Choosing cloth

Suit Fabric Types: the four properties

Nearly every question about cloth resolves into one of four things.

Fibre. What it is made from. Wool, linen, cotton, silk, cashmere, or a blend of them.

Weight. Grams per linear or square metre. This is the single most practical number and the one most worth asking about, because it determines whether you will actually wear the garment in your climate.

Weave. How the yarn is constructed into cloth. An open weave lets air through; a tight weave resists creasing and wind.

Yarn fineness. Expressed as a Super number for wool. Widely misunderstood, see below.

Weight, the number that matters

If you take one thing from this page, take this: ask the weight.

Roughly speaking, for suiting:

• Under 220 g — very light. Difficult to tailor well and prone to poor drape.
• 230 to 260 g — the tropical range. The right answer for Chiang Mai and most hot climates.
• 260 to 300 g — year-round weight in temperate countries.
• 300 g and above — winter cloth, flannels and heavy worsteds.
• 400 g and above — coating weight, for overcoats.

A suit made in the wrong weight for its climate will hang in a wardrobe unworn, however good the cut is.

The Super numbers, honestly

Super 100s, 120s, 150s and so on describe the fineness of the wool fibre. Higher numbers mean finer fibres.

Finer is not the same as better. A Super 150s cloth is softer, smoother and has more sheen. It is also more delicate, more prone to shine at the elbows and seat, and less able to survive regular wear. A Super 110s or 120s suit worn twice a week will outlast a Super 150s worn the same way, and often looks better after two years.

Super numbers are widely used in marketing precisely because they sound like a quality ladder. Treat them as a description of hand and finish, not of value. See Super 100s, 120s and 150s for what each is actually good for.

Weave

Plain weave and tropical weave. Open, breathable, the sensible default for heat.

Twill. Diagonal rib, drapes well, resists creasing, slightly heavier in effect.

Hopsack. Open basket weave with visible texture. Excellent for blazers because it reads unmistakably as an odd jacket and moves air well.

Flannel. Brushed, soft, matte. Warm and beautiful, and entirely wrong for the tropics.

Fibres in brief

Wool is the default for suiting and the most forgiving. Linen is the coolest and creases immediately. Cotton sits between the two. Silk drapes and shines, and is mostly used for womenswear and linings. Cashmere is soft and warm and belongs in outerwear. Tweed is the specialist, for cold weather and visible texture.

The Super numbers describe how fine the wool is, not how warm: Super 100s, Super 120s, Super 130s and Super 150s.