Broke and Bespoke

You Never Know What Will Become Your Favorite…

Though it’s hard to tell what it looks like from the picture, this thrift find, a vintage Southwick for Cable Car Clothiers tweed jacket, is quickly becoming my favorite sport coat, and probably the only item I own (that isn’t shoes) that sees use at least once a week.

It wasn’t expensive ($10) initially, but I loved the fabric and fit of it in the shoulders so much that I broke one of my own general thrifting rules—not to have things tailored, because that’s expensive—and spent an extra $50 having the sides taken in considerably.

The jacket, as mentioned above, originally came from San Francisco’s famed men’s haberdashery Cable Car Clothiers, “San Francisco’s British Goods Store” (where a lot of my favorite thrifted items come from), and was, I believe, likely a MTM piece for a man with a rather significant middle region but shoulders the size of a regular 40R. The jacket has a very traditional American cut; it’s undarted, has a 3 roll 2 lapel, and natural shoulders. And that’s what really stuck out to me when I came across it at the thrift. The shoulders were perfect; not too narrow, not too padded, not unpadded. 

When I tried the jacket on, however, it did indeed fit perfectly in the shoulders, but was gigantic in the body. The coat was in excellent condition though, so I decided to buy it and invest the money in having it tailored. I’m delighted I did so because I love it. It’s warm, incredibly comfortable, has a nice slimming (I think) look, but is actually more loose fitting than many other jackets I own.

It’s amazing what a good tailor can do to bring a garment that fits you poorly (as long as the fundamental points are there; the shoulders in this case) into a thing of beauty that fits you so well you don’t even notice you’re wearing it.