07 May 2011

Coat Tails (and How to Ride Them)

A little while ago, our man in New York Tin Tin did a series of posts involving Morning Dress. I will now unabashedly ride the tails of his Henry Poole morning coat shamelessly, and without apology.

A few months ago, I picked up this beautiful vintage morning coat, in charcaol grey flannel. It truly is a thing of beauty, a piece of art in the quality of it's tailoring. Despite the fact that it is made for someone much slimmer than myself, or the fact that I will never in my life have an opportunity to don such a garment , I felt compelled to purchase it. I shudder to think what it's fate may have been had someone like me (read: clothes mad, especially for old things) stumbled across it.
Perfectly cut peaked lapels, with a loop under the left one for keeping a flower in place. The perfect shade of dark grey.
Impeccably tailored...note the line of the shoulders and dramatically supressed waist as well as the curved seams across the back.
Perfect construction, with closed pleats runnung the length of each tail and a hooked vent, as it should be.
Even the lining is a thing of beauty. There's a concealed pocket built into the left tail.
Serious vintage from the Rogers Peet Company. Vintage isn't even the right word in this case. This thing is an antique, a truly wonderful old thing.

The trouble with being thrift obsessed is that one tends to accumulate too much stuff. Things like this coat roll along, and I feel like I'm rescuing a stray puppy, as though I have a duty to rescue these things from the dirt and grime and chaos that is a proper thrift shop. That's whya I started my online shop, sort of as missionary work...well that and to make money, you know. Anyway, I must have picked this coat up and put it back a half dozen times, talked myself out of it repeatedly, tried to listen to whatever shred of a voice of reason I may have. In the end, it still followed me home.

So, if you're clothes mad enough to want such a thing, and you wear a 38 jacket, a 32 waist, and are just shy of 6 feet tall, and you promise to give it a loving home, and you think you might actually wear it someday, I'm entertaining offers. Please not that there is one tiny moth hole on the back of the left shoulder, and a couple of the sleeve buttons need replacing, other than that, the conditon is perfect. Contact me via email if you're serious.

Edit: The coat is sold, congratulations Mr. T. I thank you all for your interest. Continue to look here for offers such as these, special antiques.

p.s.For the more "normal" among you, some new items that are infintely more wearable in the modern world have just made the shop. I've got Italian shoes if you've got size 13 feet. Check it out.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had a similar situation with an amazing set of midnight blue evening tails. saw it on the rack at a charity shop, tried it, and saw how beautiful it looked, tried to buy it, but was told it was spoken for and shouldn't have been on the rack. it had been taken by a woman going to a new years eve party as charlie chaplin! the horror! the ignominy! it was wrong on too many levels. sometime after nye, it appeared in the same shop again! the woman had brought it back after (mis)using it, and now it sits, cleaned and rescued, waiting patiently for a day that will most likely come. but im still damn glad i bought it!

Jho78 said...

"a 38 jacket, a 32 waist, and are just shy of 6 feet tall"

My ears are burning. Sadly, I'll never actually be able to wear it, unless I want to impress my kids by dressing like Sir Topham Hatt.

Anonymous said...

38 jacket and 32 waist, just shy of 6 feet tall? Sir, why do you tempt me so?

That is my size precisely, and it's possible there may be a wedding in my future...

I had been admiring from a distance (looking back through time) the all but forgotten, but oh so elegant, morning dress.

I can't at the moment, but if it's still around in a month or two I may not be able to resist.

Unknown said...

Prom is this Saturday. If only you would have found it 2 weeks ago I would have bought it in time to fix it up before then.

Young Fogey said...

Exquisite. The craftsmanship, the timeless style... words fail me. A rare occurrence indeed!

I sometimes think we were born too late.

Anyway, I hope that beautiful coat goes to a good home.

The Red Velvet Shoe said...

Why don't boys where this sort of "Mr. Darcy" attire anymore? It makes me swoon....

Young Fogey said...

Noah,

It's a morning coat, for daytime formal wear. Evening formal wear is white tie, for which the coat is black.*

Not that anyone at your prom would know that. This is not a dig on you or your classmates; just a statement of fact.

* I don't know enough about formal wear to tell you any other differences between a morning coat and tails, but I imagine there are some.

The Red Velvet Shoe said...

Excuse me, I meant "wear"...must have been the Manhattan typing...