Unfunded Liabilities: a/k/a The Cloth Thread

[Texasmade]

It depends on one's climate. The hot summers I experience rarely exceed 80F. I understand there are places in the USA where it is regularly over 100 for weeks, if not months on end. In such places a porous fabric won't save you.

80F is fall weather for me. Best thing to wear in summer time is nothing. You’ll sweat your balls off wearing tailored clothing

 

[Bellini]

I’m not nearly drunk enough to abide this dissonance lol. Y’all have a delightful eve

Thanks, you too.

 

[FlowableFill]

I will concur with what Bellini is saying on the heavy Irish linen especially on the trouser forefront. I have two pairs of of the LL linen, 2 pairs of W. Bill Irish linen, and one pair of Italian linen trousers. The LL and W. Bill linens maintain crease and are cool to the touch. The Italian linen while cool to the touch loses its shape and turns into hammer pants after a few hours.

Heavy Irish linen becomes a problem when you're wearing it as a jacket and the tailor doesn't accommodate the jacket for your respective climate --> fully lining the jacket and building shoulder padding into the coat. "If it's hot, its hot!!!!"

From what I've experienced the heavy Irish linen suits are better suited for spring and fall or summer evenings.

Indeed, the construction of the coat plays as great a
role as the weight of the fabric, if not more.

I can understand your experience. It depends entirely on the climate. In a northern climate I have no problems wearing Irish linen in summer and find it preferable to lightweight linen in drape and performance. On the hottest days I prefer high-twist wool or seersucker. However if one is is in 100+ degree weather, it follows a priori that a porous fabric will not help. Fortunately I have rarely experienced such weather. I'm not sure what ericgereghty is on about or why this should be controversial.

​

You're both wrong. Lightweight linen is better in hot weather. I have suits made from 13 oz W. Bill linen and 9 oz Cacciopoli linen and have worn both outside in triple digit weather. The Italian fabric performs better.

 

[lordsuperb]

You're both wrong. Lightweight linen is better in hot weather. I have suits made from 13 oz W. Bill linen and 9 oz Cacciopoli linen and have worn both outside in triple digit weather. The Italian fabric performs better.

maybe you should re read my post before making comments on what is right and wrong.

 

[kylepw]

You're both wrong. Lightweight linen is better in hot weather. I have suits made from 13 oz W. Bill linen and 9 oz Cacciopoli linen and have worn both outside in triple digit weather. The Italian fabric performs better.

Suits in "triple digit weather"... I feel like this thread is melting...

 

[kolecho]

Some of their more biege linen frescos. I also saw that MH weave an exclusive Barleycorn for an Indonesian shop.

Comparing the lin fresco to some dugdale irish linen samples I have. When I fold them in half, the dugdales keeps a prominent crease. The lin fresco is quite bouncy and resists hand made creases

Is the linen fresco from Dugdale?

 

[jonathanS]

Is the linen fresco from Dugdale?

Maison hellard

 

[kolecho]

Maison hellard

Is it really the bee’s knees or another MH hype linen cloth?

 

[jonathanS]

Is it really the bee’s knees or another MH hype linen cloth?

Well, if you ask all these igents who have never actually had something made out of it, yes. I’m still waiting for people to actually order and wear it.

 

[Noirkw]

Is it really the bee’s knees or another MH hype linen cloth?

Never understood the hype for MH.

 

[hitsuji]

I wear quite hot so I appreciate the heavier irish linens for trousers, I wear them frequently in Winter without any problems (in London) I will take a look at the heavier mersolair, any other reccs would be appreciated

 

[hitsuji]

Is it really the bee’s knees or another MH hype linen cloth?

I think its trending towards a “hype cloth” of sorts. It is a nice cloth but when I showed it to my tailor, he said “this cloth compared to Normal fresco is like wearing a condom vs not” (He has his biases towards wool and especially fresco as its his favourite cloth behind H lessers.

Personally I am a big fan of linen so I am considering getting it made for a wedding in a tropical climate

Never understood the hype for MH.

I think they have a top notch design philosophy and team. I’ve spoken to Nathan and can only give him praise for his passion and drive. I think that his firm is family run and still quite small is a bonus

Is the linen fresco from Dugdale?

Its a partnership with HFW and Maison Hellard. HFW weaves it in their mills with a 2ply Linen and 2 Ply wool blend

 

[Concordia]

I run pretty warm, but have found good Irish linen to absorb summer heat and humidity quite well. Soft tailoring, of course, and be careful to avoid high-supers cotton shirts, which can turn into plastic bags.
Next project for the summer: Maison Hellard herringbone, unconstructed navy suit. If that winds up being too fragile I will go back to the more conventional Irish finish, 13/14oz. Those can take a while to break in, but some time on a hanger should get it to settle down and drape properly.

Or— perhaps and— a linen fresco as an experiment. I haven’t seen it in person yet. But SR shops are showing some interest.

 

[Concordia]

Never understood the hype for MH.

Splits the difference very nicely between firm heavy Irish weaves and flimsy Italians. With really excellent colors and patterns.

 

[The Chai]

Thanks for the comments relating to my question about the 80 silk/20 linen fabric.

To follow up - does adding lining materially affect drape, wrinkle resistance, and wearing warm?

Wool silk linen blends in the 230g range feel quite delicate when I touch the sample. Since it's so lightweight, it's hard to imagine it drapes well if it's unlined. Would I need to add lining if I wanted it drape better? Maybe half lining just to make the front drape better. But then would this would make it wear warmer right?

Would the 80 silk/20 linen be able to drape well without lining? In which case, an unlined silk/linen could roughly be as warm as a WSL with lining.

Also - when selecting a fabric, how do you guys prioritise the fabric aesthetic (colour, texture, pattern) vs the functional aspects of the fabric comp? In this case, I'm quite keen on a particular silk/linen fabric, and haven't been able to find a similar look in WSL.

Honestly if it is full tropical climate the lining makes a negligible difference - though I prefer a lining because in spite of making you slightly hotter (you are already gonna run warm) it at least "diffuses" the sweat and it does not go onto the actual fabric (which