One of the most salient characteristics of the Ivy League Look is the hook vent on suits and sportcoats. Though primarily associated with J. Press — where it became a brand signature along with the combed Shetland sweater and the button-flap oxford shirt — the hook vent was also a common feature on jackets from brands like Norman Hilton that catered to independent campus shops. It was also occasionally seen at Brooks Brothers.
But today, save for J. Press, the hook vent has all but disappeared from the menswear marketplace.
It’s a detail whose origins and function I got to thinking about recently when I took a vintage Press sportcoat to Paul Winston, who worked at legendary clothier Chipp from the ’60s to the ’80s. The jacket had a vent that was some 11.5 inches, much too high for me. I had Paul re-hook it down to 9.
Though hook vents were standard at Chipp, Paul could shed no light on their origin. As to whether they were purely decorative or also functional, he did note that the off-center placement helps keep one’s derriere covered. Proponents of side vents will tell you that the problem with a single vent is that it is unbecoming on a man, constantly exposing his rear end.
I checked in with other menswear savants, but no one could speak conclusively. While Ivy League Look features such as natural shoulders are something we can interpret the ethos of (naturalness, unaffectedness, casualness), and while it’s easier to suggest the function of the hook vent, its origins are apparently lost to history.
Here are some thoughts, however, from various menswear experts. First up, Nick Hilton, son of Norman:
My feeling is that the hook vent probably was thought a necessary feature of a jacket back with a lapped center seam. Its function was to allow enough facing inside the vent to hide the trouser waist, shirt, etc. The “hook” brings the vent edge an inch or so off-center and provides more coverage. The lapped seam details and “swelled” edges were characteristic of more casual tailoring techniques, easier to affect than the hand-intensive bluff edge and plain seams necessary on suits because they (especially the edges) are done by machine.
More interesting is the bygone understanding that sport jackets are not just suits without pants, the approach taken by the majority of today’s manufacturers. Sport jackets are a more dignified form of outerwear, form following function.
G. Bruce Boyer emailed the following:
I thought we had agreed you’d only ask me easy questions. I’m ashamed to say don’t know anything about the history of the hook vent, and none of the clothing encyclopedias I’ve consulted have anything to say on the subject. I’ll ask my friend Len Logsdail if he thinks there are any English origins. It is of course the most Ivy League detail on a coat after natural shoulders and a soft chest.
Boyer later sent the following:
Logsdail says it’s an English tradition that started originally for evening tailcoats and morning coats, purely as a decorative detail. Men liked it and started to bespeak it on their business and sporting coats. So it’s all a bit ironic, isn’t it, that something with such formal origins is now associated with much more casual dress.
But if the hook vent’s roots are English (as most sartorial traditions are), what accounts for its apparently total absence in English tailoring? Wrote Boyer:
I’ve been familiar with English tailors since the 1960s and have never known any to do a hook vent on regular business suits or sports jackets. Lapped seams yes, but not hooked vents. My assumption is that it’s been purely an American Ivy League thing since before World War II.
Ivy-Style contributor Zachary DeLuca speculated the following:
The hooked vent probably had its origins in the same place that lapped seams did: outdoor riding or weather gear. Lapping is a stronger way of finishing a seam, which is why it is often found on raincoats and blue jeans. The L-hook of the vent is probably there to distribute the tension that is placed on a center vent when the jacket is pulled tightly across the back for whatever reason. Imagine pulling both sides of the vent apart on a non-hook center vent, and then imagine that same action done on a hooked vent. The tension doesn’t rip directly up the seam in the same way. Like the “button on center” stance, it was probably popularized by J. Press, though certainly not invented.
Alan Flusser had this to say:
As for the hooked vent, can’t say I know much about its origins, other than once it was cut, it could never be removed. As for J. Press, I have never seen its invention attributed to them, nor have they, the original Press family, ever told me that. I also would have to be shown how they stay more closed than a regular vent, although they did tend to be shorter vents, so that might account for the claim.
The other point about the vent, now that I think about it, is that because it has two rows of stitches across its top, it was a sporty touch, therefore intended on a coat trimmed with 3/8 or 5/16″ stitching on its lapels, pockets, etc., meaning it was not to be on a dressy suit. In any event, single vents with or without hooked construction were style details that reminded the sartorial cognosenti of what they were trying to distance themselves from. It was supremely allergic to English style and tailoring elegance.
Finally I called Denis Black, manager of the J. Press store in Cambridge and the company’s official spokesman.
Black said there have been stories that Irving Press invented the hook vent, but in fact he simply popularized it. It has been a feature on Press jackets at least before World War II. The vent is stronger than a traditional single vent, and helps cover the derriere, Black said.
Today hook vents are still on 99 percent of J. Press suits and sportcoats. “It’s an identifying trademark,” Black said, “just like the pocket-flap oxford and the Shaggy Dog sweater, that men looked for in others in the professional world.” — CHRISTIAN CHENSVOLD
“I still have my J. Press tail coat and dinner jacket from the 1960’s when I made the deb parties and balls. Both have the hook vent and were made for J. Press by Linnet. During my college years I was largely a Press customer ( made-to-measure ). When I got to Oxford, I noticed that many of the students who took up country activities had hook vents on their hunting coats–scarlet, green, black, or tweed–they all had hook vents. Many of these coats had been made for their fathers or grandfathers.”
The hook vent drawing I recognized because there’s one on a coat I bought last month on EBay. It is a 3-button high-collared coat that appears to be a reproduction of an Edwardian or early twenties design. The coat’s label says simply “Chas. Creed;” my internet search revealed he was a post WWII London designer of some renown.
The hooked vent dates at least to the Civil War period. Men’s frock coats usually had that feature. The commercial sack coat, which became popular with Union officers, sometimes had a hooked vent. I have seen original garments with this feature.
When I was just starting out in business, I bought some clothes from a local Sacramento men’s store including a traditional tweed jacket with elbow patches. I was pretty skinny then and had to have everything altered. When I got this jacket back I saw what I thought was shoddy tailoring because the vent in the back had a hook to it. I’m not sure I ever said anything to the shop but if I did, I’m sure they told me it was normal. In any event, I thought I’d gotten screwed and never bought from them again.
Fast forward about 35 years and I come across this article and find out the hook vents are, indeed, a thing. All this time, I thought I’d been screwed over. Well, God love the internet for learning me sumthin’ new!
I asked Anderson & Sheppard to do a hook vent on a coat they were making for me. They took a picture of an old Norman Hilton I had to see what it looked like. About 6 weeks later they called and said the coat maker wouldn’t do it the hook vent so I settled on a regular center vent. Kinda funny.
I know I am several years late to be commenting on this article but I felt I should add to the discussion regardless. From what knowledge I have I believe the hook is a carry over from an old form of jacket called the “paddock coat”. The paddock was designed with a center vent and improved stitiching in order to allow the individual wearing the jacket to keep it closed while riding horseback. The hook combined with the lower button hole being placed higher up the jacket allowed the wearer to remain comfortable and still appear formal by having the jacket fully buttoned. This most likely carried over to American Ivy League style trends because of its association with polo jackets. This may not be completely accurate but I thought it was worth mentioning.
RP: Up until World War II J. Press was primarily a custom tailor shop. But after the war Irving and Paul decided to manufacture readymade suits, but knew they had to differentiate themselves from competitors.
They noticed that with single-vented jackets, particularly if a guy had a big ass, the vent would separate and it was very unsightly looking. So they developed the hook vent in collaboration with our designer at the time, a survivor from Auschwitz named Felix Samelson who survived by being a tailor to SS officers, so he didn’t make any mistakes.
While I can see that the overlap plus heavier (tweed, Shetland) woolens might keep the tails closed, the “reinforcement” thesis makes sense, too. Whatever the origin, it was obviously for function-over-form.
Just as I have progressed from standard Oxford cloth to pinpoint Oxford and end-on-end (fil-à-fil) cloth, so have I progressed from a hook vent to no vent at all. A few steps in the evolution of a personal style.
“Up until World War II J. Press was primarily a custom tailor shop.”
Would it be an altogether terrible thing if J. Press returned to its/their roots as a “primarily custom tailor shop”? Accompanied accessories/furnishings. Sort of like what Chipp has become.
I am in UK and have a range of UK originated sport coats with hook vents in addition to those of USA makers, usually these are wool based – in phases where companies here would copy USA style. As with patch pockets, welted edges, natural shoulders, 3/2 roll – these aspects are often seen as an interesting occasional variant here on ready to wear makers. I’m not always sure the British makers or retailers are/were aware of these origins for such as hook vents and patch pockets. Right now, it can be easier to find a hook vent accidentally on a UK jacket here than it is on one from USA. This might be targeted the post-hipster young man, Japanese market, traditional dresser, but will not have an overt Ivy aspect mentioned. A couple of years ago Jaeger here produced a number of limited edition 3/2 roll, natural shoulder, hooked vent jackets in a run of vintage fabric. Excellent jackets and must surely of had somebody there clued up, since they seem to be focusing on aspirational youth clothing (who isn’t now?) – so these things come and go. Austin Reed before their demise would regularly have hooked vent jackets in each season. I have ended up in a mix of USA and UK tailoring, all in the Ivy style to varying degrees of authenticity.
Bespoke tailors of old in UK would of been horrified to be asked for a hooked vent I envisage.
Mark in Nottingham, you totally amaze me. I’ve regularly patronised Jaeger and AR in London and I’ve never seen a hooked vent nor anything resembling what I’d recognise as a natural shoulder.
A pic of one of the Jaeger jackets is here as an example (A blog with much Ivy Wear I do not get time to maintain at present but still just about works):
There would be one such jacket a season, often only online or at the back of the store – but there to be found. I’m have louts of unstructured, patch pocket, hook vent herringbone wool jackets from AR. Often seemed to be a buy in from Italy and when sold out of the run, they were gone.
Similarly Aquascutum did this around 2010-2015. Perhaps this was an attempt to copy RL Rugby at the time. Keydge had some influence for a while.
Sorry, I did not mean it to sound like I would read your story because I have nothing better to do. I am watching the Winter Olympics only because I hope Eric Heiden, Bonnie Blaire and the 1980 hockey team will somehow appear like the Angels of Mons and lead us to victory.
You’re obviously a dedicated sartorial sleuth, Mark in Nottingham. I long ago gave up hope of finding anything worthy on our shores. Keydge is not a bad little stopgap, so long as you’re not hung up about a hooked vent.
I think that the origin of hook vent is tha same of the origin of the sack suit.
The sack,labelled as “conservative cut” until 1910s is a sartorial living fossil.
Is the 1890s American suit (or if you prefer evolves straight from it).
In many 1890s American suits pictures i have noted the presence of the hook vent (see the images below): https://s14.postimg.org/3z32wolap/image.jpg https://s14.postimg.org/4buh2w65d/image.jpg https://s14.postimg.org/thvf9rpg1/image.jpg
So,this feature was around until the 1890s,and is probable that Jacobi Press was familiar with it from the late 1890s time in which he worked with a old American-German tailor that who taught him the art of cutting.
I have both a frock-coat and a morning-coat which my Great-Great-Grandfather made for himself (they fit me, one more so than the other in the stomach – so we must be about the same chest size and etc.), they both have hooked vents, there’s absolutely nothing sporty about either garment, I can assure you. The hooked vent, like the silk braid covered exterior trouser seam was more likely used to cover any unnecessary seams or shirt showing. Remember, shirt’s were under-garments up until the very early 20th century, and seeing them, especially between trousers and jacket was very bad taste. My morning coat also has pockets sewn into its tails and you can slip your hand into the vent, and pull out a morning paper, or your cigarette case without mussing or unbuttoning your coat. The hooked vent is merely another expression of discretion, understatement, and Victorian modesty; I’m a fan. Oh, and sack coats were originally meant to be form fitting. A well fitted sack coat is infinitely more difficult to cut than a well fitted darted coat, and hence not only a sign of the skill of the tailor, but of the taste and financial means of the individual who not only knows to purchase one, but who can afford to purchase one, even more-so, an un-darted vest (though only to those “in the know”).
“Oh, and sack coats were originally meant to be form fitting. A well fitted sack coat is infinitely more difficult to cut than a well fitted darted coat, and hence not only a sign of the skill of the tailor”
Right!
The Scholte’s coat (Scholte was the tailor of Prince of Wales-King Edward VIII-Duke of Windsor) were frequently undarted or with slanted-curved darts.
Today the tailor Puppato in Venice make undarted,but well fitted,coats.
When the tailoring technical switched to darted coats for achieve a more easy fitting figure,the “Ivy” tailors remained linked with the 1890s cut (the so called from 1910s “conservative cut”).
If you look to a 1930s sack from Brooks Brothers you can see that is well fitted,but although undarted,but this feature is difficult to have with a mass market ready to wear product.
The hook vent is a feature from 1890s sack….conservative cut.
Carmelo,
My experience has been that men who want a “well-shaped” jacket are so concerned with the shape that they are willing to sacrifice comfort–they usually choose a jacket that is one size too small.
One of the most salient characteristics of the Ivy League Look is the hook vent on suits and sportcoats. Though primarily associated with J. Press — where it became a brand signature along with the combed Shetland sweater and the button-flap oxford shirt — the hook vent was also a common feature on jackets from brands like Norman Hilton that catered to independent campus shops. It was also occasionally seen at Brooks Brothers.
Mr. Chensvold, I salute you!
Where else but on “Ivy Style” can one find a scholarly discussion of the hook vent?
Thanks. Good example photos on the Andy thread, though.
Now I need reading glasses for my reading glasses!
Yes, the new font is small. Already asked my tech guy to enlarge it. Hang on.
A friend of Bruce’s emailed him the following:
“I still have my J. Press tail coat and dinner jacket from the 1960’s when I made the deb parties and balls. Both have the hook vent and were made for J. Press by Linnet. During my college years I was largely a Press customer ( made-to-measure ). When I got to Oxford, I noticed that many of the students who took up country activities had hook vents on their hunting coats–scarlet, green, black, or tweed–they all had hook vents. Many of these coats had been made for their fathers or grandfathers.”
The hook vent drawing I recognized because there’s one on a coat I bought last month on EBay. It is a 3-button high-collared coat that appears to be a reproduction of an Edwardian or early twenties design. The coat’s label says simply “Chas. Creed;” my internet search revealed he was a post WWII London designer of some renown.
The hooked vent dates at least to the Civil War period. Men’s frock coats usually had that feature. The commercial sack coat, which became popular with Union officers, sometimes had a hooked vent. I have seen original garments with this feature.
When I was just starting out in business, I bought some clothes from a local Sacramento men’s store including a traditional tweed jacket with elbow patches. I was pretty skinny then and had to have everything altered. When I got this jacket back I saw what I thought was shoddy tailoring because the vent in the back had a hook to it. I’m not sure I ever said anything to the shop but if I did, I’m sure they told me it was normal. In any event, I thought I’d gotten screwed and never bought from them again.
Fast forward about 35 years and I come across this article and find out the hook vents are, indeed, a thing. All this time, I thought I’d been screwed over. Well, God love the internet for learning me sumthin’ new!
I asked Anderson & Sheppard to do a hook vent on a coat they were making for me. They took a picture of an old Norman Hilton I had to see what it looked like. About 6 weeks later they called and said the coat maker wouldn’t do it the hook vent so I settled on a regular center vent. Kinda funny.
I know I am several years late to be commenting on this article but I felt I should add to the discussion regardless. From what knowledge I have I believe the hook is a carry over from an old form of jacket called the “paddock coat”. The paddock was designed with a center vent and improved stitiching in order to allow the individual wearing the jacket to keep it closed while riding horseback. The hook combined with the lower button hole being placed higher up the jacket allowed the wearer to remain comfortable and still appear formal by having the jacket fully buttoned. This most likely carried over to American Ivy League style trends because of its association with polo jackets. This may not be completely accurate but I thought it was worth mentioning.
From 12-12-2017, for what it’s worth:
IS: And the hook vent?
RP: Up until World War II J. Press was primarily a custom tailor shop. But after the war Irving and Paul decided to manufacture readymade suits, but knew they had to differentiate themselves from competitors.
They noticed that with single-vented jackets, particularly if a guy had a big ass, the vent would separate and it was very unsightly looking. So they developed the hook vent in collaboration with our designer at the time, a survivor from Auschwitz named Felix Samelson who survived by being a tailor to SS officers, so he didn’t make any mistakes.
While I can see that the overlap plus heavier (tweed, Shetland) woolens might keep the tails closed, the “reinforcement” thesis makes sense, too. Whatever the origin, it was obviously for function-over-form.
My understanding has been as Garrett put forth. Horseback riding comfort. British primarily double vents, USA single.
Just as I have progressed from standard Oxford cloth to pinpoint Oxford and end-on-end (fil-à-fil) cloth, so have I progressed from a hook vent to no vent at all. A few steps in the evolution of a personal style.
“Up until World War II J. Press was primarily a custom tailor shop.”
Would it be an altogether terrible thing if J. Press returned to its/their roots as a “primarily custom tailor shop”? Accompanied accessories/furnishings. Sort of like what Chipp has become.
Just a thought.
“Dear… do you think this jacket vent makes my butt look big?”
Sorry, couldn’t resist the temptation…
I am in UK and have a range of UK originated sport coats with hook vents in addition to those of USA makers, usually these are wool based – in phases where companies here would copy USA style. As with patch pockets, welted edges, natural shoulders, 3/2 roll – these aspects are often seen as an interesting occasional variant here on ready to wear makers. I’m not always sure the British makers or retailers are/were aware of these origins for such as hook vents and patch pockets. Right now, it can be easier to find a hook vent accidentally on a UK jacket here than it is on one from USA. This might be targeted the post-hipster young man, Japanese market, traditional dresser, but will not have an overt Ivy aspect mentioned. A couple of years ago Jaeger here produced a number of limited edition 3/2 roll, natural shoulder, hooked vent jackets in a run of vintage fabric. Excellent jackets and must surely of had somebody there clued up, since they seem to be focusing on aspirational youth clothing (who isn’t now?) – so these things come and go. Austin Reed before their demise would regularly have hooked vent jackets in each season. I have ended up in a mix of USA and UK tailoring, all in the Ivy style to varying degrees of authenticity.
Bespoke tailors of old in UK would of been horrified to be asked for a hooked vent I envisage.
Mark in Nottingham, you totally amaze me. I’ve regularly patronised Jaeger and AR in London and I’ve never seen a hooked vent nor anything resembling what I’d recognise as a natural shoulder.
A pic of one of the Jaeger jackets is here as an example (A blog with much Ivy Wear I do not get time to maintain at present but still just about works):
https://squareendknittedtie.tumblr.com/
There would be one such jacket a season, often only online or at the back of the store – but there to be found. I’m have louts of unstructured, patch pocket, hook vent herringbone wool jackets from AR. Often seemed to be a buy in from Italy and when sold out of the run, they were gone.
Similarly Aquascutum did this around 2010-2015. Perhaps this was an attempt to copy RL Rugby at the time. Keydge had some influence for a while.
Nice to revisit the story. I learned quite a lot of vent history today.
By the way, I just received “The Disengage” today from Amazon. Hope to read it tonight while I have the awful Winter Olympics on sans sound.
CC,
Sorry, I did not mean it to sound like I would read your story because I have nothing better to do. I am watching the Winter Olympics only because I hope Eric Heiden, Bonnie Blaire and the 1980 hockey team will somehow appear like the Angels of Mons and lead us to victory.
You’re obviously a dedicated sartorial sleuth, Mark in Nottingham. I long ago gave up hope of finding anything worthy on our shores. Keydge is not a bad little stopgap, so long as you’re not hung up about a hooked vent.
I think that the origin of hook vent is tha same of the origin of the sack suit.
The sack,labelled as “conservative cut” until 1910s is a sartorial living fossil.
Is the 1890s American suit (or if you prefer evolves straight from it).
In many 1890s American suits pictures i have noted the presence of the hook vent (see the images below):
https://s14.postimg.org/3z32wolap/image.jpg
https://s14.postimg.org/4buh2w65d/image.jpg
https://s14.postimg.org/thvf9rpg1/image.jpg
So,this feature was around until the 1890s,and is probable that Jacobi Press was familiar with it from the late 1890s time in which he worked with a old American-German tailor that who taught him the art of cutting.
I have both a frock-coat and a morning-coat which my Great-Great-Grandfather made for himself (they fit me, one more so than the other in the stomach – so we must be about the same chest size and etc.), they both have hooked vents, there’s absolutely nothing sporty about either garment, I can assure you. The hooked vent, like the silk braid covered exterior trouser seam was more likely used to cover any unnecessary seams or shirt showing. Remember, shirt’s were under-garments up until the very early 20th century, and seeing them, especially between trousers and jacket was very bad taste. My morning coat also has pockets sewn into its tails and you can slip your hand into the vent, and pull out a morning paper, or your cigarette case without mussing or unbuttoning your coat. The hooked vent is merely another expression of discretion, understatement, and Victorian modesty; I’m a fan. Oh, and sack coats were originally meant to be form fitting. A well fitted sack coat is infinitely more difficult to cut than a well fitted darted coat, and hence not only a sign of the skill of the tailor, but of the taste and financial means of the individual who not only knows to purchase one, but who can afford to purchase one, even more-so, an un-darted vest (though only to those “in the know”).
“Oh, and sack coats were originally meant to be form fitting. A well fitted sack coat is infinitely more difficult to cut than a well fitted darted coat, and hence not only a sign of the skill of the tailor”
Right!
The Scholte’s coat (Scholte was the tailor of Prince of Wales-King Edward VIII-Duke of Windsor) were frequently undarted or with slanted-curved darts.
Today the tailor Puppato in Venice make undarted,but well fitted,coats.
When the tailoring technical switched to darted coats for achieve a more easy fitting figure,the “Ivy” tailors remained linked with the 1890s cut (the so called from 1910s “conservative cut”).
If you look to a 1930s sack from Brooks Brothers you can see that is well fitted,but although undarted,but this feature is difficult to have with a mass market ready to wear product.
The hook vent is a feature from 1890s sack….conservative cut.
Fortunately, one can still find sack coats that are not “form fitting”/”well-fitted”.
Well fitted not mean uncomfortable.
Only well shaped.
Carmelo,
My experience has been that men who want a “well-shaped” jacket are so concerned with the shape that they are willing to sacrifice comfort–they usually choose a jacket that is one size too small.
The Hook(ed) vent comes from English equestrian wear.