sellahi22
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2010
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It's been a slow week at work so I've been brainstorming my next suit commissions. From what I've been reading on SF and LL, it seems like the everyone is always talking about flannel, tweed, fresco, and linen. Worsted wool is conspicuously neglected from the discussions.
Personally, I'm in the process of replacing a RTW wardrobe with a bespoke one, and I have little interest in venturing into seasonal fabrics until I have a rock solid foundation of worsteds. Here are some reasons:
- Seasonal limitations. In a four-season city like NYC, a seasonal fabric is good for 3 months and perhaps adequate for another 3 months. Unless it's freezing or boiling, respectively, the thought of wearing a sweaty flannel suit or porous fresco is rather unappealing. A mid-weight worsted suit, on the other hand, is good for most of the year. In the winter, you can throw on a warm overcoat and be sorted. There are a few weeks in the summer when it gets uncomfortable, but how much of your wardrobe budget do you want to invest on alleviating a few weeks of discomfort? Not to mention that we spend most of our time sitting in our offices, where it is pretty much always slightly too toasty in the winter and too chilly in the summer.
- Variety. By restricting yourself to 3 or 6 month cloths, you reduce your available suits at any given time by 50% or 75%. If your job requires business attire, this means either that you need at least 15 suits (5 cold weather, 5 hot weather, 5 shoulder season). Even then, despite having a rather large suit collection, you are limited to 5 patterns at any given time. For each season, you will need the basics, so this limits you from branching out to some esoteric designs (POW, stripes, etc) that you might want for occasional use, but not for a core rotation.
- Durability. Flannels and frescos are known to be rather delicate cloths. A tightly woven worsted in a decent weight, on the other hand, is something that you can abuse, or at least throw on and forget about.
- Versatility. I admit that the flannels I've seen on SF/LL have a rustic charm, and the frescos have an appealing breezy summery look, but let's be real - we mostly wear suits to work and to formal occasions (dinners, parties, etc). What worsted wool lacks in charm it makes up for in sobriety, lack of pretense/fussiness, and ability to be dressed up or down, all of which are probably more optimal for the situations where we actually wear our suits.
Agree/disagree?
Personally, I'm in the process of replacing a RTW wardrobe with a bespoke one, and I have little interest in venturing into seasonal fabrics until I have a rock solid foundation of worsteds. Here are some reasons:
- Seasonal limitations. In a four-season city like NYC, a seasonal fabric is good for 3 months and perhaps adequate for another 3 months. Unless it's freezing or boiling, respectively, the thought of wearing a sweaty flannel suit or porous fresco is rather unappealing. A mid-weight worsted suit, on the other hand, is good for most of the year. In the winter, you can throw on a warm overcoat and be sorted. There are a few weeks in the summer when it gets uncomfortable, but how much of your wardrobe budget do you want to invest on alleviating a few weeks of discomfort? Not to mention that we spend most of our time sitting in our offices, where it is pretty much always slightly too toasty in the winter and too chilly in the summer.
- Variety. By restricting yourself to 3 or 6 month cloths, you reduce your available suits at any given time by 50% or 75%. If your job requires business attire, this means either that you need at least 15 suits (5 cold weather, 5 hot weather, 5 shoulder season). Even then, despite having a rather large suit collection, you are limited to 5 patterns at any given time. For each season, you will need the basics, so this limits you from branching out to some esoteric designs (POW, stripes, etc) that you might want for occasional use, but not for a core rotation.
- Durability. Flannels and frescos are known to be rather delicate cloths. A tightly woven worsted in a decent weight, on the other hand, is something that you can abuse, or at least throw on and forget about.
- Versatility. I admit that the flannels I've seen on SF/LL have a rustic charm, and the frescos have an appealing breezy summery look, but let's be real - we mostly wear suits to work and to formal occasions (dinners, parties, etc). What worsted wool lacks in charm it makes up for in sobriety, lack of pretense/fussiness, and ability to be dressed up or down, all of which are probably more optimal for the situations where we actually wear our suits.
Agree/disagree?