Anyone still in doubt that one can make a statement with just their appearance, before even speaking a word?
Kamala Harris, US Vice President-elect, showed us how, when stepping out to address the nation in a white suit. Before her, Hilary Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro, Angela Merkel and Theresa May wore trouser-suits, although the British and German politicians didn't opt for an all-white. 📌 Take note for next time you have a grand entrance to make; however today we are writing about the jacket's fit.
Not to be distracted by the colour, the fit of a suit is still relevant.
Not only are the jacket's shoulders excessively wide, which doesn't do her any favours (as a 5-minute search online will confirm), the jacket rose upwards when she raised her arms giving her the appearance of a Quarterback and the sleeves rode more than 2" up her forearms.
This generally happens with all ready-to-wear jackets. Many people think nothing of it, unaware it doesn't have to be this way. Who benefits from such a feature? The manufacturer does. Not you the customer.
A levitating jacket is a sign of a low cut armscye, i.e. the hole you put your arm through when putting the jacket on. In mass production, even in luxury brands, garments are designed to fit an average figure. In order to accommodate a variety of arms, thin, flabby and muscular, an armscye is cut deeper (with a larger circumference), so that the sleeve can envelope any arm. This results in, for example, a woman with a larger chest but slim arms looking bulky for all the extra cloth that makes her arms look bigger. Or a man with pronounced biceps from the gym finding the sleeves are tight, trying for the next size up to find his shoulders and waist now look huge and do not show off the torso he spent hours sculpting.
A deep armscye, counterintuitively, also reduces a jacket's motion range. What you feel when lifting your arms is the sleeves start cutting into the biceps - look at those ripples on Kamala's upper arms caused by the fabric tension - which also causes tightness right across the shoulder blades at the back. Anytime you lift your luggage to put away into the overhead compartment on a plane, or lifting your child up into the air you will feel the discomfort.
In fully-bespoke tailoring, the jacket shoulders, armscyes and sleeves are constructed in accordance with a client's individual configuration and body proportions because there is no such thing as a standard sleeve. Everybody's arm curvature, shoulder position and pitch, elbow twist etc, is unique to them only. Normally, when commissioning a bespoke jacket you would be advised a high armscye because extra comfort is achieved by cutting it closer to the armpit. And next time you are at the tailor you know why they suggest that. We don't want our customers looking like Quarterbacks.
Commentaires