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looking for suit fabric recommendations

montmorency

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I am getting ready to have my tailor make me a suit. I want a solid navy worsted in a spring-summer-fall weight. He has fabric books by Scabal, Loro Piana, Charles Clayton, a couple of Holland & Sherry, GRM, and I think some other odds and ends. Nothing by Lesser or Harrisons and since this would be the first suit he is making for me, I don't think I would want to pay for a Lesser or Harrisons fabric anyway. Does anyone have any specific recommendations out of these choices?
 

whoopee

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You know your own comfort range but any fabric I found appropriate for spring/fall wouldn't be comfortable in the summer. Try H&S Snowy River (100s) and Target (120s). They are 10/11 ozs and better than the comparable Scabal offerings. The 13oz Perennial book is very good, too, if you are willing to forego the summer requirement. It is not as heavy as it sounds. For summer/late spring/early fall, try the H&S Crispaires. They make excellent suits, especially the mohair/wool.
 

norcaltransplant

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I second the recommendation of the Holland & Sherry Snowy River. They seem to be cheaper than comparable cloths by LP, and definitely less than Scabal. A lot of Chan customers seemed to be pretty happy with the VBC specials that were offered two or three years ago, and less than estatic with the recent LP samples. FWIW, my last MTM experiment was cut from a Charles Clayton 130s worsted (LS Clothing/H.Freeman MTM). It was really affordable, but I'm kind of wishing that I upgraded to Holland and Sherry for such a basic.
 

montmorency

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I have heard good things about Holland & Sherry too. All my tailor said about them was that they were owned by Brooks Brothers (which I had never heard before, despite reading posts on this board regularly). In my mind, that doesn't mean that the fabrics H&S offers in its books are the same as what are found in OTR suits at Brooks.

Norcaltransplant, do you think that a 10 oz. Snowy River would be wearable in NYC during the summer?

I have one MTM suit made out of a VBC flannel. I'm not thrilled with how the fabric holds its shape. It shows more in the pants than the suit, because the interlining in the suit gives it structure.
 

whoopee

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They are not owned by Brooks, but by Individualized Apparel Group, which also own Oxxford, H. Freeman, and Individualized Shirts, among others.
 

Tomasso

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Originally Posted by montmorency
I have heard good things about Holland & Sherry too.

Pound for pound, probably the best fabric merchant operating today.
 

whoopee

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Best large merchant, at least.
 

Tomasso

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Originally Posted by whoopee
Best large merchant, at least.
Who else has their breadth of offerings?
 

whoopee

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Which is why I added the "large" designation. "Pound for pound" implies that merchants' relative sizes would not be a criterion in assessing them; all I would consider, then, is cloth quality. The heavyweight H&S would probably take down middleweight LBD/Harrisons and welterweight Lesser straight up, but since one is interested in individual cloths and will not limit oneself to a single merchant for all its offerings, such a comparison wouldn't be applicable. When comparing similarly designated cloths across the three, my choice for the best would unlikely be H&S.
 

Tomasso

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Originally Posted by whoopee
"Pound for pound" implies that merchants' relative size
Yes, I misspoke. I should say that if I was forced to deal with only one merchant, it would be H&S.
 

Despos

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I concur with the H&S Snowy River and Target 120's choices.
The Scabal books to look at in the same category as these are the 2 Saville Row books. Good patterns, good hand.
 

Holdfast

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Definitely agree with H&S Snowy River, Target and also Perennial - they all have some lovely classic patterns and a decent hand.

If they have it, and you want something a bit jazzier, try Dormeuil's Royal 12 book as well.

Loro Piana's books are very nice indeed, but somewhat more expensive. I have yet to find a "must-have" Scabal cloth, personally.
 

montmorency

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I'm just looking for a solid navy, no patterns. Do any of these H&A books have solids?
 

whoopee

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All of the suiting collections mentioned have solids.
 

william

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I'm in a similar position and have been directed towards 10oz worsted (I live in Atlanta). Would it be possible to use a heavier weight with an unlined or quarter-lined design? I should add that the suit I'm ordering will only be used at night and indoors. So scorching summer days shouldn't factor into the equation.
 

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