the double-breasted suit is back, adding stylish swagger to hot city streets and tailored cool to corporate offices. The newer silhouettes, with their swooping lapels, broadened shoulders and extra chest, project masculinity, athleticism and aggressiveness. They also bespeak a cavalier attitude toward the heat.

In the midst of this summer's steambath weather, men in double-breasted suits, which place an extra layer of fabric against the body, were clearly choosing chic over comfort.

''It's a fashion statement,'' said Duffy Hickey, the chairman of Hickey-Freeman, one of America's largest men's clothing manufacturers. ''It's a little warmer, because it really should be kept buttoned in front when you're standing.'' 10 to 12 Percent of Sales Mr. Hickey estimated that double-breasted models account for 10 to 12 percent of his suit business, up dramatically over last year, when they accounted for about 2 percent.

For fall, they will have an even bigger impact. Men's wear designers, from traditional to avant-garde, are all offering versions of the double-breasted suit, which has come a long way from the zoot suits of the 1930's and 40's, when they last were in vogue. So why the resurgence of double-breasted suits?

''Even if they're not cool, they look cool,'' said Stephen Sprouse, who opened his fall collection, shown in New York last April, with gray double-breasted suits. Mr. Sprouse calls one of his double-breasted styles the Mick jacket, after the singer Mick Jagger, who brought him a double-breasted jacket from the 1930's and asked if he could copy it. The designer brought in the lapels a bit and modified the look for his fall collection.

Garrick Anderson, who designs men's wear, believes the double-breasted suit has more character than single-breasted and credits its comback to a general return of elegance. ''It's close to 40 percent of our fall business now, which is unheard of,'' he said.

Mr. Anderson's off-the-rack suits, cut in the West End of London tradition of wider shoulders, nipped-in waists and lots of chest, cost from $1,000 to $1,300. He numbers among his customers Wall Street executives, who value the taller, broader, more masculine look of the double-breasted suit. ''The cut is very dramatic,'' he said. ''But the fabrics are rich and conservative.'' Started by Italian Designers

At Barneys New York, about 20 percent of the suits sold this year are double-breasted, according to Fred Pressman, the president, who believes the resurgence was started by Italian designers in the late 1970's. But the full-blown return came only recently with ''the loungier, drapier cuts that flatter different body types,'' he said.

''There was a period when you rarely saw one, unless it came from a custom tailor,'' Mr. Pressman said. ''The only thing we sold in double-breasted, until recently, was the blazer.''

At Saks Fifth Avenue, double-breasted models by Hugo Boss, Giorgio Armani and Hickey-Freeman are outselling all others, including single-breasted, said Linda Hopler, the fashion director for men's clothing. ''The suits are more adventuresome in fabrics, overproportioned in silhouette,'' Ms. Hopler said. At Bloomingdale's, Beth Weinstein, who runs At His Service, a personal shopping service for men, said a Giorgio Armani black wool double-breasted suit, at $815, is so popular that the store cannot keep it in stock.

Nationally, 17 percent of the suits that Bloomingdale's sells are double-breasted, said Frank Di Napoli, the men's clothing buyer. In New York the figure is higher, around 25 percent, with the lion's share in European designer suits.

''I can only speak for my clientele - Wall Streeters, advertising executives, lawyers, corporate managers,'' Ms. Weinstein said. ''They have gone from conservative to a little more forward-looking in clothing.''

Still, the single-breasted suit predominates, largely because many men believe that they do not have the right physique for double-breasted.

''There are a lot of myths about double-breasted suits,'' said Alan Flusser, the designer. ''Men think it makes them look boxy. Actually, the lapel treatment, running diagonally across the body, gives the wearer more height. It's definitely more flattering and only a fraction more expensive.''

Across the board, suits will cost about 20 to 40 percent more this fall, mainly because of unfavorable exchange rates and higher wool prices.

Double-breasted jackets have their origins in English sportswear, according to Robert Gieve, the president of Gieves & Hawkes, the Savile Row tailor, whose ready-to-wear suits will be more widely available in American stores this fall: ''The classic double-breasted jacket originated with the frock coat, worn in the early Victorian era, in the 1820's and 30's.''

''A well-fitted double-breasted suit can disguise a worsening figure,'' Mr. Gieve said. However, he added, perhaps the very short man should shun the style.

''If a short man buys double-breasted, I'd recommend the one-button interpretation, which gives a longer roll to the lapel.''

Most double-breasted suits have two rows of buttons, three on each side. The middle button on the left is usually buttoned, as is the inner button, called the jigger button, which keeps the jacket flaps in line.

Mr. Gieve said the double-breasted style was enjoying a similar resurgence in England. ''I would think every well-dressed man would have at least one,'' he said.