Trousers: Ring Jacket S-182
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.
A familiar introduction, but seeing as some might be reading this isolated from the previous article I figured it was worth adding it.
Trouser Style
This is the first time I’m trying an MTM version of the S-182 trouser model from Ring Jacket. I have tried this model before as an RTW in a cavalry twill, albeit not really to my satisfaction which I’ll get back to, so I was curious how it would turn out made to my preferences.
As mentioned in the article about the S-178 model, ideally I would’ve opted for a fusion between the two, but I think also some of the features of this model serves as a nice change to the line up, especially the pleats.
Because the suit in question is a double breasted burgundy linen suit, my intentions with these weren’t really to be worn as separates. Thus I figured it was a good place to try this model out.
The main difference you’ll notice are the double inwards pleats. This was at first a compromise. I wanted this model, but with outwards pleats. After some thinking I ended up going with it anyway as I’ve been wanting to try what I perceive as a more classic look for a while. The only part of this decision I’m still undecided on is whether linen might have been a less ideal fabric to try inwards pleats with. Not to mention this is my first linen suit in years, so although I’ve had linen trousers and suits, there is a certain adjustment period.
The second change is the taller waistband. If I’m not mistaken it’s only about 0,5cm taller than the S-178, but it actually has quite a significant impact on how the waistband looks.
Another difference is that the pockets are straight instead of slanted.
I have no practical preference with regards to this. My only objection historically has been that straight pockets have a greater tendency to flare out if the fit isn’t correct. This wasn’t a problem in this case.
Lastly, on this model the side adjusters are placed on the waisband, as opposed to on top of the waistband line. Given the taller waistband, this makes sense visually in addition to the fact that it looks slightly more refined.
Conclusion
In the case of these trousers, I also had to make the re-evaluation of what I think of linen as a fabric. The two are of course separate issues, but I am aware that one might affect the other as far as my thoughts on either goes.
The rise, the fit and the details of these are all exquisite. I really like both the look and how they wear. Although my initial expectation was that they wouldn’t be suitable as separates, the shade is quite dark so I might change my mind on that. As I’ve come to expect, the trousers are simply exceptionally well made!
Now, I do say the above with one condition though, which is that I haven’t really warmed up to inwards pleats just yet. Obviously that’s a concern regarding my preferences and not anything in terms of quality.
But as far as choosing this model again goes I am still on the fence. That said, I have a hunch based on what I’ve seen around, that this model would look even better in flannel, so it might be a valid option for the winter wardrobe.
