Unfunded Liabilities: a/k/a The Cloth Thread

Concordia said:

I just had a more or less final fitting with a replacement blazer from this book today. If I'd known how much I would have liked it, I would have figured out some kind of suit to make from it. There isn't much of that quality in that weight. And fabulous color, too!

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solid_olid said:

Gentleman - could use some advice on fabric for a suit I’ll be ordering shortly via NMWA/Carrara (great experience with them so far). Please help with my crippling indecision 😁

Suit will be used for warm/hot weather summer weddings as I’m hitting “that age” where these come non stop. Since I run hot and sweaty naturally, breathability is a priority, although I don’t totally want to compromise on weight/drape (I’m gonna sweat regardless). I’d like to do something more interesting/fun than basic navy/greg, and prefer warm tone fabrics - I am thinking a tobacco brown is the move. A bit of texture/pattern is great as well, though I would like to keep it reasonably dressy. Not too concerned with durability since I’m only going to wear this maybe 3-4 times a year.

Given the above preferences, I’ve been looking mostly at fresco/high-twist wool and linens. In the shop I was looking at Italian linens, but after a bit more research I’d probably go for Irish - this is currently the thing I’m most likely to choose. Happy to hear suggestions on specific colors/patterns, but I think I will be happy with that classic cigar/tobacco brown, and hopefully I can find a fabric they have with a bit of yellow undertone mixed in with the red.

Fresco I could see myself choosing given its performance benefits and ability to dress up a little better, but I haven’t found much in the way of colors that suit my taste. Nothing as warm tone, fun, and summery as the linen - the best things seem to be beiges and medium dark browns. Looked mostly at ascot drapers 2/4 ply and minnis.

Fox air did some have more fun and texture fabrics, but none hit quite the right balance - some small checks that I’m skeptical would work for a suit, beautifully textured olive and reddish brown colors that were linen esque in skin, but just not quite what I was looking for.

Any wise words of wisdom for me? I was also thinking about looking for some wool-linen blends, which seem to not be commonly used for suiting, but seems to fit my criteria well? Appreciate the advice.

Pictures:
1) fox air tight check
2) fox air textured red brown and olive
3/4) minnis fresco
5) portofino linen plain weave
6/7) portofino linen textured weaves.

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lordsuperb said:

How long do blue blazers last?

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jonathanS said:

What are you looking for? What is your climate like?

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Concordia said:

Not sure how unsanforized deals with dry cleaning. You might be able to jump the gun on that problem by doing some rounds through the wash. But as a point of comparison, I get the Murrays Nantucket red cloth, and the original quality of that is very old-fashioned. Turns yellow if you dry clean it, and seems to keep shrinking no matter how much it has been abused in the past.

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lordsuperb said:

How long do blue blazers last?

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brax said:

I sent the Nantucket Red cloth to my Neapolitan tailor about six years ago to have it made into an odd jacket. I washed it twice before sending it. I have yet to clean it but I still get pink dots if I wear light colored pents or shorts with it.

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tim_horton said:

I e-mailed Harrison’s and while the book is being discontinued, they still have stock. Here is the list they gave me. I’m going to have Stephen Hitchcock grab some solid navy for suit when he’s in town in a few weeks. View attachment 2173977 View attachment 2173979 View attachment 2173981 View attachment 2173983

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brax said:

You’re not a big fan of blazers, correct? I find them indispensable. In fact, I admit to going overboard. I have a summer one in the requisite Minnis fresco mockleno. A shoulder season one from Taylor and Lodge’s 6ply 520g. A winter flannel one (that I will soon replace) from RLPL. A completely unstructured one for travel from the 17oz Spring Ram. I’m also looking to complete the collection with Drake’s heavy cotton informal blazer.

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solid_olid said:

Does anyone have pictures of “well wrinkled/rumpled” Irish linen tailoring? Feels like all the pictures I can find are taken within 5 minutes of putting the suit on.

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solid_olid said:

Does anyone have pictures of “well wrinkled/rumpled” Irish linen tailoring? Feels like all the pictures I can find are taken within 5 minutes of putting the suit on.

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