The London Lounge

I am fairly new to all this but would like to make myself as expert as possible so as not to make costly mistakes. I find the most daunting area of this business (probably to many also the most exciting) to be the variety of cloth available, the terminology applied to it and the disparate makers. My question is as follows: Is there a quick way to familiarise oneself with the characteristics of the major cloth groups that are on offer, or is it simply a matter of learning through direct encounter? Is there any recommended literature on the subject, through which to gain a satisfactory applicable knowledge to help in making a good decision?
Thank you in advance.

Nothing compares to poring over bolts or swatches of real cloth. But a good theoretical guide can be found at:

www.hollandandsherry.co.uk/textileguide/

It is very difficult to describe different types of cloth and what differenciates them, not only in terms of appearance, but also their characteristics when worn.

If you ever have an opportunity to browse through a cloth merchant, or spend time with your cutter going through swatch books, use it! Also, the small scale of the swatches favours small patterns. Large patterns can only be properly imagined looking at a whole length of cloth.

Ultimately, only touching and wearing the cloth over time will teach you how it behaves. None of us ever stop learning!

Buy the book Homo Elegans by Riccardo Villarosa and Giuliano Angeli.

It is a very entertaining book on clothing and elegance and has a nice 35 page illustrated chapter on fabrics.

Just what you are looking for, for an overview of the many kinds of fabrics and their characteristics.

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Thank you, all of you. Had a search for that book and it seems quite obscure, though there was one on abebooks. Amazingly pompous title, but that quite appeals to me anyway, so I think I'll go for it!