What are the most durable suit fabrics?

Greetings, fellow forumites.

As my virgin post I'd like to ask your experience-based opinions on the most hard-wearing suits fabrics.

Some background: I'm 22 and run a popular site dedicated to men's classic style. As tailors are few in my country, I've had the privilege to meet most of them. As I chatted with a prominent tailor, he offered to make me a bespoke suit with no cost except for fabrics. Naturally, I accepted his offer. I've been pondering what to order, but the most trouble has been caused by the question of materials. I'd really want the suit to last for at least 10 years without any sheening, tearing or very visible wear appearing.

One tailor suggested I should go for mohair, but after having read SF discussions on the fabric (I don't know where I'd be without websites as this), I won't favour the material. As the suit should be suitable for year-round use and office-wear, tweed is out of question. Perhaps a thickish flannel with some baby mohair added would be excellent, but as I've used only three suits in my life, materials in the long run are still quite unknown to me.

Gentlemen, what fabric should I favour?

Where do your suits usually disintegrate?

Do they suddenly burst at the seams in cataclysmic explosion like, say, Fuuma's suits?


- B

Steel wool

Wool worsted 100s are fine for year round office suits.

Gabardine is meant to be quite hard wearing isn't it?

Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum

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Gabardine is meant to be quite hard wearing isn't it?
Not really. It's also uncomfortable. Durable is a very tricky word because so much depends not only on the qualities of the cloth but how they're prepared by the tailor, sewed together and fitted, cleaned, stored cared for etc... It is not unheard of for a "delicate" fabric well tailored and cared for to outlast a "hardy" fabric treated badly. In my experiences the mere fact that someone is concerned about durability is a mental stumbling block to enjoying clothes. Frankly, when you get a fabric from the better English wool merchants it is more likely that you will grow weary of the garment than wear it out.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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Where do your suits usually disintegrate?

Do they suddenly burst at the seams in cataclysmic explosion like, say, Fuuma's suits?


- B

Free-riding on this thread, I've had problems with some of my suit pants, which have tended to wear out relatively quickly in the crotch (presumably due to the constant rubbing of muscular (read: fat) thighs). The tailors I frequent have remedied this, somewhat, by inserting a crotch piece, but I wonder if there are any year-round fabrics that forumites might recommend that are hardy enough to obviate the need for a crotch piece?

Wool.

Generally, I've found that the heaviest wool suitings you can tolerate for your climate is best for durability.

Wool and with the lowest thread count as possible..

Originally Posted by upnorth

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Generally, I've found that the heaviest wool suitings you can tolerate for your climate is best for durability.
Also a great way to sweat your ass off, though. Most buildings these days are so heavily climate-controlled that anything but a mid to lightweight wool suit will be too hot for comfort in many climates. It was said best earlier on in this thread: don't choose a suiting fabric for durability alone. Choose it for something else, like the look or the feel of the material. "Durability" is something of a red herring, anyway, given that so much of what makes a suit last long is in the wear and care of the item.

Stay away from lighter weight wools...like 8-10oz

Don't play the number games, so try to avoid Super 100 and above

Stay away from woolen flannel...especially if below 14oz

My choice...a 450gram (15-16oz) navy blue or charcoal worsted wool...Super 80 English made cloth

If you desire longevity in a suit, get extra fabric to order a second pair of trousers and some extra cloth in case of damage to the suit or other trouser

Originally Posted by Michael Ay329

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Stay away from lighter weight wools...like 8-10oz

Don't play the number games, so try to avoid Super 100 and above

Stay away from woolen flannel...especially if below 14oz

My choice...a 450gram (15-16oz) navy blue or charcoal worsted wool...Super 80 English made cloth

If you desire longevity in a suit, get extra fabric to order a second pair of trousers and some extra cloth in case of damage to the suit or other trouser

Michael, not picking on you but these are some of those forum fallacies that regularly get said here with no back-up and not a shred of truth in my opinion. You are not going to wear a 15-16oz suit in the summer, unless you are Sator. There is nothing wrong with 8-10 oz fabrics and the sweet spot for year round wear is in the 9-11oz range. Also, there is this immediate hate for high super's because they "are not durable" Has anyone had a quality 8-10oz fabric suit, in a high super's, disintegrate on them after a few wearings? If you are hesitant about super 130's and up due to price, there is an argument to be made for that. Like Bugs Bunny said, the durablity of your suit has more to do with the quality of the fabric, the quality of the tailor and whether you are working in a normal environment or wearing a three piece to the coal mines.

polyster infused with carbon fiber, forget about horse hair canvass, how about titanium inserts. You suit will out last iron man's armor that way.

joking aside, agree with others, forget about durability, choose something you fancy is much more important, do you want to wears 16 oz wool in 80 thread count only for winter and sweat your butt off for the other 3 seasons? I don't think so.

Originally Posted by Qelsem

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Greetings, fellow forumites. As my virgin post I'd like to ask your experience-based opinions on the most hard-wearing suits fabrics. Some background: I'm 22 and run a popular site dedicated to men's classic style. As tailors are few in my country, I've had the privilege to meet most of them. As I chatted with a prominent tailor, he offered to make me a bespoke suit with no cost except for fabrics. Naturally, I accepted his offer. I've been pondering what to order, but the most trouble has been caused by the question of materials. I'd really want the suit to last for at least 10 years without any sheening, tearing or very visible wear appearing. One tailor suggested I should go for mohair, but after having read SF discussions on the fabric (I don't know where I'd be without websites as this), I won't favour the material. As the suit should be suitable for year-round use and office-wear, tweed is out of question. Perhaps a thickish flannel with some baby mohair added would be excellent, but as I've used only three suits in my life, materials in the long run are still quite unknown to me. Gentlemen, what fabric should I favour?
How the hell did you spring a free bespoke suit? Go find some vicuna, go big or go home