Thread by @dieworkwear

Amazing to me how much better tailoring was back in the day. Just watch this scene and pay attention to your general impression of the clothes. Then, I'll point out some things in the thread below. 🧵

One of the things that sticks out to me is the degree of care taken to align the stripe across the panels. This is not always possible across the collar, shoulder seam, and gorge because the panels are different lengths. But care was clearly taken here to minimize the mismatch.

You still see this in the best bespoke. In pic one (a suit by Steed in the UK), the chalk stripe flows smoothly across the seam that connects the collar to the lapel (known as the gorge). Compare this to pic two, where the pattern doesn't even align across pockets (bad and lazy)

Trousers will never be perfect in motion because the body moves. But when the wearer stands still, the back should drape cleanly. In pic one, we see a crisp line flowing down the back. In pic two, the pants look like they're carrying expelled diarrhea.

There's also a lot more shaping. Look at the roundness of this chest (it puffs out). This is the result of structure (chest piece, canvas), pad stitching, and pressing. From the back, you can also see that broadening of the shoulder and nipped waist, giving a V-shaped figure.

A lot of ready-to-wear tailoring nowadays is too soft to give this silhouette. It's basically like wearing a cardigan. You don't get that built-up, broad shoulder, shaped chest, or V-shaped figure. The silhouette is simply the body underneath.

The sleevehead (top of the sleeve) is also perfectly clean. There is no divot. Divots can appear in ready-to-wear as a result of poor pattern drafting or workmanship, but it's more often bc the coat is too narrow across the back. Common as people wear increasingly slim clothes.

And, of course, no collar gap. If you watch the scene, the collar never lifts from his neck, even as he moves. It is not uncommon to see men with collar gaps nowadays, even when they're standing still.

Compared to other films of its time, this film doesn't even stand out in terms of style. Just look at other films on this page: The Big Sleep (1946) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). Smith plays a naive rube from Montana, yet wears a suit better than billionaires today

If you want to see some truly stylish films, you have to watch the ones starring guys like Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Fred Astaire, Marcello Mastroianni, and Vittorio De Sica. It's just that "average" back then is remarkable today bc of the dearth of tailors.