The Smoking Jacket in Today's Wall Street Journal

[briarfriar]

From Saturday's Wall Street Journal:
The Smoking Jacket's Modern Twist
That 19th-century staple, the smoking jacket, remains hot in a less smoky era
WITH MENSWEAR, though the details change, the big ideas have stayed the same as those that prevailed eons ago. Consider, for instance, the shawl-collared smoking jacket, a relaxed but fanciful piece of tailoring first seen in the 1850s, and a key player in this season's men's fashion.
Read all about it, and see the photos here.
Jay

 

[hodirty]

That jacket at the bottom is nice, but not $3,675 nice. Thanks for sharing.

 

[mso489]

Smoking jacket price computation, for marketers of smoking jackets. Take what the intended customer

spends on a dress suit, what he actually spends, not the manufacturers suggested retail price. Then

consider half that what he would be willing to spend on a smoking jacket, that he would only wear at home

and not intend to wear out. A man who might spend $7K on a suit might spend $3,675; a man who would

spend $250 on a suit might spend $125 on a smoking jacket, and so on.

 

[hodirty]

Not for me, I should say. I mean no offense.

 

[admin]

That's really cool BriarFriar. Thanks for sharing. It's great that they have the model posing with a pipe for the chosen smoking depiction.
Too bad they didn't provide a retailer and phone number to order the pipe like they did with everything else in the photo.
@mso489

Smoking jacket price computation, for marketers of smoking jackets. Take what the intended customer

spends on a dress suit, what he actually spends, not the manufacturers suggested retail price. Then

consider half that what he would be willing to spend on a smoking jacket, that he would only wear at home

and not intend to wear out. A man who might spend $7K on a suit might spend $3,675; a man who would

spend $250 on a suit might spend $125 on a smoking jacket, and so on.

I think this is an excellent observation and analysis, and I agree with the pricing part 100%.
However, this part; " ... that he would only wear at home and not intend to wear out"
That may be true for many, if not most people.
In the article, they say:

By the late 1860s, however, some people started to wear the jacket as formal evening wear, inspired by the audaciousness of Edward VII, the Prince of Wales. The prince commissioned Savile Row tailor Henry Poole & Co. to make a blue silk smoking jacket he could wear to dinners at his Sandringham country estate. Though he was breaking with protocol, when you're the son of Queen Victoria, you can get away with such things.

I bought this smoking jacket from Smoky Joe's Clothing in Chicago, a former sponsor here.

Where I live in downtown St. Petersburg, FL there are several upscale nightclubs that I could wear that jacket to and fit right in.
It depends on the setting. If I were to drive out to the suburbs wearing it, I would probably get odd stares from everyone.

 

[porshcigar]

Kevin: Very nice. Craig

 

[papipeguy]

Pretty much everything I wear is a smoking outfit. It is easy to see how the smoking jacket morphed into the tuxedo.

 

[pylorns]

I'd love to have one..but for 3k. Personally I'd love to see the return to better dress.

 

[numbersix]

Nice article - thanks for sharing.

 

[ghost]

Neat article, but I don't really dig the whole smoking jacket thing.
On the other hand, I've always wanted a fez.

 

[dochudson]

I would like to have a decent smoking jacket.. I hope Walmart see's that article and has some made that look/feel exactly the same for $29.
With Kevin's connections maybe a Smoking Jacket of the year or a group buy with the PM coat of arms over the pocket for a much more reasonable price could be done.

 

[cmdrmcbragg]

My smoking "jacket" ... is a jacket, or hoodie. I'm ready for fall, I think I look odd smoking a pipe wearing shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops, but whatever. Going to smoke like a boss in the fall with boots, jeans, flannel and either my leather or military jackets.

 

[mso489]

That is a magnificent paisley jacket, Kevin. Maybe I'm showing my age, but I like the idea that the host gets

to stay at home and wear the smoking jacket, and his/her guests dress up just a little more in other snazzy

duds, but designed for street wear. Right now my "smoking jacket" is a Levi's denim jacket made in China.

My wife says somewhere in her boxes from her move from Long Island is a fine paisley smoking jacket she

thinks would fit me, she bought at a vintage clothing place on Manhattan. Waiting for that one.

 

[bryanf]

For that price, it better come with a couple playboy bunnies!

 

[bryanf]

For that price, it better come with a couple playboy bunnies!

 

[scottishjohn]

Hey Kevin,

Now THAT is a "smoking Jacket!

What a beauty !