The two components of any suit are the tailoring and the components, principally the cloth. Cloth deserves its own chapter – here we’ll just explain about fabric weight.
Men in temperate climates should begin with a basic wardrobe made from medium weight cloth. Fabric weight is measured in ounces per linear yard (36” x 60”) or linear meter of fabric. Standard medium weight cloth of 10 - 11 ounces per yard is considered “ten month” suiting that can be worn on all but the very warmest days.
If you’re having your suits made to measure or made by a tailor, you’ll choose the cloth from swatch books containing actual samples. An established tailor may offer thousands of choices.
The challenges grow greater when you are buying suits off the rack, as your choices are limited to those chosen for you by the retailer. Few stores will offer heavier cloth for winter or the best open weave cloths for summer. Your best defense is to visit a tailor and learn to feel the different weights for yourself. Suits are expensive, and the education will prove worthwhile
Expanding a Basic Wardrobe
For most men, building a wardrobe takes years. To expand your wardrobe you’ll need to acquire more suits each year than you wear out, a formula that varies according to the frequency that you wear each suit and the quality of its construction.
As you expand your basic wardrobe your objectives should be to extend the lives of your existing suits, provide choices for different occasions and acquire clothing that will be comfortable in a broader range of temperatures. Men in temperate climates who wear suits every day should initially supplement the basic six suits with three suits for hot weather, and three suits for cold weather.
Cold weather suits of 13 ounce wool will provide durability, warmth and drape. 13 ounce suitings are comfortable without an overcoat in temperatures as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit as well as in normally heated offices. They wear, hang and keep their shape better than suits made from lighter weight cloth.
Open weave 10 ounce cloths are best for warm weather suits, which should be no more than partially lined as the lining material inhibits air circulation. The warm weather standard for tailor-made suits is a quarter lining, which means that the sleeves are lined so your arms slide smoothly in and out, but most of the rest of the coat is unlined.
Loosely woven fabrics for warm weather include high twist wool fresco, mohair and wool blends. Ten ounce versions of these combine temperature control with reasonable drape and durability. They are actually cooler to wear than lighter weight tropical wools that do not breathe, but they are also more difficult to find unless you have them made for you.
If at all possible, most men should avoid tropical weight cloth of 7-8 ounce fabric in their basic wardrobe. Suits made from tropical wool are prone to wrinkle, less durable, and are warmer to wear than medium weight cloth that has been loosely woven to permit air circulation in hot weather. Unfortunately, tropical wool is also the ready to wear cloth sold most widely because it’s less expensive than heavier cloth of the same quality. It is usually offered with a full lining that further inhibits air circulation.
Spring and summer suits can be in lighter shades of blue and gray, as well as tan, because lighter colors look better in bright sunlight.
If you have reason to wear suits on weekends or holidays, one or two tweed suits for cold weather and one or two linen suits for hot days are excellent choices.
Irish linen’s typically rumpled look is also too casual for many offices but it’s an elegant choice for warm weather weekends and holidays. Like the Holland & Sherry cloth in the photo, it should weigh as much as 14 ounces, to minimize wrinkling but its open weave promotes air circulation and keeps you cool. A cream double breasted linen suit is one of the classics.
Tweed suits became rarities once central heating became commonplace. Typically 18 ounce cloth, they were too warm to wear indoors. Fortunately, there is now a selection of tweed weighing as little as 12 ounces that offers excellent alternatives for travel and suburban wear. Since they won’t usually be going to the city, choose country cloths with a brown or green base.
The Medium Wardrobe
As your suit wardrobe grows, you should continue to balance it so as to provide a selection of clothing for any weather and occasion. A medium-sized suit wardrobe in a temperate climate might be comprised of two dozen suits:
- Ten city suits for spring/summer
- Two country/weekend suits for spring/summer
- Ten city suits for fall/winter
- Two country/weekend suits for fall/winter
Of the ten suits in each season’s wardrobe, six or seven should be of the same types of conservative stripes, solids and semi-solids that make up the basic wardrobe. One or two others should be particularly elegant, such as a blue mohair and wool blend with a sophisticated sheen, for a speaking engagement or a night at the opera.
If you are so inclined, the remainder of each season’s suits can be “Friday suits” that are more relaxed and fun to accessorize. In fall and winter, your Friday suits could include a textured brown cheviot and a soft black and white flannel with a red windowpane check. In spring and summer they might be a black and white houndstooth check that appears gray at a distance and a silky tan gabardine.
Whether your suit wardrobe grows to fill all your closets or never needs to expand beyond the two basic suits that every man should own, an appropriate suit for the occasion places a man in the company of gentlemen around the world.
