Avoiding suits that wrinkle. Any tips?

Greetings.

I have a few suits. Their materials differ somewhat with respect to their tendency to wrinkle. For instance, I have an off-the-rack suit that does not seem to wrinkle much. On the other hand, I have a made-to-measure (and therefore more expensive!) suit that wrinkles much more easily "” the pants wrinkle the most behind the knees and in the crotch; the jacket wrinkles the most on its back.

Is there a way to avoid this? How can I determine before buying a suit whether it is wrinkle-free? What questions should I ask the tailor? Should I have any reason not to search for wrinkle-free fabrics in the first place? (I ask that last question because, who knows, maybe there is much less variety of such fabrics, and maybe those fabrics have other disadvantages I don't know about?)

To summarize: I severely dislike wrinkles on my suits. Any advice on avoiding wrinkles on my future suits is greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Interface.

The off the rack is likely made with a lesser grade/thicker wool. When you get into the finer woools aka "super-120's" and higher numbers, while they feel great on the hand, they will be prone to wrinkles. It's a trade-off.

Buy suits made from more substantial fabric. My garments made from thick flannel cloth almost never wrinkle. My garments made from light and thin super 120s tend to wrinkle much more.

Tweed never wrinkles.

There are some fabrics specifically woven to avoid wrinkles-- they will be tagged with such descriptors as "high-twist," "Fresco," "3- (or 4-) ply," "travel," and so on. Not usually the softest, most expensive, or most elegant but they will hold up better over a long day.

Otherwise, avoid many (not all) high-Super #s, cashmere blends, and similar deluxe touches. The old-fashioned English merchants tend to produce sturdier stuff than the Italians or other continentals. That's a gross generalization of course, but if you avoid "Super 180 Loro Piana with cashmere" you have a running jump on the problem.

Okay, many thanks. My made-to-measure suit indeed has a super-120 material. Guess that explains it then.

Wool-Mohair should be wrinkle resistant

Originally Posted by Cary Grant

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The off the rack is likely made with a lesser grade/thicker wool. When you get into the finer woools aka "super-120's" and higher numbers, while they feel great on the hand, they will be prone to wrinkles. It's a trade-off.

Originally Posted by Concordia

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Otherwise, avoid many (not all) high-Super #s, cashmere blends, and similar deluxe touches. The old-fashioned English merchants tend to produce sturdier stuff than the Italians or other continentals. That's a gross generalization of course, but if you avoid "Super 180 Loro Piana with cashmere" you have a running jump on the problem.
Out of curiosity, what does the number after "Super" really tell you? In what ways is Super 120 different from Super 180? Does a lower Super-number necessarily mean it is more wrinkle-resistant?

Noone has an idea? I try asking again. Does
always lead to

Originally Posted by Interface

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Out of curiosity, what does the number after "Super" really tell you? In what ways is Super 120 different from Super 180? Does a lower Super-number necessarily mean it is more wrinkle-resistant?

Search on this. I think I remember Manton explaining well it not too long ago.

Originally Posted by Zenny

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Tweed never wrinkles.

Linen always does.

Originally Posted by Interface

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Noone has an idea? I try asking again. Does

a lower Super number​

always lead to

more wrinkle-resistance?​

I don't think this is a rule. I have seen very fine 120 or 140 at Borelli which was really tough to wrinkle, while their heavier denser suitings wrinkled more easily. Maybe someone else can explain this

Originally Posted by Interface

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Out of curiosity, what does the number after "Super" really tell you? In what ways is Super 120 different from Super 180? Does a lower Super-number necessarily mean it is more wrinkle-resistant?


The number is the number of something (spools, I think) one can make out of a given measure of raw wool. So a finer batch of fibers can be spun into a very fine thread, which can be stretched a long way. Kiton plays the inverse of this, which is to quote the thickness of their fibers in microns. A lower number <=> finer.

There are some really excellent cloths made of high-Supers threads. Just don't expect them to be cheap.

There are a bunch of threads on what Super #s do and don't mean if you search for them. I have Super 180s that are very wrinkle resistant, but I wouldn't suggest that that is typical of anything.

I understand that the number after the word 'Super' is an indication of how fine the thread is, but what does the term 'Super' indicate and is there a term for cloth that is not so super?

Thank you, Jim.