Molloy & Sons' Donegal Tweed - 545g/m

[Rob O]

Lovely ensemble, In fact I love the whole look. Totally individual. Congratulations!

[bond_and_beyond]

Wow, that is a great looking suit Federico! Congrats! How does it wear? Comfortable also on the tube?

BB

[C.Lee]

Federico, a truly wonderful celebration of bespoke tailoring!


Regards.

[lgcintra]

Incredible suit! The whole outfit is wonderful. Congrats, Frederic.
Best,
Luis

[davidhuh]

Bellissimo Federico! Truly unique - I understand your big smile

Cheers, David

[T.K.]

You keep surprising me Federico. The suit looks great! What is it like wearing such a design in these times?

[Frederic Leighton]

Dear Hristo, Luis, C.Lee, BB, Rob, Melcombe, Hectorm, Screaminmarlon, David and T.K.,

Many thanks for the kind words. They mean a lot to me and I'll make sure to pass them on to my tailor. The photos are intended as a thank you to the many of you who regularly post photos and very informative comments in the Lounge, providing a resource that I find invaluable and inspiring.

Is it this fabric? https://www.flickr.com/photos/molloyandsons/6792061399/

Yes, Hristo; that is the fabric. The cloth has some bigger slubs here and there, mostly in cream but also in brown yarn; the little swatch doesn't show any, but hopefully you can see them on my photos. I find these a particularly nice characteristic of the cloth.

How does it wear? Comfortable also on the tube?

Dear BB, I find that a good suit is a machine. In fact, I don't know of any other machine that regulates temperature and humidity in a better way. I wear this tweed suit without waistcoat in late Spring and early Autumn, with waistcoat in the colder months. It sits in the wardrobe from the end of June to middle of September, unless I'm walking around Ireland as I often try to do. In the London Winter, I wear it without overcoat and never feel cold; I enter my student's homes and don't feel too warm either. (People have the weird habit of trying to take your coat off your shoulder as you enter their homes, as if it were an overcoat. I find this tells a lot about the decreasing familiarity with classic menswear.) The suit is lined in dress-weight linen, the inside of the waistcoat is all lined in suit-weight linen. My tailor? the most patient man in this world.

Be careful when you go down and cross the Woolwich foot tunnel so well dressed

Dear Hectorm, I remember seeing a documentary about the mighty endeavours of the Victorians to create the first footpath under the Thames. Before doing it, they had to come out with a way to do it as it had never been done before! It cost decades of works and many lives. As a hommage to those brave people, I've walked the tunnel several times since it reopened few months ago

What is it like wearing such a design in these times?

Dear T.K., thank you for the positive feedback. In my case the question should probably be broader: what does it mean to play medieval music on a clavichord, wearing a 1910's-inspired three-piece suit? ...well, I'm not sure I try make space for the things I like and find practical. For instance, I like to wash my shirts and this is just easier with detachable collars and cuffs; also neater job to starch the cuffs; ...and, my shirt-maker being in Italy, I can replace cuffs without his help; I can also change collar shape without ordering new shirts. I don't make any deliberate effort to challenge these times; as a matter of fact, I do my best to fit in I don't work in an office, so I'm never with the same people for enough time for them to feel free to criticize. All I get is the nice bits: compliments from strangers in the street or in the tube

[Luca]

I don't work in an office, so I'm never with the same people for enough time for them to feel free to criticize. All I get is the nice bits: compliments from strangers in the street or in the tube

Anyone that would criticise that suit is probably not worth listening to.

[hectorm]

People have the weird habit of trying to take your coat off your shoulder as you enter their homes, as if it were an overcoat. I find this tells a lot about the decreasing familiarity with classic menswear.

I don´t know if I would call it "weird". I know people in their own way just want to make me feel more welcome. But it surly generates a little bit of tension when –with a smile- I normally thank them and decline. As you say, some people mistake the jacket for outerwear and think that you haven´t entered their houses until you take if off.
Most people who know me have already stopped asking but some people even let me know -once in while- that it´s OK to take my necktie off so I can be more “comfortable”.

[Luca]

On the whole, offers / requests for one to remove their jacket and even tie fall into two categories:

* the sincere wish for a guest to be comfortable (based on the myth that 'classic menswear' is inherently constricting, uncomfortable and probably a relic of paternalistic, classist past).

* pique at what might be perceived as one-upmanship or 'overdressing'.

In both cases I think it is best to smile and nicely say: "I'm quite comfortable, thanks".