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Fabric brands ranking

post #1 of 8
12/20/12 at 10:37am
Thread Starter 
I was looking at Proper Suit and noticed their "Fabric Level", and I wanted to learn more about different level of fabrics, so I searched around SF and found numbers of helpful comments including this ranking by add911_11. Based on that ranking, I added few other names that I've found over the forum. 
 
I was wondering if you guys can offer some more suggestions of other brands and their qualities. If I am missing some names or misplaced the quality, please don't be mad. I am still a novice who's learning about these. This is NOT a definitive guide by no mean, and I only made it as a rule of thumb for a future refernce.
 
 
Top Drawer:
H. Lesser and Sons
Holland and Sherry
Loro Piana 'Wish' s170
Scabal
Zenga 15 mil 15 or 17 mil 17
 
Good:
Dormeuil (slightly higher than "Good")
J & J Minnis
John G Hardy
Loro Piana 4 season
Harrison
 
Average:
Vitale Barberis Canonico
Reda
Gladstone
 
? (Not sure where to place)
Ariston
Dugdale Bros
Fox Brothers & Co
Scabal
Thomas Fisher
 
 
SF threads that I found helpful:
 
 
P.S. Can anybody recommend good online sources of suit fabric for informations like the price?

Edited by strangedream - 12/20/12 at 12:31pm
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post #2 of 8
12/20/12 at 11:08am
Thank you for taking the time to compile information you've already found on your question. I recently started looking into getting a bespoke jacket made and also have done a lot of searching on fabrics. Here's some other good resources I found:

http://www.styleforum.net/t/19036/dormeuil-amadeus-vs-h-s-target-10-11-oz

http://www.styleforum.net/t/33348/when-you-guys-say-great-fabric/0_30

http://www.filmnoirbuff.com/article/harrisons-of-edinburgh-cloth-both-for-the-second-estate-traditionalist-and-for-the-modern-man-of-manners

http://www.filmnoirbuff.com/article/h-lessers-and-sons

http://www.filmnoirbuff.com/article/acorn-shirt-fabric

http://www.filmnoirbuff.com/article/suggestions-for-the-serious-dresser

H&S and Dormeuil have user-friendly websites where you can look at all the fabric collections that people are talking about. I've even gotten them to send me a few swatches. I would recommend skipping online MTM for suits.
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post #3 of 8
12/20/12 at 11:37am

While I appreciate the effort, I think inorganic rankings like the above are somewhat useless / misleading. H&S has some books that deserve to be in the top-tier, while others that are decidedly mid-tier. As a whole, Minnis / Hardy are top-tier, but they put out some clangers as well. Ariston is made by LP, and Harrison’s and Minnis’ flannels are made by Fox. Etc. etc.

 

A member’s best bet is to consult his tailor, and follow-up on this forum with specific questions.

 

A more useful exercise would be to solicit suggestions from members on the best books for: lightweight suits, mid-weight tweed, mohair for black-tie etc.

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post #4 of 8
12/20/12 at 12:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eustace Tilley View Post

A member’s best bet is to consult his tailor, and follow-up on this forum with specific questions.

A more useful exercise would be to solicit suggestions from members on the best books for: lightweight suits, mid-weight tweed, mohair for black-tie etc.

nod[1].gif
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post #5 of 8
12/20/12 at 12:30pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eustace Tilley View Post

While I appreciate the effort, I think inorganic rankings like the above are somewhat useless / misleading. H&S has some books that deserve to be in the top-tier, while others that are decidedly mid-tier. As a whole, Minnis / Hardy are top-tier, but they put out some clangers as well. Ariston is made by LP, and Harrison’s and Minnis’ flannels are made by Fox. Etc. etc.

 

A member’s best bet is to consult his tailor, and follow-up on this forum with specific questions.

 

A more useful exercise would be to solicit suggestions from members on the best books for: lightweight suits, mid-weight tweed, mohair for black-tie etc.

 

Thanks for the awesome tip Eustace. I'll definitely remember that. I didn't even know Ariston is made by LP, and Harrison’s and Minnis’ flannels are made by Fox. I just remembered the name Ariston and Fox Bros. from somewhere so I put them in the "?" section.

 

I'd only compiled this list only as a simple rule of thumb, and of 90% of the list, I just copied from add911_11 and Proper Suit. I guess I was what are other good fabric brands to know.

 

Anyway, I really appreciate your advice. I'll definitely remember it for the future reference.

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post #6 of 8
12/20/12 at 9:19pm
Another thing to note is that there are often compromises between the smooth silky feeling cloth versus the hard scratchy finish. A lot of what is liked at the forum are hard finished scratchy fabrics which soften with time.

The suit won't feel luxurious in beginning but will perform well and soften with time. There are slick finished silky feeling cloth like Dormeiul Ice that perform really well but also have a slight sheen.

Also, don't be surprised that your taste changes with time and experience. Mine has.

BTW just because something is made by the same mill doesn't mean they are made to the same specifications.
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post #7 of 8
12/20/12 at 9:29pm
^ Do fabric books typically feature one or the other, hard or soft finishes?


There's a softball pitch for someone.
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post #8 of 8
12/20/12 at 9:33pm
In general, the English tend to have hard finished fabrics whereas the soft finished fabrics are Italian. But everything is really on a case-by-case basis and there are all sorts of exceptions.
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