Travel suits

[bixby]

I travel constantly, and this of course has a devastating effect on my suits over the long run, not to mention the wrinkles that I am always having to steam out. I am looking for a suit/fabric that will travel well. I would spend up to about $1500. I have tended to wear Paul Smith and Dolce&Gabbana and would be looking for something like that in a slimmer cut. 2 or 3 button ok. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

 

[kalra2411]

I find that any man made fibre suit

does well on and off a plane. For example dont go for the wool suits one would normaly wear in a buisness setting, wear the kind you would wear in the evening as these tend to be man made fibres. Zegna, Canali, and Dior Homme (though the Dior ones are not realy suitable for buisness) make good techno fibre suits.

 

[regularjoe]

I would think that a heavier, hard-finished suit in 90s-100s wool would do well on travel, no? I think the lighter, touchy feely suits are the steam baths waiting to happen...

 

[kalra2411]

Well in my experience, it is the wools, which hold the creases; of course everyone wears and treats their suit differently

 

[Duveen]

You should also consider the Zegna 'High-Performance' fabrics which are, I think, designed with hard travel in mind.

Otherwise, I'd second the recommendation for a harder-finish worsted fabric.

 

[j]

Look for stretch wools made with high-twist yarns that will snap back into shape easily. I don't know off the top of my head who uses them, but tailors I've talked to have them available in various types of fabric. Also, I'd personally pick something that doesn't show stains as much and is good in warm and cooler climates; a glen plaid or gray nailhead in hard finished "3-season" fabric would be my choice.

 

[MikeF]

I have a hard-finished charcoal Marzotto Lab suit with a bit of stretch that serves me well during long travels. Unfortunately, the fabric feels like ****. It would also be better if it had vents to reduce wrinkles from sitting.

 

[BjornH]

Look for stretch wools made with high-twist yarns that will snap back into shape easily.

Hmm - I was talking to a tailor recently and he said the opposite, albeit about cotton shirt fabrics. If the strands are tightly twisted together then the individual strands won't have 'elbow room' to bend but rather the whole twisted thread bends and forms a kink, thereby creating a crease. Loosely twisted materials will then not crease as much as they have more 'give' built into them. Does that make sense ? I took it as gospel at the time anyway.

I'm gonna second the suggestion of stretch, weather by lycra or some special weaving process. It makes for really comfortable wearing and crease resistance.

B

 

[kabert]

I recall seeing a wrinkleproof suit in a catalog recently. No, not JC Penney. It was either Paul Stuart or Brooks Brothers if I recall correctly. Not a cheap suit either. I think it was made of wool.

 

[bixby]

Thank you for the assistance on this. the fabric discussion is very helpful. The note on the Zengna travel suit reminded me that I had seen something to that effect in one of their ad's. Has anyone heard of any of the makers like Dolce or Dior having 'travel' fabrics. I have to say, that i prefer those cuts.

 

[j]

I don't know about high twist cotton, but what I have heard and seems to make sense is that wool woven with a high twist in the .. uh.. horizontal direction (weft? warp? whatever) will stretch a bit and snap back. I don't know if it is as intuitive with cotton as they are fibers that behave very differently, but I did feel some of the fabric one tailor showed me and it stretched just like lycra fabric with no lycra.

I would think that the more fashionable houses would be more likely than the traditional houses to use 'techy' fabrics in their stuff. I am pretty sure I have heard of such things from Gucci and Prada, so I would think D&G and DH might do the same.

 

[Ranjeev]

If I recall correctly, Ted Baker and Paul Smith came out with travel suits a few years that were wrinkle resistant and made specifically for travel. I'll double check.

 

[DandySF]

Wool crepe is the most amazing and naturally wrinkle-resistant material--wonderful texture and just about impossible to wrinkle. I have an Armani sport coat and a Zileri suit in crepe and they hold up amazingly well when travelling by plane. You can practically ball them up and use them as pillows without any lasting impact.

 

[kalra2411]

Oh yeah, Ted Baker Endurance....

Perfect for travel

 

[scottmag]

I am looking for a suit/fabric that will travel well. I would spend up to about $1500.

Actually, spending less might get you a suit that "travels" better. Â A suit with a blend of synthetic/man-made fibers with wool should resist wrinkles much better that a 100% wool suit. Â But that's not what you want to hear in this forum. Â

Take a look at the Brooks Brothers' BrooksCool suits. Â They might be more in line with what you are looking for. Scott