Paul writes tech and travel articles for Dappered. Recently, he’s been searching for the perfect cologne.
I’m starting to think I’m the Goldilocks of blue blazers. In high school I had one from JC Penney. It fit exactly as JC Penney’s reputation would have you think it fit – lapel notches near my nipples, cut for a man about 50 pounds heavier. I think I wore that blazer twice. After college, I got one from Calvin Klein. The fit was better but still not great. It was slimmer but not really slim enough. I wore it a handful of times but mostly it sat in my closet.
If Ben’s the Big Gulp in the size department, and Joe’s the 16-ounce American standard, I’m the size they used to sell in the ’70s before they ditched the concept of ‘small’ and just started selling everything starting with medium. I’m 5’6″, 120 pounds. Finding clothing small enough can be a drag, so I turned to Indochino a few years ago for my blue blazer needs.
I like my Indochino blazer a lot, but it’s still not perfect. I like that it’s on the edge of too small instead of being clearly too big. But it’s just not perfect. It’s not just right. I can’t wear a sweater under it, which bugs me. It’s just a bit too tight in the chest. Ideally, I’d make it a touch longer and make the waist taper less severe too. Yeah, I maybe could have had it tailored to fit slightly better, but it’s damn close and I’m hardly ever looking for another errand to run. So I’ve left it. I wear it. I like it … pretty much. I just don’t love it.
Then I saw shad0w4life’s Dragon Inside tuxedo on Dappered Threads. It’s awesome. Jack seemed to have a bit less luck, but I was intrigued. I hopped over to DragonInside.com and tried to learn more. They say their jackets are fully canvased, which is impressive. I learned they use UK and Italian wool and like the word ‘dapper’ a lot. They seem to know English real good too. Honestly, the site’s not all that different than Indochino’s. Either is the business model.
Anyway, I ordered some swatches and immediately forgot about them until they showed up in my mailbox. Got to be honest, I got a bit excited when I saw the envelope. Felt like maybe I’d intercepted a spy correspondence at first thanks to the cryptic, Cyrillic stamps. Here’s what was inside:
I’m eyeing their blue sharkskin blazer ($359). I wasn’t convinced about the sharkskin fabric choice, but I like the swatch — it’s deeper than the photo on the website. Not sure if I’m ready to pull the trigger though. Black Lapel’s option is tempting too.
What do you think? Is Dragon Inside too good to be true? Got any ideas for my smaller frame?