Helter Skelter

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Fri, 24 May 2013 04:13:13 -0400

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Fri, 24 May 2013 02:25:12 -0400

sartorialgrow: The chest shape. Menswear bloggers often preach...

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:23:55 -0400

The chest shape.

Menswear bloggers often preach about shoulder lines and shoulder expressions, especially those from an Italian provenance. However, there’s one major aspect of a coat silhouette that doesn’t get enough love: the chest shape. Which is mind boggling, because, a good coat doesn’t need to have a bald shoulder expression, but, a good coat must have some shape on the chest, the nature and the degree of the shape, though, are up to your tailor and to you.

About the nature, a coat’s chest may be full or lean. A fuller chest will be either swelled or draped, sometimes both (the drapes are circled and the swells are underlined on the picture), while a lean chest will be shallow. A swelled chest is more sculpted; a draped chest, besides enhancing the sculpted chest result, is associated with a more relaxed garment; a lean chest, however, will result in a more clean and formal look.

If you aren’t too narrow minded, you’ll realize that there’s no right or wrong on this, either will be better or worse depending on your physique, on the cloth used and on the venue that your garment is supposed to be donned to. Whatever nature you choose, look for a garment that has shape on the chest, because it’s a mark of a good coat.

For further information, check out: 1, 2, 3.