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Vintage J. Press Donegal Tweed Sportcoat

I love Harris Tweed, but my stepmother is from Belfast, and Donegal is her favorite place in the world, so I have a soft spot for the Donegal stuff.

Started at $9.99, ends Sunday

Saw this photo in an advertisement in this month’s Esquire.

After a few years of Mad-Men-ish narrow ties and lapels, it’s refreshing to see Polo’s lapels blossoming outward.  It recalls their heyday, in the mid-to-late 1970s, and to my eye, it looks decadent and luxurious and just great.

Of course, everything else has to be on point to rock a look like this - and it’s interesting that they’re blending some traditional American elements in with this very louche Euro 70s look.  I just love the lines of this thing.  The shoulders are slightly broad, but not extraordinarily so, and the body remains tightly tailored, but not in the too-small-my-buttons-are-straining way that you see on a lot of guys these days.  The two-button front functions to lengthen the whole look, as well, which is quite flattering.  The combination of big lapels and tailored elegance reminds me of 70s Saville Row - Michael Caine in Get Carter for example.  But like all RL, it’s also very American, with the button-down collar and fake-heraldic graphic tie.

I’m not prepared to trade in all my suits for big lapels and long lines, but it’s certainly an inspirational idea, and it’s exciting to see as big a ship as Polo sailing against the current.

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.

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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

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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