First bespoke: What fabric for navy blazer?

[SMCK]

Very beautiful ......the jacket looks good too.
Well done Dkst

[Rowly]

I am a big fan of Botany and Steadfast, as well as Lesser. I wonder if those with more experience can help clear up an issue for me. I have often been advised that for the best bespoke outcome, one should wear the heaviest cloth that he can comfortably cope with, given his circumstances. This would point me towards Steadfast, 16oz Lesser, and P& B Universal. I have had suits made in The PB and Steadfast, and 13oz Lesser ( 16oz will be next). My question is whether better drape and solidity in the cloth is obtained at the cost of loss of refinement in the finish? Looking at old pics. of Laurence Olivier, and the likes....I assume that all cloths were heavier at that time. My quest is to find the heaviest weight before refinement starts to taper off. Having said that, ...my PB suit has a less refined hand than other projects...but, being a POW, its tweedy finish is in keeping with its intended style. All advice appreciated....

[Rowly]

On the Blazer debate...I would urge you to consider the next blue up from navy. This, combined with a hopsack finish, might look a bit more summery and, being less sober, can look very stylish. Good luck with whatever you decide !

[old henry]

great advice rowly

[rodes]

Justin,
I agree that the hopsack would be better for a blazer. I am not familiar with the particular shade of navy that you have mentioned, but I too agree that a blazer should be somewhat lighter than the standard suit shade of navy. Dark blue is ideal.

[old henry]

Brown horn buttons

[Melcombe]

Brown horn buttons

Yes !

Although anything that steers clear of the flash harry might also make the grade. Benson & Clegg have some super 'plain & simple' lines :

http://www.bensonandclegg.com/shop/inde ... Path=21_39

Although their brass versions do age beautifully. I see they also have a 'White Star Line' emblem button. (Plainly not to be worn near icebergs...)

[Pins&Needles]

I would recommend a nice navy hopsack from Smith Woollens. They have great depth of colour and hold up really well. I love hopsack as it offers a little more texture without going overboard.

Karl

The Steadfast 14oz., or are there other nice ones they offer?

(BTW I have a suit out of the dark grey Steadfast hopsack. Useful stuff.)

The Steadfast 14oz is perfect for the ever so slightly cooler months. As a starting blazer, the Botany range is where I would start. It is 13oz which is a great all round weight, its not too heavy if you are the kind of person who gets warm quickly and not too light if you feel the cold. It's about balance and this cloth does the trick. I have had great results with it in both suits and jackets.

Karl

[Samuel]

Liquidus, the h&S hopsack is an English micro hopsack--13 oz., best I recall. Suitable for suiting because the weave is subtle. It's one of the gems in all of their more recent books.

I posted a while back about the many Smith hopsack options. All came up a bit short for me. Good cloth, but not the old, six-ply beefy, beefy basketweave available long ago.

Lesser offers a couple of options, but, again, they tend toward suitings. And they're very dark navy--midnight.

I'd invite a short run of a heavy, coating-worthy navy hopsack.

[Liquidus]

@dkst: Thanks for the recommendation and contact info. I didn't even look at Dugdale's Formalwear as I thought that would be black tie related.

@Rowly & Rodes: Your blazer definitely makes sense for a summer blazer, but I'm thinking of this one as more a fall/winter (and wearing at nighttime functions) blazer, hence the 13oz weight and navy. Would you still go with dark blue in that case?

@old Henry & Melcombe: Thanks for the recommendation. I'm definitely going to do more thinking about buttons once I've nailed down the fabric.

@Pins & Needles: My tailor actually has Botany, so I'll be taking a look at that this weekend. Do you know the number for the navy hopsack?

@Samuel: I read the thread you mentioned as I was searching the forum. That's where I got the idea to check out Smith Botany and Steadfast. It's confusing that even with a supposedly more casual fabric, there's suiting and jacketing versions. What did you end up picking?

[old henry]

Dear Rowly and all others giving advice on this post, It does my heart good to see that , at least on the LL, there are still some folks who understand and appreciate sturdy cloth. Steadfast, Botany, Lesser 13 and 16oz. Dougdale Town Classic.

[Gilles Deleuze]

Let me toss in another vote for Smith's Botany book. I have a suit in the lighter-than-navy hopsack and it's my favorite. I'd wear it every day if I could. I don't know the number of the cloth, but it's easily found while browsing through the book.

[Samuel]

Ray at W. Bill sent the perfect summer weight hopsack. I'll find the cloth number and post later today.

I already have weight hopsack blazer, so the Smith options were not appealing. I think I am close to finding what I have in mind--the Minnis hopsack coating cloth in Navy. # 2009 in their English coatings range. Just over 22 oz., but, as you'd expect with hopsack, an open weave. So, 22.25 oz. feels lighter than, say, a 12 oz. flannel.

Perfect for days like today on the streets of Manhatttan.

[Samuel]

I'd still love to see an LLCC hopsack coating cloth in true Navy!

[Samuel]

If I had gone the hopsack suiting-for-a-blazer route, the Lesser 29748 was my favorite. 13 oz. Dark navy but not midnight.