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Vintage Suitings: Discussions of, and sourcing modern equivalents, etc.

mimesis2nemesis

One of the Regulars
Messages
131
Location
Down the Memory Lane
Personally, my main gripe with today´s fabric selection is that if you want a really good heavy weight fabric you have to break the bank, whereas back then it was more available... If you're on a budget you can't even dream of getting your hands on nice fabric and i nstead have to get the so called 'supers' or worse... Synthetic blends :mad:
 

Fastuni

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,277
Location
Germany
This is a vintage pair of British cream flanells, that is certainly summer weight. It is half as thick as my Finnish grey flanells I got from FFF.
In any case to light for winter wear. (BTW if anyone is interested in these cream flanells, PM me. The cuffs are 25 cm wide and with the cuffs undone, the inleg can be considerably extended from the original 30 inches.)
SAM_5458.jpg

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...


BTW here is some fantastic grey flanell with slightly blueish hue that I found today on a fleamarket.
1.70x1.45 meters... enough for a pair of slacks I'll make for myself some time soon.
It's lighter or medium weight. I think around 14 oz.
Very soft and drapes very well.
Flan1.jpg


Cheers
 

Qirrel

Practically Family
Messages
590
Location
The suburbs of Oslo, Norway
I have a pair of 30s flannels which are made from pretty lightweight flannel, probably around 10-11 oz, but I also have some very heavy 20s sports trousers. At about 18 oz. they wear warmer than my 30s flannels, but they were perfectly wearable in sunshine and 30 degrees C.
 

Guttersnipe

One Too Many
Messages
1,942
Location
San Francisco, CA
Well less defects does not mean quality is better?

In manufacturing, the defect percentage is certainly one of the metrics by which quality quantified.

i'll take the fabrics of yesteryear with the occasional 'defect' over the fabrics of today.

Vintage fabrics certainly do have more "character" than modern ones - which absolutely mean in a good way!
 
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Matt_the_chap

One of the Regulars
Messages
129
Location
Sheffield, England
My tailor in Sheffield has recently been offered quite a few bolts of vintage cloth, going back to the late '40s as far as we can tell. Simply from the feel of the fabric compared to that in the swatch books, it's possible to tell that the quality of modern cloth, even the low-end stuff, is miles ahead of what it once was, manufacturing-wise. Perhaps the most telling point is that the low end cloths were sometimes recycled wool, hence the 'Pure New Wool' labelling we have today.

The availability of heavier weight fabric is another matter entirely but purely from a manufacturing standpoint, the quality of fabric is astonishing these days.
 

Fastuni

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,277
Location
Germany
few bolts of vintage cloth, going back to the late '40s as far as we can tell. Simply from the feel of the fabric compared to that in the swatch books, it's possible to tell that the quality of modern cloth, even the low-end stuff, is miles ahead of what it once was

"Late 40's"/post-war stuff wasn't quite the same as the pre-war cloth.
 

herringbonekid

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,016
Location
East Sussex, England
i suppose it's good that we have some voices insisting that modern cloth is 'superior' or 'astonishing'; it means that there's less competition (for people like me) over the vintage cloth when it turns up for sale.
 

Rudie

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,069
Location
Berlin
The mother of a former friend of mine was teaching at a tailoring school. When she saw one of my 1930s German jackets she was in awe. She had never seen fabric like this and said the quality was beyond anything available today. It was nothing special, kind of a sunday best suit of the period. [huh] To me, weight is a very important factor for quality. It is important for a good drape as well as for crease resistance. Also, I wouldn't want a tissue weight cloth that rips as easily as the Super 100s. In the 1930s they didn't have Super 180 fabrics. The highest thread count was around 80. And those were wonderful fabrics.
 

Fastuni

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,277
Location
Germany
Well to each his own I guess... under "modern criteria" of what constitutes comfort, quality and elegance, one might see advantages of present-day cloth.

Anyway... I just got hold of a 13 meters bolt of crazy good Austrian 1930's thick'n'scratchy medium grey herringbone worsted with silver and wine red pinstripes. :p That makes 4 suits. :cool:
 

Fastuni

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,277
Location
Germany
If I only had the time! :p
I plan to do at least one suit this winter... perfect pastime for muddy, wintery cold days.
 

Barmey

One of the Regulars
Messages
140
Location
Hastings
Anyway... I just got hold of a 13 meters bolt of crazy good Austrian 1930's thick'n'scratchy medium grey herringbone worsted with silver and wine red pinstripes. :p That makes 4 suits. :cool:

Please post some pictures. It sounds stunning.

You seem to find so much! I'm going to have to visit some freinds in Deutschland and explore the flea markets/junk shops...:D
 

Fastuni

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,277
Location
Germany
Sure - will take a photo of the fabric these days.

You seem to find so much!

With some substantial input of time and effort, some good finds are bound to occur. :D
More often than not my endeavours on fleamarkets etc. yield no results... so all is relative I guess.
But one needs to be thorough and inquisitive.
Digging through heaps of modern textile junk yielded several times interesting vintage suitings.

What places of Germany are you going to visit?
 

Barmey

One of the Regulars
Messages
140
Location
Hastings
I'll really have to put the time in and check up on a few shops i've previously ignored. :) There's got to be more bolts of pre war cloth out there...

What places of Germany are you going to visit?

My freind is from Kiel in the far north, but I'll definately be exploring further south for some vintage hunting.
 

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