double breasted Prince Charley

[ljarvis]

Hello to all. I bought a Prince Charley jacket at the Atlanta games for a good price. It fits every where but across the gut. It is two large. It does cross over and would very easly turn in to a double breasted jacket. Would that look ok or should i try to have it altered to a regular cut.

[MacLowlife]

If it truly does fit in the shoulders, you should probably see about having it taken in some across the middle. If you were to look at the average PC, I think many of them could be made to meet across the owner's stomach, even if they aren't made to button. But you are talking about an overlap of several inches, it sounds like. I would hope a good tailor could remove some of that excess without ruining the lines of the jacket, but it sounds like a job for a skilled person.

Can you post a picture so that we can see how much too big it is?

[CMcG]

If the jacket ALMOST fits, taking it in a bit in body is probably a reasonable and relatively inexpensive alteration.

In my admittedly small experience with alterations tailors, there is a limit to how much can be done before the expense can't be justified. At the point where one is doing major reconstruction i.e. turning a non-buttoning PC into a double-breasted coatee, it might be more cost effective to sell the jacket and look for something that fits better.

That being said, double breasted PC's are a rare beast and would be a unique item to have in one's wardrobe. Here are a couple of pics of other styles of double breasted kilt jackets as examples of how it could look.

[Glen]

Hello to all. I bought a Prince Charley jacket at the Atlanta games for a good price. It fits every where but across the gut. It is two large. It does cross over and would very easly turn in to a double breasted jacket. Would that look ok or should i try to have it altered to a regular cut.

An example...

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...s-again-72543/

Perhaps not a PC, as the tails can not be seen, but close...

[Joshua]

I had my argyle taken in, as I have a 58" chest but a 44" waist at the navel. My 58R jacket fit me perfect in the chest and shoulders, but from the ribcage down looked like a child "trying on daddy's jacket".

But one thing your tailor must understand (and mine missed), is that highland wear should be quite snug in the midsection as the jacket is not really meant to be fully buttoned up. If they take measurements, make sure to let them know that you want it a full 1-2" tighter than would be a fit for a normal suit... I still feel like mine looks a little sloppy because it's still quite loose in the abdomen area.

Here is the jacket in question...

[David Thorpe]

I like the look. Is there a name for this particular style of jacket? (Double-breasted, high collar, metallic (?) epualets)
I'm a relative newb to Highland Dress, and have never seen this style of jacket before now.

[MacLowlife]

Drummer Boy, there are a handful of "frequently appearing " doublets with a double breasted front- some might argue the name implies two layers of cloth. The jacket we usually call a Montrose is one example- search for Montrose and you can see several nice ones. Your tailor or retailer might call it by a different name, though.

I think the OP was talking about actually buttoning his PC with an overlap, which a tailor would probably not recommend. (The back is as wide as the front and there is no way to overlap the fabric back there.)

As for the DB jacket CMcG shows us, I suspect it may not have any flaps in the back. Glen's link above takes you to a recent DB jacket thread over in the General Kilt section, but no rear views of those jackets appear there, either, as he says. AFAIK, the metallic epaulets are the personal choice of the wearer...

[David Thorpe]

Thanks, Mac. I especially like the jacket in the second picture posted by OC Richard, worn by the PM. More research is in order...

[Glen]

I think the OP was talking about actually buttoning his PC with an overlap, which a tailor would probably not recommend. (The back is as wide as the front and there is no way to overlap the fabric back there.)

Glen's link above takes you to a recent DB jacket thread over in the General Kilt section, but no rear views of those jackets appear there, either, as he says.

In the PCs of larger sizes there tends to be an increase in front material, to compensate for an also increased girth. Dependent upon ones build and the PC size, a large PC may be converted to a double breast jacket. My tailor thinks a PC jacket that I obtained and did not fit will work. (I am lucky to have a true tailor with years of experience.)

The plan is to have a resemblance to the Alexander Brothers coatee jacket.



The coatee of the Alexander Brothers style probably does not have any tails, else very small.

[creagdhubh]

The Alexander Brothers wore this particular style of jacket/doublet very well! Of course theirs was more than likely bespoke.

Slainte,