SB jacket in linen hopsack in natural

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£490.00 — ex VAT

Unstructured tailored jacket, made in London, with a mid-weight (10oz) linen from Northern Ireland, and horn buttons from the Cotswolds.

Sizing

The SB jacket fits true to size, and thus the mannequin here — so perfect a 40 he has it branded on his chest — is wearing a size M.

XS S M L XL
To fit chest 36 38 40 42 44
Pit-to-pit 19 20 21 22 23
Shoulder 17 17½ 18 18½ 19
Back length 29 29¼ 29½ 29¾ 30
Sleeve from centre-back 34 34½ 35 35½ 36
The SB is a single-breasted tailored jacket. It has a two-button front, a slightly nipped waist, and a just-barely peaked lapel of moderate size. There's very little structure to be found here — it is foremost a light and casual jacket — but it has the proportions and the silhouette of a smart suit or sports jacket.
The buttons on the jacket are horn, and are light matte tortoiseshell in colour. Being as they are an entirely natural thing, each looks different to the next, varying in tone and hue and striatic markings.
There are three buttons at the cuff, with the buttonholes cut open. It is a working cuff, in other words, though has no quarrel whatsoever with cuffs that cannot work or do not work.
At the front of the jacket are two large patch pockets, which are strengthened with bar-tacks at the top corners. At the chest, meanwhile, on the left side as worn, there's another pocket — most notable for being a somewhat unorthdox upturned flap, and its corners, too, strengthened with little bar-tacks.
Some hand-sewing here. The chain-stitch below the button-hole helps hold in place a boutonnière (a flower, for instance). The criss-cross ("duck") stitch, meanwhile, holds together the lapel and the collar so that, over time, one doesn't flap around independently of the other. Helpful little hidden handiwork.
The jacket has an in-breast pocket — an internal chest pocket, that is, of the jetted variety — on both the left and right sides.
The jacket has a buggy lining, across the upper back, of smooth, slinky satin. Likewise the sleeves. The jacket thus slides on and off with ease. The lower regions are unlined. This is an unstructured and travel-friendly jacket, after all. The exposed seams are finished cleanly and carefully with cotton binding.
Tremendously earthy, this cloth, but subtle in colouring and smooth in finish, and so staying the right side of smart. It is fine, long-staple linen, mercerised for a sleek look and sanforised to remove shrinkage. It is thick and strong, and creases less than most cottons, let alone crumpled, unkempt linens of stereotype.

As worn

Him, here, is as standard a 38 as ever there was, with a height of 6ft 1in and a weight of 12 stone. He's wearing one size larger than his usual here — it's a size M, meant for a 40 chest — hence the more relaxed than usual fit.

Makers of

The jacket is made at an outerwear factory in London: the best, many agree, in the capital. The jacket is cut by the hands of a cutter with some 30 years in the trade, and sewn by one of four seamsters whose meticulousness and pursuit of perfection would be caricature were the end results not always so good.
The cloth is woven by a linen mill, a few miles south of Belfast in Northern Ireland. The mill was built at the end of the 1800s, back when Belfast was "Linenopolis". That it's one of the last mills still standing in the area is testament to its exemplary work in the weaving, dying, and finishing of luxury-grade linen.
The horn buttons are cut, shaped, and polished by the last horn button-makers in Britain. Relocated from the Midlands to the Cotswolds, they continue a tradition going back to the 18th century. "It is no easy task," claimed William Hutton in 1780, "to enumerate the infinite diversity of buttons made in Birmingham."

So they say

I received the SB package in perfect order, and can't say how much I love the jacket. It fits perfectly. I like the cut and drape a lot. And it is gladly and surprisingly short. But, because of the the full cut, it can be worn with a bulky sweater underneath, which is just what I had hoped for.

So confided a gentleman about the Donegal tweed SB in May 2016.

Just wanted to let you know the SB in twill has arrived, and it is absolutely dashing — in an understated way.

Another acquire of an SB in Donegal tweed — defying seasonal norms in November of 2015.

I received my SB yesterday, and it by far exceeds my expectations. It's truly a fantastic piece of clothing.

Kind words from a gentleman who bought a cotton-drill version of the SB back in 2014.

I am very happy with the SB jacket. A somewhat "obscure object of desire" for me, perhaps, but I just had to have it. This desire now satisfied, I may not need to buy any new threads for a while, but when I do I'll look to you folks first.

His "object of desire" was the SB in a blue herringbone linen, acquired in May 2015.

Very pleased with my SB and thinking of buying another.

Encouraging words from a chap who bought a woollen SB in February of 2017.