40s or 50s suite.... on a budget

J

Jluthye

Registered Guest
Hello,

Since I am the avid vintage lover and wearer.....my hubby now wants to join the band wagon... he secretly LOVES it..

I am looking for a suit around $50 USD (minus shipping) for him this Christmas... I am not too excited about spending more than that right now until I found out exactly how vintage will fit him physically and personality lol...

It does not have to be perfect and I have been looking through he shops and eBay for days now and I am just plain tired of it!!

I prefer something along the Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Stewart, Gene Kelly lines.... but anything will do, double breasted gangster pin striped :-).. 40s-50s possibly early 60s....quality or small repairs are not an issue.. I can work with it.

He currently wears.. (in his uniforms) a 42R coat and he is a 32x32 pants...but,,, he is not a big guy... he is about 5'10 - 5'11" and only 140 lbs... he does have broad shoulders which is why he is a 42R so I don't know how a suit will do him.... he is a 32 waist but can squeeze into a 31" and the 32" inseam is perhaps an inch long... but 30s look ridiculous on him especially when he sits down...

So something in the 40-42R range... or 39/40 with long sleeves for the Jacket and 30-34 waist and 30-34 inch pants as long as there is room for altering.....

Thank you all... and if you have a matching fedora or panama type (7 - 7 1/8) hat and a tie to go with then I would LOVE to pay more,,,

Thank you ladies
 
Hi don't have any men's suits but you will probably have better luck finding seprates that go together to make the suit.... i can picture it now... lol i need a man to dress... there is so many nice men's clothes out there especially 40s and 50s good luck! :elf:
 
I think you will be able to find what you are looking for for $50 because your husband can wear a smaller size. I am not saying he is "small", but sometimes the XL are harder to find. I suggest you look at vintage shops that always have good ladies vintage in good condition and don't specialize in men's but "know what they are looking at." Sometimes if it is no their bread and butter, they will grab the men's suit at the estate of ladies clothing and put it up for sale for a price that will send it out the door. Or tell them what you are looking for.

I also found that in labels like Sears, which catered less to cutting edge and more to middle America, that the styles hung around longer. I found a sharkskin, Italian cut suit from the late 60s, which looked more like early to mid 60s that was a Sears suit. Styles that sold tended to hang around 4 or 5 years longer. So if you find something from the early 60s, it may look 50s

I would also familiarize myself with the lapel sizes and details of clothes that were around in the era so you can spot one on a rack of suits if you go somewhere where things aren't arranged by decade. Also, at regular non vintage consignment shops they have them because they just think they are "classically tailored suits" as they don't scream vintage. Look on the rack too for the pants structure. The inside of the pants is much more elaborate today.

Also - the looks in the 40s and 50s can be differing so maybe hone in on what he likes. While there is a crossover in the tie dept between the late 40s and 50s, sometimes you go from double breasted suits, to something more fitted until you reach the early 60d where you get the 3 button suits and the narrow lapels.
 
Have you looked at my suits on Etsy? They are a bit larger than what you want and a bit spendier, but they are Saville Row suits so the quality is excellent and having suits trimmed down is a LOT easier than enlarged. The suits are conservatively cut but use great fabrics so even the 1970s suits are pure wool, not polyester or even blends. Here is a link to one that might work: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33585047
I have others up as well so take a loot - I think I have 7 in total... maybe 8.
 
Thank you Mary... and THAAK YOU Jonathan.. I will keep them in mind.. they are nice and I will have him look at them after Christmas. I really need era specific more than the look. Once he gets 2-3 I am sure he wont care as much about the dates. He just wants to match his 50's stepford wife lol... He loves me in Vintage clothing and wan't us to match so... I can't show him the "others" until after I get him his Christmas present lol... And boys are stubborn. He wants to be able to tell people, this suit is from the 50's... which I am guilty of too!

but I have my eye on those pin stripes :-)
 
Vintage_Visage,

I just U2U'd you. :-)
 
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