Re: blazer/sport coat
you wont find 150's worsted with lycra. It's just not stuff that would sell on saville row. You will find 150's with cashmere.
Re: blazer/sport coat
depends on which tailor you are going to, hand if it is not 150's but is 120's thats okay too for a blazer. however there is no way it will be in the under $400 range..with cashemere, with lycra 150's or 130's or 120's.
so, the lesson learnt is that bespoke is out, and I will have to sacrifice one thing or the other in my choice list.
cant kill the color, or the vents or the shape or the # of buttons. so will have to compromise on fabric, maybe a 120's or 130's super twist natural stretch fabric which is good enough.
Re: blazer/sport coat
let's just say our town is reknowned worldwide for making the best wool cloth the world over. Savile Row, Scabel and all the other expensive cloth merchants will but it from here.
Savile Row will charge around £60 metre for 120 worsted merino. Super 150 10% cashmere, 90% merino wool around £110 m. But you can at times get bargains, My dad works in textile and managed to get me 4.5m of Super 150 cashmere/wool for £30 - on Savile Row /Scabel same cloth with a badge and box costs around £495 mark.
The woested mark like 150 is an indication of how many turns per a given length like cm or maybe inch. To get the fine wool fibres you need merino wool. The higher the turns the finer the fibres. It makes the cloth feel very nice, soft and smooth but downside is price, and it's fragile. You cant dry clean it to often and wears away quickly. Thats why most people buy something around the 100-120 mark as lasts longer. I believe my dads factory has made some super 180 but it cost a fortune and damged just as quick. You cant get a stain out withought damaging the cloth.
The reason you wont find any reputable cloth merchant selling lycra in cloth as it's not needed. A good tailor will make the cloth sit on you. I have seen some cheaper cloth with lycra, it's not quality stuff though. Days of polyester and lycra long gone. A customer who maybe paying £2000 + VAT for bespoke suit wont accept anything of sub standard quality.
If you cant afford any Huddersfield made cloth which is very pricey the only other reputable maker of a simillar standard is Ermenegildo Zegna.
Re: blazer/sport coat
I have a suit made from Zegna cloth it's of very good quality, they do have that italian magic of very stylish designs.
Re: blazer/sport coat
risc
the wool plus lycra by IWS is managed very well in terms of quality and has its uses. while superfine 140s and cashmere may be good for certain type of garments for certain occassions, there is a need which IWS and dupont tried to meet. its less of howwell a tailor makes it sit on you but how the garment will be used as well.
Re: blazer/sport coat
Best of luck you wont find what you are looking form, not from a reputable tailor/cloth merchant. As far as I know from all the quality factories making yarn here they only use Merino Wool, lamb wool (cheaper), Merino/Cashmere blend, Merino/Mohair blend.
Re: blazer/sport coat
so only non reputable factories are making the wool plus brand stuff overseen by woolmark,,iws?
Re: blazer/sport coat
in china, thaliand and other sweat shops. The places where they use recycled wool. Wollmark is not worth anything. Hundreds if not thousands of years of pioneering yarn spinning and weaving is.
Re: blazer/sport coat
http://www.englishcut.com/archives/000037.html Thomas is a very well respects master tailor. Been a tailor of the British Royal family. All of those brands near the bootm as he said all make or buy cloth made from our town and non use cheap artifical shyte like polyester, nylon or lycra to hide a crap tailoring job.Keep lycra for cycling shorts.
Re: blazer/sport coat
surprising that major designers are using fabric which has 2% or 4% lycra in it.
We had bespoke suits made for my sisters wedding and the fabric used at that time was newzealand wool, which was rated as the best then, 100% vir wool, although I think my dad got some with cashmere. It ranged from superfine 120's to 150's, but you re right back then there was no lycra blend.
I have one sportcoat with lycra belnd and the lining itself has panels that move well with the body so for travel and stuff it cant be beat.
Re: blazer/sport coat
who cars what designers do. Have you heard of Ermenegildo Zegna? it's the designer company itlains always turn to for suiting. Thy make made to measure for around $1500 a go. They offer a 2% lycra not becuase it makes for a better suit, fabric but it hides the problems in pattern cut. Even with made to measure you dont get a near perfect fit. If on the other hand you where a special customer they would be offering you their 100% merino wool or other 100% wool fabrics. Big difference in made to measure and bespoke.
You will see some cheap shops like $49.99 suit with memeory effect aka travel suit. This is usually polyester, 5% wool and 15% lycra. The best material again for traveling is Wool, it has a natural return to position effect, as long as you iron it properly and let it rest on a proper hanger after a few days of use.
Re: blazer/sport coat
I have a zegna suit and know the company very well. There has not been an issue here of whether or not wool is the way to go, but what makes sense for a blazer/sportcoat which will be used frequently and mostly for travel, in which case going for cashmere, merino wool may have issues in terms of care.
Understanding the dfference between bespoke and made to measure. The fact remains that fabric makes a difference, and not all fabric is good for all occassions, obviously fabric that requires a lot of care is not one you would use for everyday use.
Re: blazer/sport coat
Agree it can be an issue for a frequent traveler. As I said earlier a 150s wont last for years. My dad has a suit for the last 27 years or something. Still not ripped, shrunk, even though it's the suit he most often wears on social/special occasions. It's a testiment to how a good quality fabric can last.
The fabric which needs the least care is polyester with teflon coating. WOuld you seriously buy that?
Re: blazer/sport coat
^ yeah probably as a picnic spread akak dastarkhwaan..
I have a 150's sherwani which i ahve worn a few times and must say that the fabric is amazing, but then I have only wor it like twice n 2 years.
it appears that a 120's or heck even 100 may be the best bet for me in terms of quality as well as level of care for a frequent use travel jacket, and maybe lycra is out, as long as the jacket is well made.