Original Dormeuil Tonik

[carl browne]

Is the heavy original Tonik fabric still made"

[hectorm]

I see you like your mohair. I don't blame you. My favorite fall/winter dinner suit is made of a pretty heavy Barathea mohair/wool blend. Something from old times.
Dormeuil stopped making the heavy original Tonik several years ago when they introduced the lighter Tonik 2000. Great for summertime I guess, but not the same.
I'm afraid Dormeuil no longer has the real thing available. They still make some cloths with a blend of wool and a lower percentage of mohair added (mainly for lustre I suppose) but I'm sure they are definitely not what you would be looking for.

[carl browne]

Hectorm, please forgive my punctuation.

Thanks, that's what I thought. I just bought a length of the 1957 Tonik on Ebay in light/medium grey, but started getting cold feet wondering if this was something worth doing.

Cheers

[Screaminmarlon]

I think the cloth is a reissue (I bought cloth from the same Ebay vendor in the past and always get what I paid for). It's heavier than the Brio, it should be a good cloth,
Saluti
M.

[hectorm]

I just bought a length of the 1957 Tonik on Ebay in light/medium grey, but started getting cold feet wondering if this was something worth doing.

Carl, if you bought the real McCoy then you got yourself a legendary piece of 90% mohair cloth. Don't be discouraged if it feels a bit coarse, heavy, and scratchy. It will be cool, and drape and sparkle like nothing else in the world. Although light gray wouldn't had been my first choice for that cloth (is midnight blue available from where you got it?) I think you can have a unique wonderful suit. Talk to your tailor about it. Line the trousers to the knees.

[Screaminmarlon]

The reissue should have the same composition of Brio bunch (65% mohair 35% wool) albeit in a heavier weight, so the original must be something else.
Nonetheless the reissue is a good cloth

[couch]

As a public service, I sent an email query to the ebay seller:

To:6767fadi
Subject:Details about the item: 60% KID MOHAIR 40% WOOL ORIGINAL TONIK BY DORMEUIL #290668883057
Sent Date:20-Feb-12 23:45:48 GMT

Dear 6767fadi,

Is this vintage cloth (made prior to the 1990s) or is it a reissue (recent
manufacture)?

And received this reply:

Dear couch,

Hi this is a new production of 1950's cloth. It has the same fell and touch
as the old cloth. Thanks.

-6767fadi

So if the original was 90% mohair, you can draw you own conclusions. Sounds closer to the Brio, as screaminmarlon says. Might be more versatile than the vintage Tonik, if lacking some of its distinctiveness.

[carl browne]

Hi this is a new production of 1950's cloth. It has the same fell and touch
as the old cloth. Thanks.

So what does THAT mean?

I presumed that if the selvage said 1957 Tonik, that's what it would be.

Could someone please explain the "reissue" process?

[hectorm]

I think the cloth is a reissue (I bought cloth from the same Ebay vendor in the past and always get what I paid for).

Is the "reissue" done by Dormeuil? Such a reissue on a vintage cloth like the heavy 1957 does not show up in any of its current collections. Although Dormeuil does mention (not very clearly I'm afraid) in its Mohairs book with Mystic and Super Brio, that the original Tonik has been "redesigned" in very light weight (8/10 oz).

[couch]

The seller's desciption here reads:

60% KID MOHAIR 40% WOOL SUITING FABRIC. 370 GMS, 3.30 MTS, 150 CMS WIDE.

PLAIN GREY TONIK FABRIC IN A HOPSACK WEAVE. CRISP CLOTH WITH A FIRM AND SMOOTH FINISH. TERRIFIC PIECE OF FABRIC. THE WORLD FAMOUS TONIK. MADE IN ENGLAND BY DORMEUIL .

HAS A WOVEN SALVEDGE STATING "DORMEUIL ORIGINAL TONIK 1957 MADE IN ENGLAND".

MORE FABRIC AVAILABLE.

If 370 g/sqm is correct, I make that about 10.9 oz/sqyd. The same seller lists lengths of Super Brio here, so he's aware of the difference. Unless someone is counterfeiting the selvage, it looks like this must be the "redesigned" Tonik hectorm spotted in the ambiguous wording describing the Dormeuil mohairs book.

[Rowly]

I was chatting to my Tailor about Tonik yesterday, as it happens. He told me that the original Tonik was excellent. But, the quality was falling even before they took it off the market. He queried the quality with Dormeuil, at the time, and was told that : Part of the finishing process of the original Tonik was that it had to be stored up for a few years to season, before it was ready for the market. This became economically inviable, and they started to take shortcuts, even in the last days of the original. Any re-makes will certainly be a shadow of the former quality, no matter what the marketing hype says. If you are certain that you have found the original quality original Tonik..I would snap it up.Then, you will look snappy!..Rowly.

[Screaminmarlon]

Based on my experience in buying from him, I doubt this Ebay seller would offer counterfeit cloth.
I think it's not a strict reissue (same recipe as the old cloth), more a cloth mimicking the old Tonik (higher percentage of mohair and heavier weight than the usual mohair/wool mix) while being commercially viable.
I was lucky enough to buy some old mohairs lenghts and I have to admit that they're a far cry from the contemporary summerweight mohair wool mix: they're rough, almost rustic.
Saluti
M.

[carl browne]

Well, it's bought, for better or worse. Will let you know how it goes.

Thanks, Gentlemen,

C