Lady Looks Like a Dude

November 13, 2007 6:01 PM

Help me find a particular type of women's suit...

I'm looking for this type of women's suit - men's styling, but tailored for a woman. Having a vest is important, and the blazer should be fairly traditional, too.

I've Googled like crazy, but I end up with stuff that looks like a bad JCPenney item from 1986, or it's nice, but doesn't have the vest/jacket combo.

It doesn't matter if it's with a skirt or pants - but I'm tall, so I'd have to be able to let the pants out.

posted by Liosliath to clothing, beauty, & fashion (4 comments total)

Wow--now that's nice looking!! Hope you can find it. There's a website, www.weekenders.com, that has some jacket/vest/pant combos--but they may be more casual than what you are looking for.
posted by pushing paper and bottoming chairs at 6:39 PM on November 13, 2007

ooh, that's a cute suit. all annie-hall / pimp. okay.

first of all, that vest is not actually a part of that suit, which makes your life easier.
H&M has vests, and decent prices. so that's a start.

for the suit, i'd look into finding a suit made for a man close to your size (maybe vintage, but maybe new). look for one that fits across the shoulders, and doesn't have droopy armpit holes. you need the shoulders and armpits to be a decent fit. then, check that every other part of the suit either fits, or is too big. (remember, fabric can always be removed, but it cannot be added). as long as the shoulder-to-shoulder and armpit fit is decent, every other detail can be tailored.

taking in the jacket-waist, the pants waist, and shortening the arms & legs should do it. keeping the pants legs a little long (so they break slightly on the instep of your shoes) and adding a one-inch cuff at the trouser hems would be nice.
posted by twistofrhyme at 6:41 PM on November 13, 2007

I used to have a sweet grey flannel three piece suit that belonged to what must have been an incredibly tiny little man in the late 50's-early 60's. Everything twistofrhyme suggests: make sure the jacket fits across the shoulders, everything else can be shaped to fit a woman's figure by a good tailor.

Lately the suits I see in thrift stores aren't true vintage, so they're bigger and not as nice. Check around your local vintage stores, and ask around for referrals to a great tailor.
posted by padraigin at 9:54 PM on November 13, 2007

La Redoute has two super inexpensive vests on sale right now, as well as their usual suit separates.

Victoria's Secret also has some suits with their suiting separates. (I can't honestly say I've had good experience with clothes from VS though. It's vanity sizing gone awry; I think I'd take a 2 or something absurd there.)
posted by birdie birdington at 2:12 AM on November 14, 2007