VBC Brown Flannel

This was supposed to be the second to last presentation last year and although it might not be the most flamboyant piece to present it’s an important one to me. Now, serving as the second presentation of 2022, it’s equally fitting that it should be a brown suit following up after last weeks long awaited pinstripe come back. 

I am changing this series of presentations from now on to focus slightly more on my idea behind the acquisition and less on the spec side. 

This second presentation of the year however will be a full scale presentation for new readers interested in the details and preferences I’ve set as a standard for orders. Adding that, a year later, now, the updated version of this suit constitutes a new venture into bespoke in the trouser department.

I’m not sure how often VBC updates their books but the brown cloth I chose from the book with the same qualities last time wasn’t there.

Although I had the intention of choosing the same cloth,  I now see this as a fortunate coincidence.

The flannel I chose this time is a woolen flannel weighing 340g, the same as my previous suit.

I usually tend to choose British mills and merchants like Holland & Sherry or Fox Brothers, but with flannels I find VBC to be a great value option.

They hold up nicely, drapes fairly well for flannels and comes at a good price point.

This last aspect isn’t something I would put as a priority if having something made that hopefully will last you years or even decades. But for garments that gets about 2 months of wear every year, 3 if I’m pushing it, price becomes a factor. 

Given the nice touch, the suitable warmth it provides and durability I reckon I will be back choosing a VBC Flannel also in the future granted I find the shade and pattern I am looking for.

Cloth Look

For this flannel I wanted to reproduce the colour of my previous suit as close as possible while still of course being open for some reinvention. 

The reinvention comes in terms of the small colour nuances within this brown flannel. There are some orange tones visible within the weave. Subtle at first glance, yet pronounced on closer inspection. 

With the loss of my flannel suits due to change in shoulder size, I have yet to build up a proper winter wardrobe. Although with my jacket and trouser acquisitions I am well into the process, the fact that I wear some of my high-twist suits all year round has had an impact on when and how important the suit acquisition of the winter wardrobe seemed until now. 

As much as one shouldn’t become too attached to items, moreover clothing, my brown flannel suit from Universal Language was a trusted partner through the cold winter the year before last, as such this acquisition feels like the return of a lost child. I knew that without a brown flannel suit my wardrobe would never feel complete.

Suit

I have tended to brush over the suit specs in later presentations as they are mentioned often throughout the first couple of presentations I wrote.

I have however gotten quite a few requests suggesting it might be beneficial to add them in newer presentations as well. Although I will continue to add the spec sheet in the start of the presentation, I will move away from going into detail on details like these that has been repeated quite often, but will add links to the relevant information from earlier posts. 

This former rendition of this suit was based on the No-269 jacket model, while the trousers were made based on the S-178 model. The jacket is the same so that makes for a good segue to the jacket details.

I have added this on all my suits until now as it makes for a continuation of my signature look tying my style together throughout my collection. You might think that well, if some of the ready to wear jackets also has this detail wouldn’t that suggest that most people wearing Ring Jacket would be sporting this style? Which would be a good point but honestly the double stitch detail isn’t as widely sought after among Japanese customers as you would think.

For me the double stitching, besides just preferring the look, is a nod to the Neapolitan tailoring style that initially got me into tailored menswear.

For certain suits I might opt for a different stitching, but to the extent that I can I will choose double.

The fit of the jacket is neither overly fitted nor overly relaxed, but just about tapered enough to create a flattering V-shape.

Trousers

Now, as far as the trousers go, this is where it gets more interesting. The former trousers fro this suit were based on Ring Jackets S-178 model. These trousers were double pleated, had an elongated single button fastener at the waistband and a rise around 27cm. The new trousers for this suit also marked my venture into bespoke trousers, and one step closer to fulfilling the overall intended style for at least some of my suits.

Igarashi Trousers

I’ve written about my first experience with Igarashi trousers here, and the second pair for my Fox Brothers flannel suit here, but the short story is I am incredibly satisfied with the results.

Style wise, these are based on the same details as the gurkha trousers I wear. A tall, elongated, two-buttoned waistband, coin pocket, double pleats and side adjusters. The rise technically is around 29cm, but given the fuller cut they wear more closely to 31cm.

The most interesting part for me was that upon receiving them I could swear they were a lighter shade than the former trousers when comparing the two. However, compared to the jacket the brown colour looked exactly the same.

Thus, a new suit is born. As far as theory go, all I can think of is that the former trousers somehow became darker since they were worn more often than the jacket..even though, you would assume them becoming lighter would be more logical.

Conclusion (pre update)

For me this was an important suit to have in place. Assuming I have a navy suit covering formal events, this suit (and the suit it replaced) and my Crispaire suit are my two most favourite and honestly important suits. If you know my style it might not be shocking that two brown suits, one for each season, are this important to me. Neither are extravagant, neither are most likely the most popular, but to me, when everything else fail these are the two suits I resort to. 

Not to mention how often I wear the trousers as odd trousers and that I prefer brown trousers to gray. In some sense brown odd trousers are probably the most essential part of my style no matter the season.

As I mentioned, I know what to expect when it comes to the VBC flannels and I with the amount of wears this suit has gotten the short time I’ve had it I still rest assured the Super 100’s quality is a reliable one.  

The style of the suit is a familiar one and along with last weeks suit new jacket model, still what aligns with my preferences. I reckon it’s always a reliable sign you’ve found what you like if you have nothing to add after so many renditions of the same models and you’re 100% satisfied every time. 

Conclusion (post update)

As much as my old conclusion still stands based on my preferences at the time, the new version of this suit feels like a step into my sartorial journey 3.0 -although, additionally I have also tended towards a different jacket style from Ring Jacket in later commissions, since this article was written.

The biggest difference for me is the fact that my preferences changed regarding rise, so you’ll also notice that my later Ring Jacket commissions also had trousers with a significantly higher rise. In other words, merging Ring Jacket with Igarashi was not a decision based on quality; they are both remarkable, but rather that I saw an opportunity to expand the style range while already having decided that I wanted to acquire new trousers.

It does feel like a big step forward, diversifying my suits to where some of them are with the S-178 Ring Jacket trousers (albeit with the new taller rise) and some Igarashi Bespoke. And just as my previous conclusion, this suit continues to be an important staple, if not the most, in my winter wardrobe.