Tonic

[HJM]

The first bespoke that I made after I started working, oh that was some thirty some years ago, was cut from a Dormeuil Tonic. Eversince I have been a fan of that cloth, but note with sadness that it no longer exists. I realize that Holland & Sherry have two ply mohairs, and Scabal have in their Titan range two and three ply mohairs but they somehow lack the brittleness peculiar to the Tonic. I think the only thing that came close was something made by John Foster, but then that was ten plus years ago. I wonder why the Tonic disappeared. Does anyone know whether they will resurface? Any alternatives out there?

[alden]

I can only suggest that Dormeuil removed its classic Wool/Kid Mohair blend "Tonik" from the market because no one wanted a relatively heavy, stiff and scratchy cloth that was more bullet proof than any Tumi bag ever dreamed of being. It must have been a fairly recent decision on their part because I remember seeing it in their shops as recently as last year.

There are no equivalent fabrics available. The disappearance of the great Mohairs is a subject of great consternation among those of us who have always admired them. The first clues surrounding the vulnerability of these fabrics came a few years ago when H Lesser, the London specialist fabrics distributor, stopped carrying them. At the time I asked them what was amiss and the brothers Lesser responded that the quality levels of English mohairs had dropped so low as to be of little value to bespoke dressers. So they stopped the Lesser Mohair line.

Someday we maybe discussing with affection the days when West of England flannel, frescos and heavyweight Irish linens existed. Let's hope not. But the trend is not promising. We have lost most quality linen and mohair production. Most hand woven tweeds have vanished and the old heavyweight Scottish tweeds from companies like Hunter's of Brora are gone. Rumors have it that a few of the remaining quality tweed makers are in real trouble and may close down soon.

So, a good piece of advice might be to get some traditional cloth while it lasts. Fabrics age. They get better with time. So fill up your wines cellars, humidors and "fabrics cellar" as well.

[manton]

Makes me feel better about the piece of Lesser mohair I recently bought!

Michael, you would love the RAF blue mohair that I bought from Tip Top (weaver/merchant unknown). It is "heavy, stiff and scratchy" and "more bullet proof than any Tumi bag ever dreamed of being." So scratchy I almost wondered if it was any good. Now I feel better.

[Hartline]

Humm.

Strange, my tailor just sent me a couple of samples of the Dormeuil Tonik that I'm considering for Summer '06. (Buy straw hats in winter.) I hope they are still are available. I'm not as familiar with Dormeuil's bundles, but the numbers are 197.254 and 190.004. He also sent along a couple of Scabal’s Titans for comparison.

In Richard Anderson's latest mailing, he is showing a 12 oz. mohair. I wonder where he is sourcing it. The Smith seems a fragile at 8 oz. (# SW 4700 etc.)

[JMurphy]

Schweppes makes a very nice diet tonic in the little glass bottles--doesn't have the nasty aftertaste that regular quinine has... Cheers!

[Leonard Logsdail]

I had lunch with James Sheed last week who runs Dormeuil North America. I also measured him for a new suit to made from...Tonik. He is also sending me the bunch on Monday as the fabric for the star of a new movie starting soon in NYC will be from this fabirc (at least, some of them) So the cloth is still around.

Leonard

[HJM]

Apologies for not getting back sooner -- but all the replies including the correction of my spelling, and the latest one that Tonik is yet available from Dormeuils -- has overwhelmed me of the breadth and knowledge of the members of this Club. Thank you very much for all the posts.

Humbly yours