Men’s fabrics & patterns

A suit is only as good as the fabric it is made from. After silhouette and colour, the most important decision in choosing tailored clothing is the type of fabric. These days fabrics are getting lighter in weight and the counts of wool are getting even finer reflecting both technological innovations in spinning and weaving and the quest of designers to make the modern suit more comfortable and flexible. Most fabric types are available in light, mid and heavy weights. For your guidance some of the terms are listed below, in addition there are many more types of fabrics:

Glossary of tailored Fabrics & tailored patterns

• Bird’s eye
A diamond shape design in various colours with a contrasting white or coloured yarn.

• Cashmere
The fibre is from a Kashmir goat and is usually blended with 120s or 130s wool to give a soft luxurious handle. The cloth travels well and is cool in summer.

• Cavalry twill
A diagonal weave cloth that is usually made into trousers that are either worn

• Chalk stripe
A thicker stripe spaced out up to 1”.

• Cord
Hard wearing cotton cloth with vertical lines woven into the fabric called whales. This very old terminology is used to determine the line spacing. For example an 8 whale cord will have 8 lines per inch.

• Crepe
A worsted fabric with a pebbly or crinkly surface.

• Flannel
A smooth woollen cloth that is quite soft in handle, which originated from the Stroud area in Gloucestershire.

• Herringbone
The chevron weave resembles the bones of the fish of the same name.

• Pinstripe
A fine or broken vertical thin line with a spacing of 1/4” to 1/2”.

• Prince of Wales
A square check design usually in black and white but can be in other colours. This design was favoured by The Duke of Windsor, hence the name.

• Thornproof
A tweed cloth that was originally designed to protect gamekeepers from ripping their garments on thorns and brambles in the countryside. This was the first self repairing cloth. For example push a sharp pointed object through the cloth to make a hole and remove, rotate the cloth between your thumbs and the hole will repair itself. with sports jackets or for riding wear.

• Tweed
Usually woven from coarse wool into designs for either sports jackets or country suits. The name derives from the River Tweed in Scotland where the fabric originated from.

• Twill
A diagonal weave cloth usually a plain, sometimes referred to as serge.

• Twist
This refers to the way yarn is twisted when it is woven. High twist fabrics are very good for travel suits as they don’t crease as much as normal woven fabrics.

• Polyester
This fibre has greatly improved over the years and is used in many different types of fabrics. Originally the UK polyester was called Terylene and was woven into a very hardwearing cloth that was prone to pilling. Most quality cloths will not contain polyester apart from modern micro polyesters such as the Dormeuil voyage travel cloth.

• Worsted
A generic term for all –wool fibres woven together. When used specifically e.g. a worsted it refers to longer fibres and a higher quality than say just woollen. Worsted implies selected fibres

• Mohair From
The angora goat. A mohair suit contains 30% mohair and 70% worsted. The greater the mohair quantity, the greater skill in the weave. Excellent for lightweight suits (8-10oz) and best in humid climates. Gives a crisp look.

• Window pane
A large square formed by a horizontal and vertical design against a plain or slightly patterned background.

• Wool
Wool is a natural fibre that springs back when crushed. This means that the crease recovery is very good. There is always confusion about the quality of wool. Put simply, the term super 100s refers to the micron of the wool fibres. The higher the count means the finer the cloth. We have fabrics up to super 160s woven from the wool taken from the neck and shoulder of Tasmanian sheep. Not all tailors can handle this type of fabric.

 

Glossary of winter wardrobe fabrics

Even in the era of all the all-season suit, certain fabrics have cold-weather properties that specifically qualify them for space in your closet

• Barelycorn
Small tweed or woollen pattern used in suits and sports coats

• Cheviot
Originally a coarse wool from a breed of sheep in Scotland, now a rough wool in herringbone or twill weave used for suit and sports coats

• Corduroy
Fabric with cut-pile surface of wide or narrow wales, from the French for “cord of the kind”

• Doneagal Tweed
Tweed named for the north most country in Ireland, characterized by thick twists of multicoloured yarns.

• Harris Tweed
Trade name for an imported tweed hand-woven bys islanders on Harris and other outer Hebridges islands

• Moleskin
Rugged satin-weave cotton with a soft napped surface

• Suede
Leather whose flash side is buffed to a velvet finish; the name is derived from the French word for Sweden, where the process originated

Glossary of summer wardrobe fabrics

Tropical-weight wools have taken some of the seat out of summers business attire.

• Linen
Probably the oldest fabric, is made from flax; tends to wrinkle quickly.

• Poplin
Leather whose flash side is buffed to a velvet finish; the name is derived from the French word for Sweden, where the process originated

• Rayon
A manufactured textile produced from regenerated cellulose (plant) fibre.

• Seersucker
A fabric with crinkled stripes used in suits, shirts, and pyjamas.

• Tropical Worsted
Suiting weighting eleven ounce or less per yard

 

Cloth weights

Weight is measured per linear yard of fabric. The chart below shows he weight description along with the imperial and metric weights

• 18oz Heavy woollen. Best for sports jackets, cold climates
• 12-15oz Standard suit weight, Eruope. Have 2 x13oz suits
• 8-10 oz Lightweight. Ok nearly all year
• 6-7 oz Wool/blends for hot climates e.g. Wool/Terylene

Please get in touch with us on michaela@joyofcolour.com or on (+44) 0780 3 139 755 to book a Men Image consultation. We will help you how to find the right fit, size, fabrics, patterns and styles for your bodyshape and what you should/shouldn't wear and where to wear them and in which size.


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