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Q and Answer: The Three-Roll-Two

Benjamin writes to ask: I inherited a handful of my grandfather’s tasteful suits a few years ago and am slowly having them tailored and integrated into my wardrobe. Among my favorites are a very classic Brooks Brothers navy blazer and a cotton khaki suit. Both include three-button jackets, however the lapels were folded as two-buttons leaving the third button hole exposed on the lower part of the lapel. Being under 6’, I tend to prefer a two-button jacket, so I would like to keep them folded the way they are now. But I would also like to know a little more about the style, what’s the deal here? Was it a style years ago? Is it considered tacky?

What you’ve got is probably the most classic suit buttoning style, the 3-roll-2:  three buttons, with a roll in the lapel that rolls under the top button, making the coat functionally a two-button.

Three-button suits were the style of the “Friends” era, and two buttons the style of the “Cheers” era.  The 3-roll-2 is a compromise.  It’s found on many Savile Row single-breasteds, and is the classic buttoning for the undarted Ivy League-style “sack” suit.  It’s the opposite of tacky - the epitome of class.

The great challenge will be preserving the lapel roll as such.  On cheap and mishandled suits, the lapel doesn’t roll at all - it folds.  Often dry cleaners will press the lapel down into the chest of the suit, flattening out the suit’s three-dimensional shape.  They’ll also often press a 3-roll-2 into an awkward three-button, so be vigilant.  A good tailor can steam the lapel roll for you to preserve its shape.

It’s On eBay

Huntsman Covert Coat (Dated 1963)

The covert coat is a spring riding coat - durable and mid-weight.  It was originally designed for riding, and the stitches on the sleeve are for extra durability in the face of brambles.  They’re tough to find in the US of A - even finding the cloth, a wool twill, can be hard.  This one was bespoke for someone in 1963 and is in lovely conditon.  And who can deny an eBay seller with a Hudson’s Bay blanket in the background and the username Mr. Wooster?

Starts at $14.99, ends Sunday

It’s On eBay

Circa 1920s Astrakhan Coat by Lesley & Roberts

This is the coat to wear if you want to look fabulous while being blown to bits by an old-timey bomb thrown by a Spanish anarchist.  If I ever get invited to the Oscars, I’m wearing (vintage) astrakhan.

Starts at $156, ends Monday

A Guide to Men’s Jacket Lapels

Many of our readers are style aficionados.  We know too, though, that many are just learning the ropes.  A reader emailed me the other day, saying he’d appreciate some information on the various types of jacket lapels.

The peaked lapel has a lower blade which extends beyond the upper blade.  In British English, it’s known as a pointed lapel.  This lapel is traditional on double-breasted suits, and on more formal single-breasted suits.  A single-breasted, peak-lapel suit is the most formal informal suit a man can wear.  It is also the lapel on most evening and formal wear.

The notch lapel has an appropriate name, as it has a notch cut into it (the English call it a step lapel).  A bit like what Pac-Man might look like, if he were a lapel, instead of a circle.  This is the lapel configuration of most single-breasted business suits.  You sometimes see it on evening wear, but it is, in our book, inappropriate and inelegant in that context.

The least-common lapel style is the shawl lapel.  This lapel features a clean, unbroken line.  In roughly 1993, you might have caught one or two shawl lapels on lounge suits if you watched The Larry Sanders Show closely enough, but generally, you’ll only see them on evening clothes.  Generally, the shawl lapel is a relatively informal style in the formal wear context, often seen on white dinner jackets, which are worn during summer months.

There is also the Nehru jacket, which features no lapel, and should pretty much only be worn if your name is Nehru.

Don’t the Street Etiquette guys look flyer than the rest of ‘em in their duffle coats?

If you’re looking for a duffle for yourself, look for wood or bone toggles (not plastic), real wool (no polyester), and leather or rope toggle attachments.  The gold standard is early 20th-century British naval issue, and the silver goes to Gloverall, the original commercial manufacturer.  Pair with a Lambretta and you’re good to go.

It’s On Etsy

Vintage Gloverall Duffel Coat

$120 on Etsy

Eight Days of Style

Reader Lucy wrote to us to ask that we suggest eight super-basic, affordable Hanukkah gifts for her boyfriend “to replace his stained light-wash jeans and Nine Inch Nails t-shirts.”  We’ll offer one choice for each day the oil burned.

For cold weather, get him a vintage naval peacoat.  The real deal will only cost you about $50-75 in great condition.  Remember that they’re sized to be worn with a bulky sweater underneath.

All I Want For Christmas: Nick Sullivan

In our series All I Want For Christmas, we ask men we like what style item they’d like to get for Christmas.

Nick Sullivan is the editor of Esquire’s Big Black Book, and writes Ask Nick Sullivan for Esquire.com.  Unfortunately, Esquire.com is kind of hard to navigate, so the best link for that we can give you is this page of pieces he’s written.  He’s also a supremely nice guy, though it should be noted that we’ve extrapolated that piece of information solely from the fact he sent us a nice email about our first video.  So, what does a fashion editor want for Christmas?  Three things, as it turns out.

BRUNELLO CUCINELLI BROGUES
Just as its clothing sits in a unique niche entirely of its own making between dressy and casual,
Brunello’s soft hued brogues span the gulf between proper grown up shoes and trainers.  There is nothing hybrid about these shoes but they are extremely comfortable, and they knock the stuffing out of a suit and add they chutzpah - or whatever the italian word for it is - to jeans or khakis.

VINTAGE BARBOUR INTERNATIONAL
Less the huntin shootin fishing style of the traditional Toffs outerwear, the Barbour International was conceived for and worn as a two piece suit by motorcyclists from the 30s on and adapted for use by World War II Submarine captains, and later even up to the present day by NATO
Cut shorter and slimmer than the country coats, it also had assymmetric pockets on the chest for ease of access when astrid a BAS or Triumph.

SMART TURNOUT MILITARY SOCKS
Stripey socks are my schtick. Lurid combinations of pink and yellow, red and blue, lime green and orange. I wear them with jeans and occasionally with suits. I should point out that since I have never served in the The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, nor occupy my mis-spent youth at Eton, Harrow or Stonyhurst, I don’t technically have the slightest right but damn do I like those colors.  Somehow for me, in America, socks are ok. But ties are not.

Q and Answer

Jordan writes:

I just bought a navy blue blazer from a thrift store.  The blazer came with old brass buttons that I’ll have to be replace.  Will I be better to replace them with new brass buttons or dark navy blue buttons?

The blue blazer is a classic menswear staple.  It pairs well with almost anything and is appropriate for almost any occasion that doesn’t call for a suit.  That said, the classic brass buttons can look a little fogeyish.  If you’re wearing them to your country club for a soiree, maybe that’s appropriate, but we’re not crazy about the idea.

Navy buttons (as seen on Kenneth, above) are fine, but they can, in some cases, make the coat look like an orphaned suit jacket.  We like a natural bone color, which will go nicely with brown shoes and is pretty neutral.  If you’re a bit more adventurous, a white bone or horn button also looks really cool.

You can find button sets pretty easily (and cheaply) on Ebay or at a local fabric store.  Your tailor or alterationist will likely charge about a dollar a button to switch them out for you.

While you’re on Ebay, by the way, be sure to check out blazer button sets in precious metals (silver and gold!) and for odd clubs and organizations.  You may not belong to the New York Fencing Society, but it might be kind of cool to have thier buttons on your thrift store blazer.