The London Lounge

What would be a nice fabric for a navy odd jacket suited for autumn- winter? I already own a navy hopsack odd jacket which is too light for winter and I need a navy jacket for the colder months. The jacket I have in mind is quite sporty and a similar configuration to the hopsack: full canvass, natural shoulders, patch hip pockets.
I live in South Italy in a mild climate place so I don't need extremely heavy fabrics. Something hard wearing and that would pair nicely with grey flannel trousers.
Thank you

Flannel (worsted or woolen) would be noticeably warmer than hopsack.
Cashmere is another choice, not hard wearing but comfy.
Or serge.
Saluti
M.

If you want to aim toward sporty, a Donegal tweed might get you there. There are some thornproofs with that pattern also, which will be much crisper. Not that this is necessarily an advantage.

Slh wrote:What would be a nice fabric for a navy odd jacket suited for autumn- winter?

Slh wrote:Something hard wearing and that would pair nicely with grey flannel trousers.

Dear Slh,

two recommendations - one obvious, the other perhaps less:
1) the LL Mistral would be very suitable if navy would be remade. Again a hopsack weave, very likely heavier than the one you already have and really sturdy.
2) Flannel in winter weight. Not that sturdy, ok, but very elegant and relaxed. I just had a longer discussion with the owner at Jungmann & Neffe in Vienna. He was eyeing at my LL flannel DB. Now he told me that the english mills sell most heavy & traditional cloth, including flannel, to the South of Italy and to Tunisia / Morocco. The reason is that there is no central heating...

Cheers, David

It might seem paradoxical, but an acquaintance of mine once said "You never have tasted winter, unless you live in the south (of Italy)" just because of the state of the heating in some houses, so I guess David may have a point.

The LL Ultimate Blazer cloth would check the sporty, warm, and navy boxes. A textured hopsack-like weave, but with angora it is luxuriously soft. Sturdier than a cashmere blazer cloth, but I suspect not as hard-wearing as a tweed or the Mistral. Would be great with gray flannels. The weave might allow it to breathe well enough to bridge seasons.

Concordia wrote:If you want to aim toward sporty, a Donegal tweed might get you there. There are some thornproofs with that pattern also, which will be much crisper. Not that this is necessarily an advantage.

I heartily second this suggestion. Molloy makes a good navy Donegal that is most appealing.

Malloy Donegal. Great idea. great cloth.
Alsoprt 12oz also.

I´m glad to find myself in the illustrious company of Frank, Concordia and Andy recommending the navy Donegal for the "quite sporty", natural, patch pockets winter jacket. And for the south of Italy? Perfect.
It´s curious that the heavier cloth jackets are not worn in the colder climates but are more appropriate for places where central heating is not common or an overcoat is a rarely seen garment, even in winter.

thank you for all the replies so far.
I really like your donegal suggestions, lovely fabric and I really like textured fabrics ( that's one of the reason I like my hopsack). My only doubt about donegal is that I'm not very used to see tweeds in navy, I've always seen tweed in earth-tone colours like brown so a navy tweed seems a little "strange" to me.

Slh wrote:thank you for all the replies so far.
I really like your donegal suggestions, lovely fabric and I really like textured fabrics ( that's one of the reason I like my hopsack). My only doubt about donegal is that I'm not very used to see tweeds in navy, I've always seen tweed in earth-tone colours like brown so a navy tweed seems a little "strange" to me.

Another post was asking about Millionsire Cashmere.
Also consider Johnstons Cashmere.

Slh,
I really like the Donegal suggestion. However, if I were you, I would consider dark green as the color. You already have one in navy. Sporty, green Donegal tweed, grey flannel trousers, south of Italy, it all seems to work.

rodes wrote:Slh,
I really like the Donegal suggestion. However, if I were you, I would consider dark green as the color.

Dear Rodes,
along your lines, on a PM to Slh, I had suggested to go with a dark brown medium weight tweed instead of another blue. After the navy one that he already has, I think it would be the most versatile for a young man´s just second sport jacket.

That's a harder call, and one that OP needs to make. When you need a blue jacket, you really do.