Seeking advice on weight and color number for Lesser Suiting

"The brute covers himself, the rich man and the fop adorn themselves, the elegant man dresses!"

-Honore de Balzac

alden
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Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:34 pm

It sounds really fragile! Sounds like wearing it twice a week is teasing the fabric. Allow sufficient rest time by only wearing twice a month sounds also crazily dedicated fabric.
:D The old Lesser Golden Bale flannel is probably my all time favorite flannel. It is a joy to wear. There is nothing like its pure luxury and old world charm. But it is not made anymore...so we have to keep the ones we have in shape for a long time. So to do so, I wear mine sparingly. Why take unnecessary risks? In any case, you will want to hang your flannel suits up and let them dry completely before thinking about another wear.

Get some good worsted fabrics that breath to work in day to day. Treat the flannels with care.
Concordia
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Thu Jul 25, 2013 11:28 pm

Flannel in Hong Kong? Maybe if you're a lizard, or a receptionist in a meat locker!
Simon A

Fri Jul 26, 2013 1:32 am

When it is 10 degrees, 95% humidity and a northerly blowing at 30 knots, flannel in Hong Kong makes perfect sense :)
Concordia
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Fri Jul 26, 2013 9:13 am

Simon A wrote:When it is 10 degrees, 95% humidity and a northerly blowing at 30 knots, flannel in Hong Kong makes perfect sense :)
If you spend a lot of time outside, perhaps. But is that really going to happen for 10 months/year?
Simon A

Fri Jul 26, 2013 10:03 am

True, you only have a couple of months a year in South China like that. But wintertime Siberian gales + high humidity makes it much less comfortable than drier northern regions.....
Tony_san
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Sun Jul 28, 2013 1:09 am

Thanks all the inputs.

I have to admit that flannel for Hong Kong is purely an aesthetic reason instead of practical purpose (avoid body to lose too much body temperature). But thanks for the input. I start to question myself whether I really want a flannel with all those weather and durability factors. Maybe I just need some light and medium weight suit and add a waistcoat during winter.

Thanks Michael. For the linen, I am planning to make a casual DB SC. The idea comes from that DB suit is very attention seeking here. Buy I really like DB. So, to tune down the "formal" effect, I will just wear it as a casual SC. Some wrinkle is a must filet that purpose. It may be a risk taking motion because I do not see a lot of people wearing DB SC without tie in casual way. But I will be so "over formally dressed" in office if I wear a DB suit.
Simon A

Sun Jul 28, 2013 12:23 pm

Don't worry about attention-seeking; a well-cut grey DB business suit with discreet accessories is quietly elegant and will never look out of place. A linen DB blazer is a classic piece and I am sure you'll get a lot of wear out of it.
alden
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Sun Jul 28, 2013 12:42 pm

Michael , the most interesting point coming out of the mill execs discussion is that LL fabrics are clearly beginning to make an impact on the market. We work hard to generate sufficient interest for 60m and yet distributors are beginning to notice even though this is a relatively small volume.
Hi MRL

:) Ah, no, I don’t think so. Though the books I collaborated on are getting a bit of attention... but that is about it.

And it is not surprising. Our club activities really represent solutions for a nano-niche. If you consider that the overall “custom clothing” business is itself a micro-niche in the greater clothing industry. And nearly all the custom clothing activity these days is either MTO or MTM. The classical bespoke or what we refer to as “benchmade tailoring” has been reduced through attrition to very small numbers indeed. And within that tiny segment of interest, there are aficionados who appreciate the importance of high quality cloth. But there are just so very few of us.

As a consequence many of the cloth books out there are geared towards supplying cloth for the largest segment of the market, MTM. Cloth quality levels can be more moderate. And costs must be moderate because someone spending a few hundred dollars to have a suit made by computer does not want to spend hundreds more for the cloth.

On the other hand, the few clients in the market who are spending many thousands of dollars to have a suit hand cut and sewn for them, usually want (or they should want) the highest quality cloth made. But a market is not driven by its infinitesimally small segment, it is driven by the largest one.

Its funny because most men who are able to toss out 5 or 6K to have a suit made probably understand that car manufacturers, for example, make products at all quality and price levels to satisfy specific market segments. But many of these same men haven’t figured out that fabric mills do the same. And that there is no such thing as a generic commodity called “tweed” or “flannel” that has a fixed and constant quality and price level.

Mills actually do make four door economy models, mid range station wagons, racy sports models and unattainable limousines. The quality and price levels of fabrics (just like cars) vary as a function of the quality and price of the raw materials used, the intricacy of the make (the weave), the added treatments that cloth can receive, the time required and the choice of finishing employed. So there is cloth sold for a few dollars a meter and some that is sold for a few thousand dollars a meter.

But even if all the traditional bespoke clients globally woke up to this fact and clamored for the best quality cloth, there would be little impact on the fabrics business because there are just too few of us.

So, for the foreseeable future, getting interesting, quality cloth will remain a catch as catch can enterprise. I say "interesting" because there are a lot of good books with standard business grade suitings in good quality cloth. But interesting patterns and weaves in suitings are pretty rare. And I have never been thrilled by the quality, patterns and colors available to us in tweeds, flannels and linens. They are just too "uninteresting" to suit me. :D

It would be wonderful to think we could have a real impact on the cloth business, but its not gonna happen.

Cheers
Russell
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Sun Jul 28, 2013 5:14 pm

Audi S5 TC wrote:
Actually, in England and Italy, most custom is bespoke. In those countries (where the market for bespoke always has been and always will be huge), people only buy MTO and MTM when it is 1/4 to 1/2 the price of bespoke (which is rare). No matter where you are in England and Italy, you are never more than 10 miles away from the nearest bespoke accessory, clothing and shoe makers.

Audi,

Speaking of the UK, if only your (somewhat surprising) impressions were true.

Outside of London proper bespoke makers of any type of clothing are very few & far between. Even haberdashers selling first class products are rare.

Disappointingly few people bother to go even to a MTM enterprise let alone 'bespoke'.

That doesn't mean that large amounts of money aren't spent on clothing - however it's spent on 'designer' tat.

Regards
Russell
aston
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Sun Jul 28, 2013 8:18 pm

Russell

Your insights are amazing (!). There are many high quality craftsmen outside London. The rubbish I have recently experienced from a "legend" on this board confirms that I am right to keep seeking them out!
alden
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Mon Jul 29, 2013 11:23 am

The rubbish I have recently experienced from a "legend" on this board confirms that I am right to keep seeking them out!
Legend? We have legends here. Pray tell...

Cheers

Michael
C.Lee
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Mon Jul 29, 2013 2:15 pm

alden wrote:
Legend? We have legends here. Pray tell...

Cheers

Michael
Fables, tales, myths. Stories regarded as historical but un authenticated. Those abound.
aston wrote:... I am right to keep seeking them [the many high quality craftsmen outside London] out!
High quality craftsmen are out there, aren't they. Sometimes in the most unlikely places. The customer has to roll up his sleeves, put on his walking shoes and walk the beat. Along the way he will have to take some risks, trust his eyes and listen to his heart. An internet search, even a clothing forum, won't cut it. In the worst cases, those are dead-ends.
Tony_san
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Mon Jul 29, 2013 3:35 pm

Simon A wrote:Don't worry about attention-seeking; a well-cut grey DB business suit with discreet accessories is quietly elegant and will never look out of place. A linen DB blazer is a classic piece and I am sure you'll get a lot of wear out of it.
Simon, trust me. Speaking for financial services industry where I am in, DB suits are only for senior executive or big boss. Or "this guy is too showy or too care about what he wears than about doing his job well". At least in my company (100+), I have never seen a single DB suit in several years. Casual DB jacket is another story but still not common.

Update for my fabric choice - I visited my tailor today and saw one of his work-in-progress navy DB with white MOP buttons. The fabric also look pretty casual with nice texture and slight cease. I like it a lot except it is a bit shinny to my taste. My tailor told me that it is a CMT of a John Foster merino silk wool linen mix. I really love it and it is pretty wrinkle resistant. Best if I can find something less shiny and more casual in texture. Is something from Minnis/ Harrison/ Lesser. These are the books readily available to me. But if the best option is outside these choice, I will probably spend my efforts to get that. Thanks.
alden
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Mon Jul 29, 2013 8:04 pm

Fables, tales, myths. Stories regarded as historical but un authenticated. Those abound.
Now you've caught my interest. Sounds a bit like real life. :D
High quality craftsmen are out there, aren't they. Sometimes in the most unlikely places. The customer has to roll up his sleeves, put on his walking shoes and walk the beat. Along the way he will have to take some risks, trust his eyes and listen to his heart. An internet search, even a clothing forum, won't cut it. In the worst cases, those are dead-ends.
Absolutely. I have written it a thousand times myself. Very good advice.

And the very best part of the adventure are the fables,tales, myths and stories accumulated along the way, that while not historical, can and will be authenticated by you and only by you.

Cheers
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