Overcoating for Next Fall

The closer one gets to the source, the longer the lead times for projects. This Spring I'm planning to ask my tailor to make an overcoat for next autumn and that means I needed to commission the cloth this winter.

I'm commissioning my own cloth because it is becoming difficult to find warm winter cloth these days. The standard is now about 18 ounces, or what used to be considered topcoat weight, and that's not heavy enough for exposure to temperatures below freezing.

The photo is of a beautiful 22/23 ounce black and brown wool and cashmere herringbone flannel that will eventually become that coat (flannel wears warmer than worsted, so it is twice better than topcoat cloth). The pattern is roughly to scale in the photo, though the brown is a both a little brighter and a little narrower than it is in life due to the lighting.

In a few months there will be 30 meters of this cloth, enough for myself and five other men, and it will be a relative bargain compared to the prices of the major cloth merchants for comparable weight and quality. If any readers are interested in joining this project, send me an email.