Presented by Matt Deckard Apparel
www.mattdeckard.com

There comes a time in life when friends, a cocktail and tweed are the only things between you and a night of being cold and alone.

The First Annual Los Angeles Tweed Pub Crawl

Thursday November 11, 2010
Starting at 8:00pm

Wear your tweed. Whether it be a suit, a sport jacket, a cap, a scarf a skirt or a tie, put it on and let’s go out!

We’ll meet at the bar at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles and stroll to downtown’s finest purveyors of cocktails and ales. From 8pm ‘til we’re through.

Hope to see you there.

A jacket should be hard to put on and easy to wear, not easy to put on and hard to wear.

When it comes to clothes, and clothes that are meant for utility and looks, anatomy and fit should always come first. Fashion having an all powerful steel grip on the design of clothes isn't why I went into business, durability and fit is.


For a starter in leaving bits on here about good fit and bad fit -- the armhole. 


There are a lot of preferences when it comes to styling. You must decide the lapel widths and jacket length and pants drape. But when it comes to the armhole and your suit there is a good and a bad.

Bad Fit

The standard armhole you see at shops today is created by using a ratio to determine how people's bodies are shaped. Because the armhole is so big, you end up with a batwing effect that makes the suit hard to wear. The fabric pulls around with you as you move.


A fit like this always tends to ruin my day, especially when I decide I want to crawl under a train when escaping from an assassin that has recognized me on a trip to Prague. 

Good Fit

With a more fitted armhole, you have more mobility and the fabric doesn't drag around your body, it moves with your body.


Now with this armhole cut, not only could escape with ease, I also have a chance of winning the fight that might ensue on the top o the train car. I wouldn't have to remove my jacket. It would move with me and I'd look less disheveled in the end.

Company Update

Some writings I need to clean up and post.

Fit and the Human Anatomy

Comfort and Dress Shoes
How much abuse should a suit be able to take?
What's really timeless in menswear, and what takes you over the edge into costume?

Keep your fingers crossed if you are interested, and I'll keep my fingers pounding as I find all the information that makes those articles truly informational.

But first, updates.

I put out a hat last year that augmented my companies retail lineup. Selling custom clothes is fun yes, but what's really fun is when you can outfit a man from head to toe in a balanced looking outfit. And everyman that exposes himself to the sun should, unless going to the beach for a head to toe tan, wear a hat.

There are a lot of hats on the market right now, some good some bad. I wanted to put something out there that was just a little bit better than any mass produced hat you can find on the shelf of your local haberdasher. A hat that was balanced to the face that didn't look too retro or too costumey. A hat that was just a hat that went well with a nicely tailored suit.

The MD-1 Phantom Gray fedora was a success and I'm doing more, yet this time I'm going to upgrade the quality of the fur felt. They will be in another limited run just like the originals, but they will be in a completely new color that I will showcase here when the prototype is available for photographing. As with the original MD-1, I'll be taking pre sale orders when I've settled on the prototypes specs and know my manufacturer can do it without any hiccups.

Phantom Gray MD-1

MD-1 specs for upcoming run
100 percent beaver felt for flexibility and durability in the elements
Roan Leather sweatband for soft comfort that molds to your head
Satin lining to protect the felt from oils or hair goo you may use

I'll release the price of the upgraded MD-1 when they are available.

Spats. That's right I said spats. The kind you button over your shoes. There aren't enough companies in the world making them and when A client asked me if MDA could make him a pair I said of course. They are now part of the lineup, and when one of our tailors comes to your town all you'll need is an ankle measurement and your shoes size on hand to place an order. Since they are custom, the price is around $130.00 at the moment, they are hand cut and tailor made.

Here is one for a left shoe.

MDA Spats

Isn't it beautiful?

Now the suits. I've been hunting for heavier weight wools like those used in the 1930s and 40s. Cloth you can abuse without really worrying about damaging it too much. Not tweeds, but regular suiting that wrinkles little and can take a tumble so you're ready to show off your chalk stripes at the business meeting the next morning. As you know, I'm all about a suit that you can wear doing just about anything, and that starts with the cloth. More on that in the next Company Update.

There is a new schedule of where you can be measured across the US over the next few months. I'll be adding images of clients in their custom designs so you can see how smashing a well tailored suit can look when it's made to your anatomy without compromise.

Matt Deckard
www.mattdeckard.com

Ask Andy and the Belt Back

Tailoring isn't just fashion and draping goods over a human form, it's anatomy and knowing how to make the wearer feel as though they have nothing holding him or her back.


Which leads me to Andy's new belted back bi-swing jacket. Made inside and out like those of the old days. 


Got to catch up with author Andy Gilchrist of www.askandyaboutclothes.com before he headed off to New York. Thankfully I was able to get some pics of his bespoke Matt Deckard Apparel sports jacket over lunch at Cole's French Dip in Downtown LA.


Andy asked Matt Deckard Apparel to make him a sports jacket that could take him anywhere, meaning from the countryside to the modern boardroom and then out for a night on the town.


Andy's Bespoke Sport Jacket
Three button front with tab collar for full closure at the throat if desired. 
Button through box pleated pockets for carrying any daily needs.
Belted back for waist suppression detail (always looks cool).
Bi-swing back for complete ease of movement, after-all, the jackets for complete functionality... can be taken hunting or to the office without a qualm.


Very classic Hollywood in style, harking back to the days when the stars were as tailored as they were talented.

Dave Vanian's suit

I had a great time hanging out with Dave in the recording studio while he was scoring the soundtrack for the movie The Perfect Sleep www.theperfectsleep.com, the music is Vicious!

I went with a more dramatic styling, very old Hollywood with a British sensibility.

Dave Vanian of the punk band The Damned wearing his Matt Deckard custom designed three-piece suit.

Plaid with a purple windowpane.

2 button jacket both to close (meaning no cutaway).

Wide peak lapel and belted action back.

6 button 4 pocket vest with hidden internal pocket.

High waist Hollywood waist trouser cut full with 2 inch cuffs.

Strawfut

May be a bit long… so if you do want to read it you might also want to grab some popcorn.

They’re an older pair of shoes, probably from the 1950s going by the logo inside. I have a lot of friends that wear vintage shoes, they were made in a day when men wore leather soles as he de facto standard, and they are always a safe bet when it comes to buying quality on a budget.

Because of the turn toward sneakers over the last 40 years, the leather soled shoe industry hasn’t really faired well, yet I can’t get past the nostalgia of a leather sole. Nothing is better for dancing (and I dance at the drop of a hat), and they tend to give you about 20 times more wear than any rubber soled shoe, that can't be resoled, on the market.

With the decline of the leather sole there have remained two stalwart companies that have fought the trend by continuing to mass-produce well made dress shoes in the US. One of those is Alden and the other is Allen Edmonds.

Now to the point...

The “Strawfut” A good breathable summer shoe.

I received these shoes in a dilapidated and torn state. I like them for several reasons, one of the biggest is because they are Allen Edmonds. I have a closet full of Allen Edmonds -- modern Allen Edmonds. When the chance arose to own a vintage pair, a pair that looked pretty unique… well I couldn’t turn it down.

Going by the older style Allen Edmonds logo inside I'd guessed they were from the 1950s (yet I could be wrong) and a time when the company made a summer shoe that could breathe. Recent summer models are completely lined in leather which tends to defeat the purpose of having a woven leather or fabric in the construction. These were truly open to the air and functionally cool to wear. The leather lining is in the heel and the toe and in between is an open breathing nylon mesh.

The last (wooden form on which shoe was shaped) used has a very wide forefoot and narrow heel, oddly good for my foot since I have very hobbit proportioned feet, wide in front and narrow in the heel. I tend to have a lot of tight fitting shoes that don’t grip my heel, so when I find a shoe that does I buy it, and vintage shoes tend to favor my footshape.

Most Allen Edmonds lasts today are much narrower in the toe box when compared to the "Strawfut" which obviously makes me wish they still used the last on which it was made. Unfortunately I recently heard that Allen Edmonds had a fire several years back that destroyed many of their old lasts, so remaking them (if they had the inclination) might be an impossibility. I do wish however that they would return these beauties to their lineup if only for the sake of having a breathable and extremely comfortable flexible shoe.

Ask Andy and AE's CEO

After a while of having them sit in my closet next to my wearable shoes I started thinking about getting the tear in the heel fixed, but first I wanted to post them on Andy Gilchrest’’s clothing website AskAndy.com to see what other people thought of the style.

Fortunately, the CEO of Allen Edmonds frequents the site, saw the shoes and sent me a message asking if I’d send them in so he and the head of manufacturing could see the shoes firsthand to study the design and refurbish the shoe for me. I agreed and sent them to him direct. Soon after he gave me a ring and I was on the phone with Paul (the CEO) and Jim (the VP of operations). We talked about the style. Why the Allen Edmonds used the nylon mesh instead of a natural material back then (a natural material would have become brittle and have worn out by now), if they could fix the tear in the heel and whether or not they should be resoled.

A few weeks later the shoes came back. As soon as they were in the door they went on my feet (what do you want? I was in a rush and needed a snazzy pair of wingtips for going out), so the pics of the refurbishment had to wait. While I was out, I finally got to feel how the shoes were on my feet. With their straw mesh they breath like no other shoe I own, yet look and wear like a regular dress shoe. They also win extremely high points for being flexible beyond any shoe I’ve ever worn.

Allen Edmonds repaired the tear in the back of the upper, they replaced the heel and gave the leather a new lease on life, and gave me a shoe that I’ll covet and maybe wear sparingly seeing that I tend to treat my dress shoes like most people treat jeans.

I’d like to thank Paul and Jim at Allen Edmonds for returning these in great shape, and let them know as well that I’m wearing them while I write this and that they are ready to hit a dance floor in Los Angeles following this last word.

Men's underwear basics

Underwear has not always been a fascination for women and how they want their bodies to appear. There was a time in the world when men… real men took pride in their figure to the point that they would buy underwear that helped improve the look of their physique. As in the way many ladies corset and belly shapers have gone out of fashion, men’s underwear has taken a turn for the drab with choices being limited to pretty much the bare necessities of boxers or briefs or boxer briefs (my preference).

As my belly gets slimmer there are a few things I’d like to share about men’s underwear.
1. With modern underwear, tuck the undershirt into the undershorts.This keeps the dress shirt from being dragged out by the undershirt and gives a cleaner appearance.
2. For the heavier men… wear the undershorts below the overlapping belly and the trousers over the belly and at your natural waist. This takes some of the pressure off your waistband and keeps the undershorts from riding up even higher and causing discomfort.
3. When they change color, buy new underwear... I have been on too many business trips where the guy in the room with me has on a pair that was probably white to begin with though changed color over time... Ladies, if this is your guy... buy him some new cotton.
In many cases the women have it easy... they know where to go when they want a garment that makes them look as though they have lost 5 pounds... For men, in the year 2006 you have to do an in depth google search that may yield nothing you'd touch with a 10 foot pole.