Ring Jacket pt. 1
Even before getting into tailored menswear I had worked up the impression that Ring Jacket was the epitome of great Japanese tailoring. It’s odd, seeing as neither their marketing, nor their stores, are as prevalent as say Suit Company or any of the select stores within the United Arrows conglomerate, Beams or Ships. Which are brands that you just inevitably know if you’re living in Japan.
My first experience with Ring Jacket was a rather bold one, buying a Solaro suit online during their late summer sale. That previous sentence is just wrong on so many levels, but as bold as starting my suit collection at the far end of the usefulness spectre was, at least I now have a Drago Solaro suit from Ring Jacket.
Don’t worry though, I have already started the process of filling in the blanks in the other end, or at least the blanks I desire. Which essentially means some casual suits and jackets. I’m not much of a formal wear type of person, but I will eventually come around to that as well.
In any case, as I intend on giving some insight into the Ring Jacket part of my wardrobe and my experience with the brand and their stores I thought I would write a small piece on the brand.
This is by no means a deep dive as such, but rather a take on who Ring Jacket is as a brand and where to place them in the sartorial realm.
Even though Ring Jacket has been around for quite a while, it’s only in the last couple of years we’ve seen them establish themselves firmly outside of Japan.
Founded by Fukushima Joichi in 1954, Ring Jacket started out with a commitment to making quality clothing and a single goal in mind: to create ready-to-wear garments with the comfort and sophistication of bespoke clothing. Although inspired by the Ivy style from the United States, later on Ring Jacket well on adapted a new approach drawing inspiration from the Neapolitan tailoring style. A good move if you ask me.
By the time Fukushima Kunichi, son of the founder, took over, the company was fully on the way to embrace Neapolitan tailoring and since gradually successfully created their own unique look.
Ring Jacket, while attributing their style of tailoring to the Neapolitan tradition, undeniably has created their own unique take on tailoring, with some of their designs being unmistakably ‘Ring Jacket’ to any sartorialist aware of the brand. Their image being centered around the jacket, usually you can expect a soft shoulder, a proportional but fairly wide lapel and elegant stitch details done by hand.
Seeing as Ring Jacket holds the Neapolitan tradition as the pinnacle of tailoring, the inherent modesty of the Japanese would never have them admitting to their own well-deserved spot as one of the most renowned tailoring brands in the world.
But in my opinion that’s exactly what they are.
What I like the most about Ring Jacket, looking at the them in terms of being a ready-to-wear brand, is that although you’re paying top dollar (or yen, rather), you get the feeling that you’re buying quality tailoring, as opposed to other high end brands. And this is exactly the reason they have become as famous as they are. You get a lot more for what you pay for in every aspect; long lasting garments with quality fabrics and excellent craftsmanship.
Of course, besides their own original fabrics the fact that their garments are made from fabrics in collaboration with renowned mills and merchants doesn’t take anything away from that feeling.
Besides the fabrics being of upmost quality, the level of craftsmanship is excellent down to the fine details.
Some of the key factors behind what makes these garments so magnificent, beside the handmade parts, is the effort to utilise machine techniques to make even the machine-sewn parts feel hand-sewn. This is not to be confused with an ill attempt at cutting cost seeing as, as just mentioned, many parts, such as shoulders and collars, are sewn by hand. A combination that results in a well crafted but incredibly comfortable garment.
The level of precision and quality really becomes apparent once you get a closer look or try on their garments.
Although they do offer several levels of customisation, Ring Jacket is most definitely a ready-to-wear brand and the garments they craft are truly as close as one can get to ‘bespoke-level quality’ within the ready-to-wear realm.
With the widely held preconception that the Japanese society is somewhat rigid and conservative, one might also expect suits to stylistically follow in that same vein. Although I’m not going to go further into the preconception itself, I’m not going to lie, most of the suits you are likely to spot “salary men” wearing are typically dark navy and charcoal. But if anything, another preconception; the black suit society, is more or less dead and limited to the eager job-hunters running around in their graduation year.
With this in mind even more gratitude is well deserved due the relaxed and somewhat more casual tailored clothing Ring Jacket has brought to the Japanese market. This is not to say that Ring Jacket doesn’t provide more formal jackets and suits, but their focus on comfort; a ‘softer tailoring’ with limited padding and lining, is a well received contribution to the high paced Japanese society, and the world for that matter.
To sum it up, Ring Jacket is comfortable yet elegant, with a modern take on classical tailoring.
Adding to this, Ring Jacket is not a stranger to bringing some colour and patterns to their garments, especially their sport coats and jackets. Every spring you can pick up an elegant jacket in a colorful lightweight and/or breathable fabric from the likes of Piacenza, Carlo Barbera, Ermenegildo Zegna or even their own original fabrics, like this years linen tweed. Have a look for yourself and you’ll see what I mean.
https://ringjacket.shop/shopbrand/jacket/
Lastly, some suggestions as for which models to have a look at from their ready-to-wear offerings.
Seeing as I’m living in Japan, the models I am referring to are the ones that are available here, so I must apologise in advance if these are not available outside of Japan.
Although Ring Jacket sometimes releases jackets in two versions; with and without padding, they mostly come with a soft shoulder and 3 roll 2-buttoning, so I’ll proceed with that as a given.
If you’re like me and prefer a wider lapel and a somewhat higher button stance their model No-269 is an excellent choice. It’s a little wider of a fit, but nothing a little waist adjustment can’t fix. Another jacket with a similarly wide lapel is the No-286, with a slightly lower and more angled gorge line.
Their model No-254 has a slightly lower button stance, a narrower lapel and a narrower fit. This model also has little more of the ripple-effect shoulder, drawing lines to their inspiration from Neapolitan tailoring.
I tend to lean towards either of these two models, No-269 and No-254, but No-269 essentially encompass everything I would wish for in a jacket.
As for trousers, there’s really just one model for me, the S-178.
A model with a fairly high rise, two outwards pleats and side adjusters. This model also comes with belt loops instead of side adjusters, but if the picture isn’t telling enough, last weeks article should be a hint as to which one I prefer.
In addition, there is the S-182 model, which is more or less the same as the S-178 but with inwards pleats.
Of course there is an abundant variety of other models to choose from with regards to both jackets and trousers, but these are the ones I prefer.
I would be remiss not to mention both their Napoli line trousers, which comes in different models similar to the previously mentioned, but with hand-sewn details. And their own original Balloon wool cloth; a very breathable fabric perfect for summer. They do make a 3-season Balloon but I take it most of you have heard rumors of the the summer version. I would suggest having a look at their Balloon Fresco, their take on the well known British summer fabric. Take it from someone who really struggles throughout the Japanese summer, this is a must have.
Lastly, a quick note on the stores and the staff. I intend on going a little deeper into my experience at the stores I’ve been to and my online experience in the next post on Ring Jacket. But for now I can easily say I have nothing but good experiences with the staff. They are incredibly welcoming, knowledgable and helpful. One part in particular I appreciate is the fact that they take the time to chat properly with their customers, which makes it a rather pleasant experience.
Have a look at www.ringjacket.co.jp and also at their blogs where you can find interesting posts about commissions, fabrics etc.
