Trousers: Ring Jacket S-178
Ring Jacket
Ring Jacket needs no introduction. Even though they are a luxury ready to wear brand that offers MTM, they are well known and praised in the sartorial world and that for good reason.
“The bespoke of ready to wear” as has been stated so many times.
When I first was made aware of the brand it seemed like a distant unattainable dream, yet now they have truly become the standard I judge everything else from.
As far as tailoring goes, this is about as good as it gets for ready to wear, not to mention the fabrics they choose. In this article I will focus on the MTM trousers as that is what I wear, but with regards to quality, you can more or less apply that to the ready to wear offerings as well.
Trouser Style
I will first of all admit, that the two main style of trousers I have experience with from Ring Jacket aren’t the pinnacle of my preferred trousers style. That would be the gurkha-like trousers. But my trousers from Ring Jacket are mainly suit trousers and furthermore, the separates I have work as an important counterpart to the gurkha separates from Universal Language. Although eventually I want some suits with the style of the latter as well, I think Ring Jacket’s trouser models are more fitting as suit trousers.
The Ring Jacket trousers, at least the two I will write about, have similar features, but are still distinct in their own right. Ring Jacket’s MTM service does allow for some changes, but not to the model itself. Essentially I would’ve preferred a fusion of the S-178 and the S-182 (next article) models, that said, I’m more than satisfied with the trousers based on the S-178 model.
Stylistically they feature a long buttoning flap with one button. 13cm, as these are, is more or less what I’ve come to find the ideal length, as to not being too close to the side adjusters. The waistband isn’s overtly tall at about 4cm, but fits well with the style and especially as suit trousers.
There’s also a “belt loop” over the fastening flap, which on some commissions I’ve opted to remove.
Seen in the picture of the brown Crispaire trousers.
As expected by people whom know my preferences, the trousers have two outwards pleats with quite an ideal spacing between them. Furthermore, these pleats are stunningly deep and well tailored.
Lastly, I wouldn’t want to be seen without side adjusters. On this model they’re placed at the middle, over the folded line between the waistband and the trouser fabric. Stylistically I don’t mind either placement (the other one being on the waistband), but what I would add is that I have found this placement to be better in situations where you actually need the adjusters to keep the pants up.
As far as rise goes, even the RTW trousers are fairly high-waisted and the first round of MTM trousers I had made where at about 28cm. Eventually, I have opted to increase this to about 30cm. Seeing that they are based on a RTW model with certain well thought out measures, in the beginning the results of the MTM trousers wasn’t ideal. But we’ve worked quite a lot on tapering here and there and now come to a point where I really think my preferred fit has been obtained.
When it comes to tailoring and quality I’m no expert to be completely honest. I’m far more versed when it comes to fabrics.
There are some differences between the RTW and MTM features, such as a more rigid inner buttoning system, but over all both are exceptionally well made. The sewing, the inside construction and just generally the result are satisfying and that’s about all I can say, being a layman on this subject. But I do feel confident saying that you can tell the difference in how the feel of the construction is and how they wear.
Conclusion
There’s no doubt Ring Jacket is an excellent choice and I have been satisfied with everything I’ve worn by them. It should also be added that they go to great lengths to accommodate your wishes and I’m reluctant to call it an MTM service, even though there are limits to what you can choose. Because some of the alterations, especially on jacket shoulders, stretch far beyond what you could expect from a normal MTM service.
The trousers also reflects this attitude towards quality and satisfaction. Some of the trousers are now 3 years old and although the occasional inner button has to be re-attached, everything holds up perfectly.
This model is and will still be a staple, especially for suits. I have decided to venture more into bespoke for trousers, but that is purely for variety.
