What's in a Chest?

April 18, 2008


We tend to focus on shoulders, but the chest of a bespoke jacket is at least as distinctive. Moreover, when ready-to-wear and made-to-measure jackets tend to impose flat planes, a finely shaped chest remains a unique benefit of ordering bespoke.

For comparison's sake, let's examine two examples of bespoke jackets utilizing the drape cut pioneered by Scholte. On the left, Bill is wearing a suit by Steed, an English firm whose proprietor once cut for Anderson & Sheppard, and continues to cut in the Anderson & Sheppard style. I'm on the right, wearing the same Rubinacci jacket you've all seen already.

Both jackets exhibit 'drape'--but very differently.


The excess cloth in Bill's jacket creates longitudinal draping across the chest and torso. From my understanding, this expression of drape is typical of the classic Anderson & Sheppard jacket.


On my jacket, the excess cloth is less uniformly distributed. Instead, it dips between the shoulders and upper chest, then curves under and around my chest's underside.

The resulting chest shapes are quite distinct.


The chest of Bill's Steed gently slopes toward his waist, where the cloth begins to slope outward into the skirt. It is a gradual transition from top to bottom; the resulting parabolic curves echo the jacket's silhouette.


In contrast, the chest of my Rubinacci takes the shape of a swelled bowl, from which the skirt flows downward. Think of a wine glass. Unlike the case with Bill's jacket, the chest and skirt of my Rubinacci are visually severed from each other.

The chest treatment significantly affects each jacket's overall expression. With its straighter and more parallel lines, the Steed appears upright and harmonious. The Rubinacci is all curves, effecting a more aggressive and dramatic stance.

By now, you might have observed that each jacket reflects commonly-held notions of its country of origin. Is this really a comparison between emotive Italian and sober Brit? I think it's worth being cautious on the matter. As Bill points out, perceptions of Italian and English style have swayed and reversed over time; moreover, much of the difference between our two jackets may be better explained by body shape than by tailoring style.

Still, there is no doubt that these are two distinctly different jackets. Some will hate the jutting-out chest of the Rubinacci. Others may prefer to err on the more flamboyant side of elegance, eschewing the sobriety of the Steed.

Personally, I think it's more rewarding to appreciate each jacket for what it is. Both are shaped with acute respect to all three dimensions of the wearer's chest. In no small part, that's the beauty of bespoke.