This is the final jacket that my wife commissioned from Kathryn Sargent at the beginning of the year. It was actually ready a couple of months ago, but it seemed more relevant to organise the shoot when the weather actually suited a tweed jacket.


My first post is worth reading for the tailoring contrasts between men’s and women’s jackets. Women’s are often shorter, leading to knock-on effects on the buttoning point, lapels and particularly pockets. Women also tend to prefer very tight jackets, such is the RTW propensity for achieving body-clinging fit through stretch fabrics. This adds a particular difficulty to ‘fitting the mind’, as tailors put it, as opposed to the body.




Since my wife has had the jacket, it’s interesting to see how she wears and styles it. The prevalent attitudes in women’s fashion make it easier to wear a long-sleeved T-shirt underneath, for example; I understand the desire to roll back the cuff, and of course this is easier on a jacket with functioning buttons; and being a tweed jacket it readily goes with slim jeans and slimline trainers.


I wouldn’t necessarily emulate these looks, but there are certainly style points to bear in mind – as there usually are when any stylish woman (Anda at Anderson & Sheppard springs to mind) rocks tailoring.


The cut and fit were perfect, as I would expect from Kathryn, and her suggestion of the Liberty-print lining and red undercollar (her trademark colour) gave the jacket a nice turn of style. 



You can see more detail on Kathryn’s style and process in the step-by-step posts I wrote last year on the  ‘perfect travel blazer’ she made for me:
The conception
The cutting
The fitting
The finished jacket


Photography: Luke Carby
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AFJ

The jacket looks a bit too tight.

Anonymous

I am not sure from your post if you were criticizing the female trend for highly fitted jackets or simply stating that this is the desired look?

Not sure if it is the poses in the photos or otherwise but assuming it was intended to follow the female fashion for highly fitted then this really doesnt look as if its fitted well at all and have seen much better results from RTW.

To go off topic, as a fairly recent joiner to your blog I’ve been reading a lot of the older topics and I would argue that you, arguably inevitably, have changed over time. So in May 2008 your Hermes thread stated “I am at heart a cheap man.”

Do you feel that your high level of exposure to those dealing in £3,000+ suits have changed your views/ priorities etc or do you still consider yourself a cheap man at heart? (for example)

Many thanks

Dan

Anonymous

Glad to hear the blog is being successful for you, I dont doubt you are putting in the hours to make it so.

I am well aware of the argument of value over price as its one constantly discussed about the industry I am in. My own experience in clothing fairly limited, I jumped up the scale of shoes last year to C&J and so far I think they do represent value having better durability as well as style. I’ve had an IWC watch for years and whilst I love it, I dont think it was good value. Likewise I haven’t been convinced yet that the return on investment on the few more expensive ties but they are “aging” slightly better. I’ve just ordered by first MTM suit so we will see how that turns out.

I am curious as to what elements of a Savile Row suit you feel makes up for its cost? Is it purely its aesthetics?

Thanks again

Dan

Anonymous

Absolutely agree on diminishing returns which is why I wouldn’t hold something up at the top of the line as being good value hence curious by your statement that Savile Row is actually good value.

Matt Spaiser

Are the people criticising the fit doing so from the perspective of men’s tailoring? One says it’s too tight and the other says it doesn’t follow the female fashion for highly fitted. It looks pretty good to me, but I know nothing of how a woman’s jacket should properly fit. However, it looks like a traditional woman’s jacket, which current men’s fashions have been mimicking in the tight fit and short length.

John

Help, please. All four parts of your posts on Kathryn’s making the ‘perfect travel blazer’ seem no longer active. I’d like to read them and anything else you’ve posted about her. Do let me know where to look. Thanks. J.