The London Lounge

I understand Lessers is generally regarded as one of the finest purveyors of worsted fabrics. I've found a fantastic dark grey sharkskin (pick and pick) in the 11-11.5 oz. superfine book that I hope to use for my first bespoke suit (timing and tailor : TBA).

Are there other cloth merchants that I should be considering? Or stick with Lessers?

Lots of people here, and tailors too, like Lesser but I'm no expert, so can't comment one way or the other. If you're crazy for the cloth, go for it.

But for fun, here are 2 cloth sites which have alot of cloth for browsing on line:

1. http://www.scabal.com/index.php?page=sc ... ummer_2008

If you look at the upper right hand corner of that page, you'll see "Consumer Fabrics Cat".

You can sign up and browse through hundreds of cloth samples.

2. http://www.hollandandsherry.com/pages/a ... ection.htm

I like Smiths very much, and their 11.5oz book ("Connoisseur") has some great patterns and colors. The pick and picks are especially nice if you like things perhaps a shade less manicured than Lesser.

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I don't know if I would say they are the "best". Their stuff is good but it would be like choosing the "best" tailor - there are a lot of factors to consider. I'll provide a list of some things to look for:

*Hand: the feel of the cloth in your hand. There can be a lot of personal preference here as to what you want but generally it's something like this: too soft and it wont hold a crease well (think of a woollen flannel), to hard and it won't mould to your body.

*Pattern: Loud or Conservative. Lesser's fabric tends to be more on the conservative side when compared to a company such as Dormieul.

*Weight: Lesser tends to be much more "English" (A shock, I'm sure) in regards to fabric weights (by this I mean most everything they make is 10oz and up).

Lesser's does offer one book which I really like - Golden Bale Flannels. For my money, these seem quite nice.

Harrisons is definitely worth taking a look at:

http://www.lbd-harrisons.com/

Thank you all for the kind input. I will definitely take at look at Smith's and Harrisons in addition to Lessers.

I am looking for something conservative and hard-wearing, and it seems as these will fit the bill.