Lil' John's Guide to Suit Fabrics

Lil' John's Guide to Suit Fabrics

There are many factors to take in consideration when buying a suit like Fit, Color, Feel, Detail, and Type of Fabric.  We will be talking about the Fabric which is very important when considering a suit.  The type of Fabric will determine how the suit will fall onto you and how breathable you will be in the suit.

Things to consider when choosing the Fabric of your suit, First is how breathable is the fabric in the summer you are wanting the most breathable suit to stay cool and in the middle of winter you want not as breathable to be able to keep some of that cold air out. Now its time to find out more about fabric and thread count to help you pick out the perfect fabric for your next suit.

Wool: Common Wool types are Worsted, Merino, Cashmere, Tweed, and Flannel. Wool is the most popular fabric due to it's aesthetic and versatility. With the ability to be worn on a cool day and a warm day because of its natural material and how well it breaths, is soft, and wrinkle free.

Cashmere: can give a unwanted shine to your suit, but gives it a luxurious look too.  Cashmere is more suitable for pleasure but can be used for work also.

Worsted Wool: has a smooth finish and holds a high durability because they only use the longer strands of the fiber in the spinning process and discards the brittle and short fibers which makes a smooth but tough textile. Worsted wool can be woven for Tweed, Gabardine, Flannel and Fresco cloths

Polyester: is termed lower quality because it tends to give off a fabric shine that makes the suit look cheap. The polyester wrinkles more then wool but less than linen. Look for a suit blended with wool to get better wear-ability. 

Cotton: Not as luxury as wool fabrics, they crease easy & look sloppy, but move easy and breathe well which is what gives them a huge popularity to nail the 2nd most popular spot.

Linen: is super lightweight and helps keep you cool in soaring temps. You have to dry clean regularly because linen wrinkles easy and stains even easier.

Velvet: is usually used in smoking jackets and is a closely woven fabric of nylon, cotton, and silk. do not wear at the office but is great for a dinner party.

Silk : Is a natural temperature regulator and very breathable fabric which works great for keeping heat in cold weather and expelling heat in warm weather. Silk offers great comfort level for you.

 

Things to remember with every fabric is the cloth weight and thread count to worry about too.  Here is a list of the typical weights of the fabrics and what they are best used for:

look at super 100 all the way up to super 450 being the best fabric you can buy which breaths & looks great but is not as durable as the super 100 which still has good breath-ability and look. super 100 to super 150 is most popular in fine fabrics for suits when considering what to get.

7-9oz: Lightweight great for the hottest days of summer

9.5-11oz: lightweight - mid weight great for moving into or out of summer in the spring and autumn months

11-12oz: Mid weight works for most of the time and great for you first or only suit purchase

12-13oz mid - heavier weight to hot for peak of the summer but great every day wearer

14-19oz Heavy for colder days 

Feel comfortable in a suit by picking out the correct suit for your needs.

Lil' John

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