Corduroy Questions

[Forrester]

I'm planning to have a corduroy jacket made and had been favoring a 550 g. Brisbane Moss fabric. I have a slight preference though, for the color of a 700 g. corduroy from HE Box. My question is whether or not 700 g. is too heavy for a corduroy jacket that will principally be worn indoors. My tailor says not to worry, as it's cotton and won't be as warm as a wool jacket of the same weight. I still have my doubts though, and would appreciate hearing the opinions of other LL members.

On a related topic, I've always been told to iron corduroy on the inside of the fabric to avoid damaging the nap. Is this accurate? When I iron my trousers on the inside, the creases come out inverted and look a bit strange.

Thanks for your help.


Doug

[cathach]

I'm planning to have a corduroy jacket made and had been favoring a 550 g. Brisbane Moss fabric. I have a slight preference though, for the color of a 700 g. corduroy from HE Box.

For what its worth I'd say to always go for your preferred colour or pattern.

My question is whether or not 700 g. is too heavy for a corduroy jacket that will principally be worn indoors. My tailor says not to worry, as it's cotton and won't be as warm as a wool jacket of the same weight.

I would consider your tailor to be right, cotton is a cold fabric and while hard-wearing hence its use for cotton drill, corduroy or denim workwear its not warm at all.

On a related topic, I've always been told to iron corduroy on the inside of the fabric to avoid damaging the nap. Is this accurate? When I iron my trousers on the inside, the creases come out inverted and look a bit strange.

This is practical advice as it will prevent undue wear or you brushing the corduroy the 'wrong way' giving a different sheen to parts of the garment.

You can always use a pressing cloth (clean tea towel/tshirt etc.) and press the garment the right way round.

[davidhuh]

Dear Doug,

700g is way too heavy for a corduroy coat. The tailor who gives you such advice has never been wearing corduroy himself

Even a light corduroy will wear rather warm. The cotton makes this cloth very dense with very limited breathing capacity. Wear a thin cotton shirt and and thick linen shirt, and you will see what cotton makes to you.

My corduroy suit is 470g/16oz. It is by far the warmest wearing suit in my wardrobe because it doesn't breath the way other fibers such as wool do. I love this suit a lot, but I can wear it only 4 months per year, and I live in a cold country.

Cheers, david

[Rowly]

Can anyone suggest the best source for a quality cord. jacket? I have seen some that look very lush and with a deep luxurious pile and lovely rich colour depth that really has a bespoke quality look. Is there a go to book for this cloth?

[davidhuh]

Dear Rowly,

Porter & Harding perhaps?

cheers, david

[hectorm]

Dear Doug,
I much agree with Davidhu´s post.
One couple of nuances though, for your selection of the right corduroy.
As we all know, this cloth is woven alternating ridges with bare fabric and the number of ridges per inch (wale) varies widely. There is a logical link between a wider wale (lower number per inch) and heavier weight of cloth, but this is not a perfect correspondence, particularly in middle weight corduroy (around 400-500 g) where you can find many different wale widths.
I find that a higher wale number (let´s say 14) is more at an advantage for a suit, while an odd sport jacket needs something more substantial (let´s say 10) to stand on its own and not look like an orphaned suit jacket.
Also consider the nap of the corduroy which can be pretty independent of its weight. You may like a velvety finish to the touch, especially if your garment is to be worn indoors, but I think that a sport corduroy jacket should have a more practical and sturdy character; hence I favor a slightly coarser finish.

[Rowly]

Good advice, and thanks David, also. What about needlecord for casual trousers, or a suit for that matter? Any suggestions?

[hectorm]

What about needlecord for casual trousers, or a suit for that matter? Any suggestions?

Rowly,
for casual trousers I definitively favor wide wale corduroy over needlecord. The reason being that there are many alternatives to very thin wale cords, but wide wale cords (let´s say an 8-wale) are truly unique in both feel and look.
For a suit, IMO needlecord feels too similar to velveteen. You might like this, but I would recommend something around a 12-wale for a jacket and trouser combo. It will still look dressy but feel more like corduroy should.

[Rowly]

This is the kind of look I am after. Does anyone know what type of cord this might be?...thanks...
http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/o ... son-paris/

[davidhuh]

This is the kind of look I am after. Does anyone know what type of cord this might be?...thanks...
http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/o ... son-paris/

Dear Rowly,

5261 from Potter & Harding is pretty close (http://www.harrisonsofedinburgh.com/col ... html?cs=ph). But you need to check the weight - don't go over 400g for a suit, as this is cotton, not wool.

cheers, David

[Rowly]

Thanks David,
I'll look into it!......Rowly

[hectorm]

This is the kind of look I´m after. Does anyone know what type of cord this might be

Wes Anderson´s suit is in something around the 10-wale and -I guess (it´s difficult to say because wale and weight don´t go hand in hand)- at around 500 gms. But I believe the suit has achieved that look that you like because the cloth might have been distressed on purpose (or subject to many years of use). If you forgo bespoke, I´d seen several RTW brands that carry the full corduroy suit in that semi-tailored look (Rockin Sartorial, Calvin Klein).
The Porter & Harding corduroys that David connected you with are great, but very wide wale and very heavy. More suited for an odd trouser than a full suit.
The Brisbane Moss corduroys are in the 400-500 gms range and have the 8-wale in many colors (I particularly like the Light Fawn).

[Kayak81]

This is the kind of look I´m after. Does anyone know what type of cord this might be

Wes Anderson´s suit is in something around the 10-wale and -I guess (it´s difficult to say because wale and weight don´t go hand in hand)- at around 500 gms.
...
The Brisbane Moss corduroys are in the 400-500 gms range and have the 8-wale in many colors (I particularly like the Light Fawn).

I recently had several pairs of trousers and one sport coat made out of Brisbane Moss corduroy. Everything came out great, except for one pair of trousers and the coat, which were made out of their 470 g. 10 wale fabric, which I found to be very stiff and heavy. The trousers might be okay to wear outside on a very cold day, but the coat is too restrictive at this point. I hope that it loosens up after wearing it a few times.

I couldn't figure out what the problem was, until I read in a recent post that Brisbane Moss gives weights per sq. m., so you need to increase the stated weight by 50% to compare it to other fabrics. In essence, my 470 g. coat and trousers were really 705 g. So I would advise you to go down a bit in weight. The Brisbane Moss 315 g. (475 g./running m.) 10 and 12 wale fabrics seem ideal to me. They're comfortable outdoors in temperatures down to the low-mid 20's F. (about -5 C) and also perfectly comfortable indoors as well. My only complaint is that they don't offer much protection from the wind.