More than a decade ago I ended my exclusive reliance on the 10 ounce/300 gram cloth that my tailors had me in for much of my life in California. Spurred by arguments that heavier, 15 or 16 ounce (450-480 grams) cloth hangs better (it does), wrinkles less (absolutely), wears warmer (so true) and is perfectly comfortable in heated rooms (ahem), I built a winter wardrobe in tweed and flannel. And this year I have realized that I rarely wear said clothing unless I am travelling to a place with an actual winter, an activity I strive to avoid. For though it is fine on days when peak temperatures are below 55 degrees (13 C), in 65 degree sunshine I find heavy cloth uncomfortable, preferring to wear something mid-weight. The trouble is that on too many days my ten ounce mid-weight cloth is not warm enough.
This is probably akin to splitting hairs, but for 2013 I am resolved to add a suit or two in a weight closer to 13 ounces/400 grams than ten ounces. And for wear away from the city I am drawn to a worsted tweed like the swatches in the photo.
There are two principal sources of mid-weight worsted posing as tweed, the one being John Hardy's 12 ounce/360 gram Worsted Alsport in the photo and the other Porter & Harding's 11 ounce/330 gram Glorious Twelfth. Of the two, I like the Worsted Alsport for myself (the company's website photography does not begin to do it justice) as it is a bit heavier and the designs are distinctly tweedier to my eye.
I think I will try the green pinhead with an orange overcheck to the upper left of the photo for fall.
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3 comments:
An excellent choice, sir, given your hair and complexion. If I were to have such a suit made I would choose the dark grey-blue sample two down from it. Who knows--I might.
Will,
On a slightly related note, how cool a temperature do you think 9/10 oz. fresco could be worn? Or any of the high twist medium weight (10 oz about) cloths for that matter.
Perhaps I've been brainwashed by my tailor, who loves the heavy stuff, but it seems to me that weight isn't as important a factor as people think. I've got 14-15 oz frescos that are so cool that I find them uncomfortable for SoCal winter. I also have an 18 oz cavalry twill that is as cool as flannel half its weight. The decisive factors, I think are porosity and thickness. The heavy frescos are cool because they are very porous and the air goes right through them. The heavy twill is (relatively) cool because (though tightly woven) it isn't very thick for its weight. It just isn't as good an insulator as a thick nappy flannel or tweed that traps lots of air against the skin.
I think most men can wear far heavier cloth than they think if they choose carefully. The heavy stuff is also really distinctive, and will immediately set you apart. But I wear it for another reason: it doesn't wear out. Bespoke clothes are expensive, and it's a financial burden to replace them.
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