Jacket conversion - leaving two buttons?

[Mickey]

It depends on how high the buttons are. Most sport coats have the buttons too low to keep both. To get a two button, you generally have to find a suit jacket unless you get lucky.

As far as length of the jacket, I follow the rule that the bottom of the jacket should be no longer then the stitched down part of the kilt.

[MacMillans son]

It depends on how high the buttons are. Most sport coats have the buttons too low to keep both. To get a two button, you generally have to find a suit jacket unless you get lucky.

As far as length of the jacket, I follow the rule that the bottom of the jacket should be no longer then the stitched down part of the kilt.

I would certainly agree with Mickey in theory. However, I think that conversion jackets require a bit more latitude than store bought, made to order jackets. My biggest pet peeves with conversion jackets is the location of the pockets relative to the hem of the jacket, the size of the pocket flaps, and the shape of the cutaway for the sporran. I would much rather have, and I do have, a jacket that is an inch too long (relative to the fell), with pockets that are properly related to the hem and a nicely shaped cutaway, than a jacket that is cut perfectly to the bottom of the fell and sacrifices both of the other points in the process. People spend much more time interacting with you from the front than looking at you walk away. So I recommend letting those conditions that are seen from the front determine (within reason) the length.

One small "trick" that my alteration specialist used instead of raising the pocket flaps and leaving them their original size, was to just shortened them in their height without moving them at all. This gives them both the right relationship to the hem, and also the right scale to that distance.

Relative to the cutaway in the front, I prefer that the radius does not intersect the invisible vertical line that comes straight down from the edge of the pockets. Stop the radius before it crosses that point. If not your eye will see that as cutting off the corner of the pocket which is visually disturbing, at least to me.

Most conversion jackets will require you to play with those variables a little bit to get the balance and lines just right " A little longer" "A little less radius" "Start the radius a little higher or lower ? " etc. I think it is well worth it though.

Best of luck!

Brooke