Tip Top cloth finds: what weave are these cloths? (photos)

[kolecho]

The light blue one is a S120s by Taylor & Stewart 10-11oz. The dark blue one is from Edwin Woodhouse S150s approx 11-12oz. The T&S seems to be a birdseye, but I am not sure what the Woodhouse weave is. Some insights would be appreciated.

By the way, is it common to see a S150s in the 11-12oz weight range? How would forum members rank Woodhouse's cloths?

Thanks in advance.

[tteplitzmd]

I bought some of the Woodhouse Super 180's (wool and cashmere), in the 11-12 ounce range and I must say it is exceptional. The price was exceptional too (I didn't ask first which is out of character for me). That being said, I have it on good authority from one of our cloth club members, that Woodhouse is towards the top of the food chain so to speak.

I thought the Charles Clayton worsteds were very nice, but the Woodhouse is truly superb. Take a look at their website which I believe is www.edwin-woodhouse.co.uk
(note their disclaimer re: NOT dealing with 'private' customers).

Terry A. Teplitz

[smoothjazzone]

Woodhouse is top notch -- especially their summer weight fabrics. They have one guy in NY who carries one of their books and they have just started a relationship with one of the clothing veterans in the US to distribute their fabrics here more widely.

[tteplitzmd]

Mr. Smoothjazz, the cloth I have seen by them, is not marked on the selvage with their name.
Do they trade under other names, in so far as they are the mill? That is, how do you identify their cloth?

Terry A. Teplitz

[smoothjazzone]

Terry:

The fabrics I have from Edwin Woodhouse clearly have their name on the selvedge. I have a navy blue worsted with 1/2" stripe and a worsted brown/cream nailhead (that Manton is constantly pestering me to sell to him ). Both fabrics are tightly woven and will be great for summer wear -- I would say that they are 8 oz or so. I got both of them at Tip Top -- the blue they still had lots of the last time I was there and the brown was an end-bolt. Speaking from memory, the selvedge says "Edwin Woodhouse 1857 Made in England" with 1857 being the year they were founded.

Best regards.

P.S. BTW, it was nice meeting you at Nicolosi's couple weeks ago.

[smoothjazzone]

BTW, the second fabric looks like a hopsack weave to me.

[kolecho]

The Woodhouse cloth I got from Tip Top say VIP S150s Made in England. George said that it came from the Woodhouse mill. Woodhouse supplies to a number of merchants and sometime leave out its name on the selvedge to avoid conflict. I understand from George and another LL member that Woodhouse cloth also trade under the name Greensgate - another ploy to avoid conflict with distributors and agents.

[tteplitzmd]

Thank you gentlemen for the information. I must say, I was very impressed by the quality of the range I saw at Tip Top.

[manton]

that Manton is constantly pestering me to sell to him

That is an unfair accusation. I gave up on that months ago.

[manton]

Not that I go out of my way looking for such things (so take this with a grain of salt) but in my experience, Supers in higher weights are quite rare. The heaviest that I can recall seeing are 12 ounces.

[dopey]

Not that I go out of my way looking for such things (so take this with a grain of salt) but in my experience, Supers in higher weights are quite rare. The heaviest that I can recall seeing are 12 ounces.

By way of illustration, the only suit I have in hand from Raphael is a 75% wool/ 25% Cashmere 11/12oz from the H&W / J&J Minnis Millennium Gold book. It was shown as S150s in the book and delivered with S160s on the selvege. I am not an expert in cloth quality but Raphael was confident that it was a good cloth that would tailor well. So far, it appears that he is correct but we shall see how it holds up. For what it is worth, it is my daughter’s favorite and a frequent request when I accompany her somewhere.

[iammatt]

Not that I go out of my way looking for such things (so take this with a grain of salt) but in my experience, Supers in higher weights are quite rare. The heaviest that I can recall seeing are 12 ounces.

I have an 360 gm. s150s Blue Blazer. I believe they said that the extra weight came from a four ply weave, but I don't quite remember. It actually feels very light on the shoulders, but wears like steel compared to a lot of high supers.

[TVD]

There is a Lesser book of S150s. The actual weight escapes me, but they are the only cloth I know that combines the luxuriously smooth feel of a S150 with the weight and substance needed for a decent drape.

[manton]

I believe the Lesser 150s are 11 ounces.

[kolecho]

I was at A Man Hin Cheong yesterday, an old Hong Kong tailor, looking at cloth. It is interesting to note that many English mills do not put their names on the selvedge, including Woodhouse.