European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 17, 1962, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Foj a. It find we very Fei to buy Good suit times you can t see a. I -. A a r it Moke a Good suit Good of a of fat. A apr by Clarice l. Scott Institute of Home economics . Department of agriculture both visible and invisible qualities of workmanship and the. Construction materials used Between outer cloth and lining have a Defnie effect on a suit s appearance the Way it fits and feels an the Way it holds up with Wear and clean Ings. The qualities vary As grades of suits Range from High to Low and knowledge of these differences helps in evaluating Quali ties. A. In the manufacture of High Grade suits skilled designers and highly trained Pat Tern makers Are employed. Patterns Are carefully sized for com fort and free action and include generous allowances at Al outlet seams. In the manufacture of Low Grade suits neither designers nor skilled pattern Mak ers Are employed. Patterns Are trimmed Down in size As much As possible and there Are minimum seam allowances frequently not enough for letting out. A suit made by such a pattern May not be comfortable and it May prove to be a loss if the purchaser should need to have it Letout. Turn the coat and pants inside out and Check the seam Width before the cloth for High Grade suits i Cut it is shrunk inspected for flaws and straightened As Are any of the construction materials that need such treatment. In the manufacture of Low Grade suits these Steps Are omitted. Thorough shrinkage of All materials pre vents the puckering and buckling that so often spoil the appearance of men s  of materials is essential to Good Cut. Unless Lengthwise and Cross Wise yarns Are at right angles to each other a suit eventually will not hang properly. The coat front May swing off Center and trousers May twisting Low grades material with flaws May be shifted into seams or inconspicuous places these flaws May show when the imperfect material  High Grade suits patterns Are Laid accurately with the Grain of the , checks or stripes Are precisely matched crosswise As Well As  Are no piercings. In cutting Iowa Ade suits patterns replaced for Economy of cloth not always As they should be for a properly Cut Gar ment. Patterned suiting Are matched Only Lengthwise and trousers Are pieced in the Crotch. Although the Matching of pattern does not affect service values of a suit it is an indication that the entire suit has been made carefully. Places to Check for the Matching of Pat terns Ore Center Back seam of coat Side seams armhole scams where the Edge of the Collar Rolls Over and meets the coat in Back front closing pocket openings and Collar notches. To Check for piercings look on the out Side of the Crotch of the trousers. Cloth reinforcements usually cover piecing seams on the inside. Piece nos do not affect the wearing Quality but because they Are stiff and. Bulky they May affect Comfort an precise fit. Men s suits of High Grade Are sewed pressed and shaped by skilled craftsmen. Seams Are evenly stitched with silk thread for strength and elasticity. It will give under stress without snapping. Thread mismatched to the suiting in color and is Colo fast. Because much of the sewing in High Grade suits has always been done by hand for softness and flexibility the term hand tailored has come to be associated wit Fine w workmanship. A hand tailored Label on a suit however is not a reliable guide to Quality. It Means Only that the suit coat was made with at least 21 specified hand operations there Are no requirements for the Quality of the. Work. The finest suits Are made with Many More than 21hand operations All expertly done. High Grade tin Dwork can be identified by stitches that Are Fine close together heat and secure. In poor handwork stitches Are coarse far apart uneven and insecure. Good machine sewing looks and wears far better than poor band  the regular built up suits the coat front the foundation Between outer clot hand linings to perhaps the most Complex part the Quality of materials and work Manship in it have a most important effect on the Way a suit looks its  throughout its lifetime. In the Best suits the coat front consists of carefully selected construction materials shaped and sewed by skilled craftsmen. The Basic or foundation material often referred to As hair Canvas or interfacing. Isa highly resilient blend of worsted Goat hair and Cotton. It will feel soft yet springy if squeezed in the hand and it will resume shape without a wrinkle when released. Inside the coat Collar is a specially developed Linen which like the front interfacing never loses body. Collar an lapels Are shaped by hand and sewed As shaped with hundreds of tiny padding stitches. A Collar made in this Way keeps us shape permanently. It will always setup properly about the neck. Lapels will always Roll Back never fal Forward. These qualities can be detected by gently rolling Forward a tip of the Collar or Lapel. If permanently shaped it will flip Back into place immediately  shrunk tape keeps the front edges of the coat and the armholes from stretching or puckering. This tape May be Linen silk or Bias Cotton depending on the nature of the outer cloth and the individual factory s method. Along the Roll of the lapels is the bridle stay. This Bolds the Chest. Fullness which is evenly eased in Fay hand then pressed. This construction makes the Vine theline formed by the Roll of the lapels set close to the body regardless of How the wearer bends or moves about if this fullness is not eased the Low Grade coat tends to buckle out pm the wearer bends. This can easily be notice when a suit is tried on. Pocket openings in High Grade Coats Are reinforced inside with lightweight Linen for durability. The reinforcement is the securely tacked to the coat foundation which takes the Strain of use and protect the pockets against torn ends and baggy openings. The Way coat sleeves hang is a visible guide to Quality of workmanship. For com fort and for Good appearance As Well sleeves must be set so that they bisect the Side pockets so that the front fold of the sleeve conies to the Middle of the pocket As the sleeves hang naturally. Notice both sleeves in lower grades the two sleeve frequently hang differently. The Way the lining is put in a coat is another visible indication of Quality. Insults of Good Quality the lining is smoothly but easily fitted without wrinkles an invisibly hand stitched with Matching silk thread. Sleeve linings Are smoothly eased to the armholes and stitched in place with very Fine close stitches. At the lower Edge of the coat a Small fold Over the hem provides give. . High enough so there is no Chance of the lining showing below the coat s Edge. In the Best suits buttonholes Are worked by hand for flexibility and Are skilfully made. However it should not be conclude that All Han worked buttonholes Are Good. Machine made buttonholes May be equally serviceable sometimes even More so Bat they Are less flexible. Points that indicate Well made holes Are close even stitching on the underside As Well As on top a firm Edge and Well reinforced ends whether trousers always set up Well about the Waist or break and slip Down below a Belt depends largely on the inter facing Linen has permanent body which assures that the Waistband will always set Well never break Down and wrinkle Between Belt supports. These supports Are evenly spaced and neatly applied. Packets Are generous in size and twice stitched with Cut edges enclosed. Trousers of Low Grade suits May fee firm about the Waist but this la Only temporary firmness. The interfacing Are highly sized Cotton instead of Linen. String comes out in the first cleaning leaving the Waistband soft and Limp. Pockets Are skimped in size and poorly  Good fitting suit hot Only looks better and feels Tetter than one that fits poorly but it also wears better end costs less for Upkeep. " 1 let the clerk measure you for size an determine your body proportions. From years of studying men s proportions manufacturers have developed a wide Range of sizes and size variations regular Short Long Short Stout Long Stout and Many More. In general the higher the Grade of suit the greater the number of variations. Better Grade suits Are Fuller Cut than the poorer grades. A Man who takes size 40 in a High Grade suit May need a 42 Inone of lower Quality. In making certain of a Good and comfortable fit. Try on the whole suit. Stand naturally while viewing the front Back and sides and see How the suit feels in action. ,. As you walk about naturally i. St Pup and Down. Flex your arms.  and Cross your  men can buy ready made suits that need no alterations minor alterations such As lengthening of shortening sleeves Low ering or raising the Collar or lifting a shoulder with additional padding axe Tobe expected. Major alterations such As shortening a coat or resetting the sleeves Are never advisable. And under no conditions should a suit proportioned for on Type of body build be reworked for another it will never fit satisfactorily editor s note this is the second of two articles on How to select men s salts the first concerned selection of fabrics for value and Long Wear the text be denied from a department of bulletin published by the. . The stars and stripes