Reader Questions

From Michael
"I'm visiting New York and wondering what fabric stores you would recommend for suitings. I'm looking to spend no more than $100 per yard."

Brooklyn's Tip Top Super Fine Fabrics buys end bolts from good houses and you can usually find suiting lengths of excellent goods less than $50 a yard. It's well worth the journey.


From John
"I enjoy quality clothes but do not always know how to find what I want. I recently saw a khaki/brown prince of wales sports jacket on someone and would like to purchase one. Ralph Lauren and Paul Stuart (my two favorites) do not have it this season nor do they have it in their swatch books. It seems like such a simple pattern (khaki and darker brown check) - where can I go to get one made?"

The principal challenge you face in getting your jacket is finding a fabric that's like the one you saw.

Minnis has this wonderful 13 ounce flannel glen check for Fall.


They have summer versions too. This one is an eight ounce cloth.

Whoever you choose to make the coat should also have fabrics for you to look at. I haven't used them but many New Yorkers seem to like Ercole in Brooklyn or Mr. Ned for mid-range tailoring.


From Rick
"I have my own law practice in the high tech area and have several clients in the Bay area that dress very casually. I, on the other hand, have always loved fine clothing.

I live in Colorado, so most of the folks I run into are wearing shorts, fleece, and Crocs. I could do that, and never look any different from the crowd. But that is just not who I am or who I represent. But it would look equally ridiculous for me to don a suit and tie every day that I sit in my office or when I travel to visit my clients. What would be an in-between look?"

Let me suggest that you could dress like a venture capitalist and your clients would be fine with that. That would mean "Friday" suits worn with a light sweater instead of a necktie and/or odd jackets with polos and dress trousers, like Luciano Barbera in the photo above. You can wear great shoes without raising any eyebrows.

Take a look around your local Oxxford or Zegna made to measure source. Zegna, for example, is reasonably priced, stylish, and the delivery time is under six weeks. Many Valley executives wear it.

Then acquire a couple pair of Vass, Edward Green, John Lobb or comparable shoes. And get some high quality mock turtlenecks to wear with your jackets. I'll bet you like the look.

Fabrics for Summer

Summer temperatures call for fabrics that breathe. The wind shouldn't be whistling through your jacket when the temperatures are below freezing, but mohair, fresco (along with its imitators like Holland & Sherry's CrispAire), and linen help keep a man cool as the thermometer climbs. Each of them will keep you cooler than a tropical worsted, and each has its negatives. So does worsted, for that matter.

Mohair is the hair of an Angora goat. It's got a bit of sheen to it, which makes it a good fabric for a warm weather dinner jacket or a navy blue suit, and a tendency to crack if it's not blended with wool, but it stays crisp in the heat. Ten ounce cloth that's 30% or 40% mohair makes a cool wearing suit that drapes well. Higher proportions of mohair may show an ufortunate tendency to wilt in the rain.

Fresco is a rough-to-the-hand open weave worsted that's trademarked by the parent company of weaver J&J Minnis, provider of the good stuff. 14 ounces used to be the weight of a standard summer suit fifty years ago. Today I like ten, though it's available in eight (the eight doesn't drape as well, wrinkles more easily and is only a touch cooler). If you're a fan of high Super number worsteds, fresco may feel a bit rough until you get used to it but in compensation it has the additional benefit of rubbing any excess hair from your legs so you look better in a bathing suit.

And finally there's linen, woven from the plant. I prefer the Irish version in 14 ounce weight. Holland & Sherry makes some of the best. The negative to linen is that it rumples, though the heavier weights work to minimize that. Better suited for a walk through the park than a seat in the board room.

Reader Questions

From Josepidal


"Does everyone have trouble completing an ensemble around spectator oxfords, an extremely casual color combination on an extremely formal shoe?"

Laced spectators are usually paired with light colored suits, or odd jackets and trousers. Cream or tan, light gray and light blue are all fine complements and I've worn a chestnut and pearl pair effectively with chocolate linen as well.

On the other hand, spectators are a bit too elegant for chinos and denim, and I don't think they work with dark suits.


From Andrew

"I recently had my first bespoke suit made and was so pleased with the results that I commissioned another. However, it is the selection of material that has given me the most trouble. I have a very difficult time selecting from the samples. It is very dificult to envision how an entire suit will look, how the fabric will drape, how the light will reflect off of it, and, quite frankly, what the color really is. Marching in to a local retailer is not much help either. While I might find a material I like, there is no guarantee my tailor will be able to match it. The best solution would seem to be to go to Savile Row where they can show me a bolt of cloth, or send me around the corner to Lesser or W. Bill. Failing that, what would you suggest?"


The first-time customer who is shown several hundred fabric books and asked to choose is going to be over-whelmed. No two ways about it.

Visiting cloth suppliers where you can see bolts will help, and that can be done in the U.S. and continental Europe as well as the UK. But it's also important do some research in advance and decide what you are seeking before you visit your tailor. If you know your next purchase should be a Fall weight navy suit with a little pattern, you eliminate the irrelevent 80% of the choices.

While you're learning, the best advice I can give you is to stick with the better suppliers. You are unlikely to be disappointed in the realization of a choice from sources like Lesser and Harrisons.

Good luck!