This is the second item for my bespoke cotton quilted jacket shown above, made by Whitcomb & Shaftesbury. For information on why a washable coat is rare, and how it has been worn and washed so far,see that article. Today’s is a review of the coat itself, without washing it.
A cotton blend coat is great. Its style makes it formal, but its material makes it casual. It’s tough and functional, but can dress up a t-shirt and jeans.
Linen is beautiful, toomy slubby DB linenit has many similar qualities. But you can really beat a cotton jacket – put your hands in the hip pockets, overload some pockets, put them in a bag, sleep in the corner of the cart – and the good one will look much better.
Linen is not as strong, and a cotton summer jacket is the warm weather equivalent of tweed or corduroy for that matter. It’s also easy to repair, even patch.
Perhaps most importantly, it makes good sewing more accessible.
I have had itcotton suits over the yearsbut there are fewcotton jackets. One reason is the material – 9oz (255g) twill which is the standard for clothing.very nice suitbut too small for a wrap jacket.
There are heavier cottons, which are best sold for pants, but they are usually too tight to be as comfortable as a jacket. There’s also moleskin and corduroy, but those are mostly for winter.
Whitcomb & Shaftesbury sourced Japanese cotton* to make this jacket – or rather, they sourced it for another customer, who I saw then asked to do the same thing.
It’s heavier than the twills I’ve used in the past, 300g, but it’s made like traditional sewing cotton. It is coarse, and dense, which makes it irregular and rigid. I also find that the density means it stands away from the body, making it cooler.
This type of cotton is rarely used for partial sewing because it cannot be processed – combined – to the same degree. But Whitcomb has done an excellent job of shaping it, creating a bespoke fit out of itwith no canvases or padding.
I simplified the design from another customer’s jacket. He was following the traditional safari jacket look, with tabs, epaulettes and more. I wanted something stripped back and simple, with that same aim of being subtle and easy to wear.
In fact, I only went with the inverted pleats you can see on the pockets at the last minute. I’m glad I did, as it’s a lovely detail and doesn’t make the jacket look awkward. But my lesson from testing in the past has always been to go easy, whenever I’m in doubt.
The edges of those applications are beautiful, betraying their handmade nature in a subtle way, especially asI have washed the jacket.
These handmade details stand out everywhere on the bespoke cotton garment, as I diddiscussed in the past. Some of them include:
- pick stitching, obviously not the AMF-fake machine style you find on ready-made jackets
- hand-stitched buttonholes stand out even more by being on solid material
- the seam on the inside of the sleeve that you see goes around the cuff
- Hand-stitched collar visible when you reveal the collar
- One for the smart people: a cut used on the upper chest to give me shape on the chest, without attaching the hand.
I did get one or two style items wrong though.
In retrospect I should have had a lower gorge on the lapel – I’m not sure how I missed that in the fitting process, as these days I was always going down. Although it doesn’t matter much since I wear the collar higher than lower.
We also had to test the functionality of the collar latch. It’s a nice detail, tucked and buttoned back, and I’ll never use it. But it would be nice if it could tie around the neck more freely, and it’s a little high to do so.
In terms of how I found myself wearing the jacket, it’s what I was hoping for – a shirt and matching trousers but jeans and a t-shirt.
As usual, I shot here with both shows. The thing that makes the jacket easy to wear with jeans is that the collar rolls open well when it comes out. Bespoke jackets usually don’t do that naturally, because they have a lot of structure.
It’s neat as the t-shirt is tucked in (but slightly out) and interestingly I like a jacket with more than three buttons, as I would a work jacket.
The combination is my now standard palette of cream, brown and black (I fell in love with that combination over timethis shotsix years ago I think).
This is its plain version, but made with a pop of color from the orange colored lenses of the sunglasses, and the snuff color of the suedethe Métier tote.
Pants can be smart – high twists or linens, like here – but the shirt should be casual. Something in denim or chambray, or a lightweight cotton like this one, and preferably a soft collar.
This jacket costs £2400 including VAT from Whitcomb and Shaftesbury, which is bespoke. Other colors available in the same case include black, navy, olive and beige.
Clothes featured in the photo:
*Cotton is rarely available for purchase in fixed lengths, as the mill does not usually work for tailors. Whitcomb buys it by the roll, the same way it does its chinos.