Whether you wear a suit daily or not, a summer sport coat can be invaluable for so many special occasions.  In Albany, NY, we have the SPAC Opening Gala in Saratoga Srings, Rock The Runway Fashion Show at Taste in Downtown Albany, numerous musical specials at Tanglewood in the Berkshires, and…of course…a day at the races in August in Saratoga.

Most stores carry pretty “safe” sport coat options due to the shortness of the selling season.  Sport coats are the toughest “sale” at retail…and retailers know how to invest their inventory dollars wisely with the least risk.

But…what if you want a really special sport coat?  One answer is to allocate a few extra dollars from your wardrobe budget to investing in a custom sport coat.  Below, I’ll show you just a few tricks of the trade that can make any custom sport coat a head turner.

Pretty Cool...wouldn't you say?

In the two sport coats above, we’ve trimmed out the button holes with a light blue stitching, added a light button, with the same blue for the button’s thread.  You will also see the sleeve seam is stitched in a wider 1/4″ pic using the same blue thread found in the button holes and button thread.

On the sleeves, we’ve designed with real working buttons…known as “functional button holes”.  These have been similarly trimmed with a blue thread, and we’ve added a very cool gros grain trim on the underside of the sleeve cuff.

The fit for anyone with a youthful attitude is trim.  The shoulder treatment can be a bone of contention…should it be soft, padded, capped?  I prefer for my fashion forward guys a slightly roped shoulder…I know this may go against the grain of some designers who are advocating a very old-fashioned soft, natural shoulder, but…my younger clients really like the distinction of a roped shoulder with very light shoulder padding. In the jacket below, the “roped shoulder” can be seen in the right shoulder.  You’ll notice a slightly raised seam which is the “rope” inside.

To further lighten the jacket, I recommend a 1/2 lining.

This lining treatment creates a very lightweight jacket, with another unique twist to your summer sport coat choice.

On this sport coat, we also added a button hole on the left lapel that was trimmed out in white thread.

Have fun, be a Style Leader, and Happy Easter!

Regards,

Vinnie Rua- Founder