Hey guys,

I am looking forward to making a new jacket. Any of you out there have any special or unique design to share? Or seen some other magician's coat ....

Please post here with link and site if possible..

Thanks

Symmatrix

I just take a suit coat I wear to the tailor and have a few extra pockets put in. That is all I really need. If you were doing stage, you might need your outfit custom done. If you do stage you know what I am talking about. Either for the magic or just for a unique look.

Andrew

I saw a good looking jacket on TV the other day. Some guy going to the local TV awards. He had painted it with material paint. He had painted rough black lines all over it (breaking it into sections about the of an A4 sheet of paper - letter size to the Americans). He had then painted all different colours in each sction.

Looked really good, and you could use whatever colours/patterns you wanted. Not sure how much the paint would cost, but it would mean that you might be able get a jacket from your local Op Shop which would save a few Pennies.

Chris.

Do you realize that if you make up a jacket like someone else's "unique jacket," it will no longer be unique?

OK, Jeff is right...

making up a jacket like someone else's "unique jacket," it will no longer be unique.

Let post some ideas that you guys have that is unique and creative...not other people's ideas.

Perhaps we can have some other people design a coat, but we modify the deisgn a bit and not copy it totally at all.

Thanks

Symmatrix

I use a topcoat from Banana Republic. It is very cool looking. But of course I am going for a "Mod" style type of act. I ditched the tails about two weeks ago and completely revamped my costume. Hey tails were a great "beginner" costume but no, no way anymore will I ever be stuffed into them again.

Jackets are a big part of a magician's wardrobe. It really can make or break an act. Obviously a tailcoat combined with a really fast-paced modern act is not going to look that great. So, I think you should look at your act and THEN decide on what to wear. You should also consider the fact that if you are going to be using doves and other similar loads you may want to stay away from a jacket that's really tight in the front, which would give away tell-tale signs that there is something there (bulging = bad).

I've been using a jacket from The Gap in my act. It's just a basic jacket, kind of a denim material but stylish and clean lined. It matches my style in real life and in my magic so it suits me nicely. The only additions I made to it was some dove pockets, some silk/ball/card holdouts and my always ready match pull.

I get my jackets at Good Will, or Salvation army, and choose high quality ones, with good linings and a dark distringuished color, or a tasteful visually distracting pattern like the herringbone jacket in my Avatar.

I usually buy a size larger than I normally wear, and that leaves room for pockets to be filled and not appear so, and space for topits, etc.

I pay $3-$7 for the jacket and somewhere around $45-$70 for sleeve adjustments (I like then a touch longer than "stylish" for using pulls and sleeving) and topits and pockets. I used to have a special flap all the way around on the inside that hid my match pulls, card clips, and coin clips under, but with the Cellini Topit design, I don't need that flap anymore as the topit acts just like the flap to hide a casual glance of the items available at fingertip.

BroDavid

A size larger?How many inches is that? Is it necessary?
I am also going to make my own blazer.

If we shared...it would no longer be unique ; )

Good point Astinus

God Bless You, I Love You

Well I love you to King of Pop.................................................

Seems like you might make a cute couple

A size larger is usually about an inch in size difference for women, and about 2 inches for men, so if you wear a size 36 jacket (US here now) you would look for a 38 to give you a more loose drape and room for the topits and such.
If you are going to go for wsomething differnt in styling or color, consider sewing the "shapes" of different colored, and maybe even textures fabric onto the jacket with a nice ribbon or trim along the seams, you would be very surprised as to how useful they can be, especially if you leave an edge open every here and there to act as pockets, even on teh outside! Not that I would advise this, but at a police lecture years ago (I hope my memory lets me get the names right!) , I learned that the old Manson Family folks did a LOT of shoplifting, and the one article I remember vividly was the Jean Jacket worn / used by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromm, it was a patchwork of very skilled and beautiful embroidery holding a myriad of different random fabric shapes and colors, and amost every one was a pocket for hiding her shoplifted items in!