The visit of tailors W. W. Chan to San Francisco this week meant another opportunity to go tweed shopping. Merchant W. Bill has a lovely book of hairy Donegal in a 14 ounce/420 gram weight that is about as good as a man can find. Of course, it does have an extra mark-up or two built in compared to the prices in Ireland. 
Donegal comes as a plain weave, a twill or a herringbone and typically has slubs of color randomly woven into the pattern. The tan, in the photo at the top, makes a fine odd jacket that is a perfect foil for leather buttons, and the black and white (it resolves to gray from a distance) an excellent casual city suit. In navy blue (not shown), it makes up as an interesting odd jacket that works like a blazer. 
W. Bill is also the principal source for tattersall plaids, the stuff that originated as horse blankets at London's Tattersall horse auction in the nineteenth century. It is also 14/15 ounce (420/450 gram) cloth for winter wear, and its best use is probably for odd vests. The blue on white check would work nicely under a blazer if only the climate here made vest-wearing practical more than one or two days a year.
Chan's departure brings the autumn's visiting season to a close, leaving us an interregnum until January when the London tailors will have their items ready for fitting.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tweed Shopping
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6 comments:
I flipped through those same books shown in your posting. I hadn't seen the W. Bill book at Chan until this visit. The cloth was wonderful, but I was puzzled by the pricing, which seemed about 30% higher than I would have expected. Earlier this morning I'd been thinking about that same Tattersall book and how it would be fun to have a vest made of that cloth, but realizing that I'd roast indoors. I'd hoped to find the heavy Holland & Sherry linen that you ordered, but that book didn't travel on this visit. Maybe I'll see it in March, when they return.
Will, I gathered you weren't so enthusiastic about Chan. Are you going to commission something else, with the hope that you can nail down the pattern over time?
Happy Thanksgiving!
My tailor has a Holland & Sherry Book of 13 oz Donegal. I was thinking of a Friday/weekend suiting, but he seemed to steer me from it suggesting it is not practical, whatever that might mean, and recommended the mixed weaves you have previously discussed. Does the tweed indeed get a bit scratchy on the legs and even through a shirt?
Beautiful cloth, Will! Thanks for the glimpse. My how I wish I could thumb those bundles! I find the color and texture of good tweed such a sensual treat.
I think all of my donegal suit trousers have been lined to the knee, which I would advise for anyone having a tweed suit made.
Tattersall odd vests are great yes, but perhaps with a covert cloth, or a fine line twill.
W. Bill started out as a firm specialising in Irish cloth, in fact I recall recently seeing a mid-nineteenth century photograph of their shop-front advertising that very fact.
Will, you correctly point out that Irish tweed can be sourced more competitively elsewhere. One of Ireland's finest and longest-established specialists in tweed is Kevin and Howlin, whose lovely little shop is right opposite Trinity College Dublin. They will supply their own house Donegal tweed cloths direct to the public at very competitive prices.
http://www.kevinandhowlin.com/index.php
Magee is the largest manufacturer of Donegal tweed in Ireland and they have recently relaunched their website: www.mageeireland.com
They sell some fine RTW tweed jackets signed personally by the person who wove the cloth by hand.
However, they only supply their tweed cloths to the trade. I expect most of W. Bill's Donegal tweed comes from them.
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