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Welcome to “DEEP DIVE,” where we explore the inspirations behind our beloved Engineered Garments pieces. This installment examines the Engineered Garments Andover Jacket and Andover Pant.
The Andover Jacket and Andover Pant stand out within the Engineered Garments collection for their focused attention to tailoring and for their veteran status, having remained staples each season for over a decade.
The Andover setup has evolved over the years. The version we have come to know began as an interpretation of the classic American sack suit. The sack suit’s first iterations date back to the mid-19th century and remain largely unchanged today: unpadded shoulders, an unsuppressed waist, an undarted front, a hooked vent, a 3/2 roll collar, flat-front trousers, and boxy proportions. There is something quintessentially American about the garment’s unpretentiousness and simplicity.
And yet, though Engineered Garments centers its compass on American clothing, the Andover setup has grown out of the sack suit’s bagginess into a more shaped silhouette evocative of British suiting.
Today’s iteration is the closest the brand comes to producing a truly formal suit. Thanks to a pair of front darts, the jacket lies closer to the body, forming a smart taper complemented by higher armholes that allow the sleeves to drape cleanly rather than fan outward. At the rear, double vents, fully functional four-button cuffs, and a full cupra lining provide an added sense of sophistication. The jacket features four welted flap pockets, including a slightly offset ticket pocket. These, along with two inner pockets, one of which is tilted for a distinctly EG touch, are hallmarks of English tailoring.
No fabric competes with wool when it comes to formal suiting. While often associated with heavier garments due to its insulating properties, wool is also remarkably breathable. For the Spring Summer season, Engineered Garments employs tropical wool, a lightweight 100% wool textile developed for wear in hot, humid climates. Delicately woven, it remains comfortable even on the warmest days. This season, it appears in Grey Micro Houndstooth Tropical Wool and Black Tropical Wool. Notably, the Andover Jacket in Black Tropical Wool is left unlined, giving it an almost weightless feel in hand.
This refinement continues through the trousers. Cuffs are sewn in, and the seat is constructed using a complex and costly four-piece pattern. Above this sits a split waistband, often referred to as an “after-dinner split” or “V d’aisance.” This mountain-shaped opening allows the waistband to expand slightly when seated and makes future waist adjustments easier for a tailor, both important considerations in achieving a precise fit. Besom back pockets are fastened with buttons, and on certain styles those buttons are covered in matching fabric for a seamless finish.
The setup distinguishes itself from the typical boxiness found throughout much of the Engineered Garments collection. The jacket is the most fitted top and the trousers the most tapered bottom in the lineup, and they are the only pieces designed expressly to be worn together as a suit.
Yet despite its subtle detailing, delicate stitching, and refined proportions, the Andover setup retains the openness and ease of the original sack suit. Though it borrows from English tailoring traditions, it does so without sacrificing the easygoing American attitude from which it began. That balance is uniquely Engineered Garments.
Available at Nepenthes Los Angeles, Nepenthes Woman Los Angeles, and online at nepenthesamerica.com.