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

[mactire]

Thanks, I did that yesterday but no reply yet.. we'll see. A pity you can not see any pictures of their fabrics on the web


Is there anybody else who has got any other ideas that might fit the bill here? What is your preferred overcoat weight? 25oz and upward?

This is truly a beautiful cloth and the colors are quite spot on, I don't think I would like it any darker, what do you say? http://www.themerchantfox.co.uk/prod/350/west-of-england-coating/fox-tonedale-herringbone

The problem is that it's 23-24oz.. but here is a picture of some of it made up into a coat http://instagram.com/p/uyDvUOQAZh/?modal=true

And as I said, any help is much appreciated.

HE Box only have those weight of overcoatings in navy, black, red and bottle green as well as two covert or whipcord type cloths and a shade known as British Warm which is a drab or khaki shade.

Dugdale have this in a 25oz http://www.dugdalebros.com/cloth-ranges/coatings-bunch-138/6304/

Your best bet really is to scour the tweed mills in Britain and Ireland. You may have to have it woven for you in the end especially for that weight.

 

[esteban68]

I've been cajoled into renewing our vows in 2 years for our 30th anniversary mainly by two facts one that it's in a favourite holiday destination and two I've been promised a bespoke 3 piece suit. As it will be warm and I guess around 25c then It'll have be fairly lightweight so I was thinking of linen but I hate the way it creases so are there any lightweight wool linen mixes out there that don't crease too badly.Thinking of a 30's style 3 piece in mid navy with all the bells and whistles.

 

[herringbonekid]

esteban68, if you want a lightweight suiting you'll need to look into 'tropical' and 'fresco' suiting fabrics in the 8-10 oz range.
as someone who basically ditches the wool and wears linen and cotton in the summer, i can't offer any recommendations.

 

[HimmelsBlau]

24oz is fine for a shorter coat such as a mackinaw or pea coat, but if you're talking about a full length Ulster type of winter coat then personally i wouldn't go below the 30-36 oz range.

p.s. it's worth contacting Fox Brothers at their other site (not the Merchant Fox one) as they claim to have some overcoat fabrics up to 1200 gram which is 42 oz:

http://www.foxflannel.com/finishes.php

Thanks for your input, HBK, and you state as I thought myself. 24oz isn't quite right.

I did contact Fox Bros (not Merchant Fox), but the customer service immediately directed me to the Merchant Fox overcoating fabrics, which I, obviously, already have seen. I did send an email now and specified my request and so I hope they'll come back to me with something more substantial..

Btw, 42 oz is a real killer weight. The sad thing is that, if they have overcoating in that weight, it's probably only the classic colours such as black, navy, drab etc. A heavy brown herringbone weight seems more and more difficult to find and I'm quite surprised to be honest, it's such a classy, traditional cloth for an overcoat! :eusa_doh:

And thank you for your reply mactire, it might be that I'll have to contact them to make it up.. but I don't know if it would be worth the effort, let alone the cost of such a request.

I have seen the Dugdale one, although only in grey as I have seen.

What about Harrison's of Edinburgh over coatings? I'm familiar with their fabrics but the overcoatings are not part of that.
I browsed their website a couple of days ago and saw a medium/dark-brown herringbone overcoat fabric, which looked quite nice and cold work. It might be that it is a tad too dark. Please check it out if you like: http://www.harrisonsofedinburgh.com/collections.html?cs=h

Do you know what weight their overcoating fabrics are in? I mailed them but had no reply..

 

[esteban68]

Cheers HBK, it's something I'd like to wear at home too for events and when we stand our vintage/retro stall in the warmer months, the intention is to get as close to an original as possible.

 

[mactire]

And thank you for your reply mactire, it might be that I'll have to contact them to make it up.. but I don't know if it would be worth the effort, let alone the cost of such a request.

I'm afraid I don't know how heavy the Harrisons are but I expect similar to other makers. Having something woven for you is dearer than buying cut lengths but can be reasonable if you get a few people to chip in.

I know of mills where you can get from 8 or 10 metres woven for instance, at about E100/m naturally if you agree on a design and get a full piece woven its a lot cheaper i.e. E35/m

 

[Claudio]

I've been cajoled into renewing our vows in 2 years for our 30th anniversary mainly by two facts one that it's in a favourite holiday destination and two I've been promised a bespoke 3 piece suit. As it will be warm and I guess around 25c then It'll have be fairly lightweight so I was thinking of linen but I hate the way it creases so are there any lightweight wool linen mixes out there that don't crease too badly.Thinking of a 30's style 3 piece in mid navy with all the bells and whistles.

Where exactly will you be vacationing? Living most of my life in hot summer climes here is my 2 pence worth: if its a dry heat then fresco wool will be bareable at 190/200grm so that is 6/7oz but if its humid heat you will need to stick to linen. Maybe linen-silk mix to keep it more sturdy and less wrinkly but as you know linen is meant to be wrinkled and that is part of its charm. There is a wide array of Italian quality wools in th lighter ranges and shouldnt have a problem finding exactly what you are after.

I find lightweight cotton being the last choice for staying cool in humid temps and find it often wrinkles quicker than linen so that would be my last chocie personally

 

[esteban68]

It'll be Nerja on the south coast of Spain in Andalucia so temperatures do hit 40c in August September so I guess in July it'll be high 20's low 30's....you do get breezes as it's on the coast but it can also get humid...I intend to lose at least a stone by then so shouldn't feel the heat as much.....hopefully!

 

[Claudio]

I live in Catalunya and summers here are realtively dry. When I was down in Cadiz it was quite dry too so you may be ok in a lightweight fresco wool IMO

 

[Claudio]

that said, if you can get your head around the creases, linen is the best option and really the best looking option too considering the place you will be in

 

[Two Types]

Esteban: i'd go for linen. Although finding a heavier weight linen appears to be tough.

 

[esteban68]

That seems to be the the consensus TT, now I just need some ideas to show my local tailor!

 

[Guttersnipe]

I know offhand that Holland & Sherry have a line called "South Pacific Pure Linen" which run from 11 - 15 ounces.

 

[Rudie]

Do you also know the price per meter?

 

[Metatron]

I once bought a cheap jacket on the highstreet which was a linen/cotton blend. I was surprised to find that it hardly wrinkled at all. It would have been perfect for a business setting in the summer were it is argued that linen looks too casual.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Do you also know the price per meter?

Not offhand, no.

 

[herringbonekid]

excellent article on 'super numbers' cloth :

http://www.aei.org/publication/the-controversy-over-super-wool/

"The most discerning and favored customers are walked across the Via Filangeri to a warehouse where vintage cloth—some pieces from as far back as the 1930s—is stored. These are about as far from the Supers as you can get. Some customers treat the room like a shrine. Others don’t get the appeal. “Not everyone understands,” Rubinacci shrugs."

 

[Two Types]

I like the quote: "the mood in Yorkshire remains largely gloomy" ... no change there then!!!

 

[Rodney]

excellent article on 'super numbers' cloth :

http://www.aei.org/publication/the-controversy-over-super-wool/

"The most discerning and favored customers are walked across the Via Filangeri to a warehouse where vintage cloth—some pieces from as far back as the 1930s—is stored. These are about as far from the Supers as you can get. Some customers treat the room like a shrine. Others don’t get the appeal. “Not everyone understands,” Rubinacci shrugs."

Thank you for that. I'm new to the whole suit thing and didn't know what the fuss was abut Supers. The article explained it well.
Rodney

 

[Rudie]

Very interesting article. Thanks hbk.