Understanding Suit Fabrics: A Seasonal Guide to Looking Your Best

Givemeservice on January 9, 2025

Ever notice how some people seem to glide through the seasons looking impeccable while you’re either sweating like a snowman in summer or shivering like a palm tree in winter?

The secret isn’t just good genes or an expensive tailor – it’s knowing your suit fabrics.

Let’s dive into this fabric fiesta without the fancy jargon that makes your eyes glaze over faster than a donut at Krispy Kreme.

The All-Season MVPs (Most Valuable Patterns)

The Merino Magic Show

Picture this: you’re wearing a suit that adapts to temperature like a chameleon changes colors.

That’s merino wool for you – nature’s own climate control system.

Custom Silk Fabric For Your Next Bespoke Suit

It’s like having a smart thermostat woven into your clothes, minus the app notifications and software updates. When winter tries to turn you into a human popsicle, merino traps heat like your grandmother traps you in conversation. When summer cranks up the heat, it wicks away sweat faster than your date disappearing after you mention your Pokemon card collection.

The Worsted Chronicles

Worsted wool sounds like something from a medieval fairy tale, but it’s actually the James Bond of suit fabrics – smooth, sophisticated, and ready for action. The fibers are combed straighter than a type-A personality’s desk drawer, creating a fabric that can take you from boardroom battles to wedding dance floors without breaking a sweat (literally).

The Summer Survival Squad

Tropical Wool: The Cool Kid

Despite sounding like a contradiction (tropical… wool?), this fabric is the equivalent of installing air conditioning in your suit. It’s got more ventilation than your neighbor’s conspiracy theories, thanks to a special weave that lets your body breathe while keeping your dignity intact. Perfect for those days when stepping outside feels like opening an oven door.

Linen: The Wrinkle Embracer

Let’s address the elephant in the room – linen wrinkles more than a bulldog’s face. But here’s the plot twist: that’s part of its charm. It’s like having bed head that actually looks good. This fabric tells the world, “I’m so confident, I don’t need my suit to look like it was carved from marble.” Plus, it breathes better than a yoga instructor leading a meditation session.

The Winter Warriors

Flannel: The Cozy Conspirator

Modern suit flannel is what happens when comfort food becomes a fabric. It’s got a subtle fuzzy texture that makes you want to hug yourself, but still looks sharp enough to nail that presentation. Think of it as your childhood blanket all grown up and ready for business – minus the thumb-sucking, of course.

Tweed: The Texture Teacher

Tweed is like that vintage vinyl record that somehow sounds better than digital – it’s old school, but it hits different. Originally designed for tramping through Scottish highlands chasing sheep (or running from them), modern tweed has evolved into something that says “I could write a dissertation OR start a bar fight, and I’m keeping you guessing about which.”

The Spring and Fall Flexibility Force

Cotton: The Casual Commander

Cotton suits are the gateway drug to serious suit wearing. They’re approachable, like that friend who can chat with anyone at a party, and they age better than your favorite jeans or George Clooney. The fabric softens and develops character over time, creating a personal wear pattern that’s like a fingerprint for your style.

The Silk Blend Society

Adding silk to wool is like adding bacon to… well, anything. It just makes everything better. These blends give you the structure of wool with a subtle sheen that catches the light like you’re always walking around with perfect lighting. It’s for those moments when you want to look successful enough to make your high school reunion interesting.

The Real Talk Section

Reading the Room (And Your Life)

Before you drop serious cash on a super-fine wool suit that needs more maintenance than a vintage sports car, ask yourself some real questions: Does your daily routine involve more parkour than a Marvel movie stuntman? Do you regularly eat foods that require a bib? Are you the kind of person who remembers to use collar stays but forgets where you parked your car? Your honest answers should guide your fabric choices.

The Weight and See Approach

Fabric weight isn’t just some arbitrary number tailors use to justify prices. Think of it like coffee strength – what keeps one person alert will give another the jitters. Summer weights should feel like you’re wearing a cloud (7-9 oz), while winter weights (12-14 oz) should feel more like a warm hug from someone who respects personal space.

Remember, choosing suit fabric doesn’t need to be more complicated than explaining why you need five different gaming consoles. The perfect suit fabric is like the perfect partner – it should complement your lifestyle, handle your quirks, and make you feel like the best version of yourself. Whether you’re closing deals, attending weddings, or just trying to look sharp for your Instagram grid, there’s a fabric out there that’s perfect for you.

Just keep in mind: the best suit in the world won’t help if you’re wearing it at the wrong time, like rocking a heavy flannel suit to a summer beach wedding. That’s not being overdressed – that’s being overcooked.

Top 10 Reasons a Men’s Custom Suit Costs More

Givemeservice on August 11, 2023

The higher cost of custom men’s suits is justified by the unparalleled tailoring expertise, use of premium fabrics, extensive personalization options, handcrafted construction, unique patterns, multiple fittings, small-batch production, time-intensive process, prestige, exclusivity, and the superior fit and comfort they offer. For those seeking a timeless, perfectly fitted garment that exudes sophistication and confidence, the investment in a custom suit is undoubtedly worthwhile. Lets delve into some details as to why!  Here’s BBespoke’s Top 10!

1. Tailoring Expertise: Skilled Craftsmanship Sets Custom Suits Apart
At the core of every custom suit is the unparalleled expertise of skilled tailors. These tailors have honed their craft over years of dedicated practice, allowing them to create suits that fit like a second skin. Their mastery in taking precise measurements, analyzing body proportions, and considering individual preferences contributes to the higher cost of custom suits.

Bespoke suits cost more, and they are worth it

2. Premium Fabrics: Luxurious Materials Elevate the Quality
Custom suits are renowned for their use of premium fabrics sourced from prestigious mills and renowned textile manufacturers. Luxurious materials like wool, silks, cashmere, and linens not only enhance the suit’s aesthetic appeal but also ensure its durability and longevity. The selection of top-notch fabrics is a testament to the commitment to excellence in custom suit-making, but it also adds to the cost of the final product.

3. Personalization Options: Creating a Suit Unique to You
One of the most alluring aspects of custom men’s suits is the abundance of personalization options available. From lapel styles and button choices to lining selections and monogramming, every detail can be tailored to the wearer’s preferences. While this level of customization enriches the custom suit experience, it also demands extra time and effort from tailors, contributing to the increased cost compared to department store suits.

4. Handcrafted Construction: A Labor of Love and Precision
Handcrafted construction is another defining characteristic of custom men’s suits, especially in high-end bespoke tailoring. This traditional approach involves skilled artisans who meticulously cut and sew each garment by hand. The handcrafted construction ensures superior attention to detail and precision, creating a suit that exudes an air of sophistication and refinement. However, this labor-intensive process requires a significant investment of time and craftsmanship, leading to a higher price point.

5. Unique Patterns: Tailoring Precision for Individual Fit
Custom suits are crafted based on individual body measurements, resulting in a unique pattern that complements the wearer’s physique perfectly. These custom patterns are specific to each client and cannot be replicated for mass production. Creating individual patterns is a laborious process that demands meticulous attention to detail, contributing to the elevated cost of custom suits.

6. Fittings and Adjustments: The Pursuit of the Perfect Fit
Achieving a perfect fit is a hallmark of custom men’s suits, and this requires multiple fittings. Tailors carefully adjust the suit based on the client’s feedback during these fittings, ensuring a flawless fit that accentuates the client’s physique. The fittings and adjustments add time and effort to the tailoring process, leading to an increase in the overall cost of custom suits.

7. Small-Batch Production: Quality Over Quantity
Custom suits are often produced in smaller batches or as one-of-a-kind pieces, rather than mass-produced on a large scale like department store clothing. This small-batch production approach allows for greater attention to detail and a focus on quality over quantity. However, producing custom suits in smaller quantities can lead to higher production costs, which are reflected in the final price.

8. Time-Intensive Process: A Journey of Dedication and Precision
Creating a custom men’s suit is a time-intensive process that requires dedication and precision. From the initial consultation to the final delivery, the tailoring journey may take several weeks to complete. Each step of the process demands individualized attention to ensure that the final product meets the client’s expectations. The time-intensive nature of custom suit-making is a labor of love for tailors, but it also contributes to the higher cost.

9. Prestige and Exclusivity: A Symbol of Luxury
Beyond the craftsmanship and materials, custom men’s suits carry an air of prestige and exclusivity. The level of attention to detail and artistry in custom suits sets them apart from off-the-rack options, making them highly coveted among discerning customers. The exclusivity and luxury associated with custom suits add to their perceived value, which is reflected in their higher price tag.

10. Superior Fit and Comfort: Tailored to Perfection
The primary advantage of a custom suit lies in its superior fit and comfort. Tailored to the individual’s body shape and measurements, a custom suit offers unmatched comfort and ease of movement. Achieving this level of fit and comfort requires the skillful tailoring and precise adjustments that are integral to the custom suit-making process. The emphasis on perfect fit and comfort is another factor that contributes to the elevated cost of custom suits.

A Guide To Linen Suits

Givemeservice on July 4, 2022

Many men have plenty of questions as they consider buying their first linen suit. A hand-crafted linen suit radiates casual confidence, style, and charm. And yet, this lightweight, wrinkle-prone fabric prompts many style questions. Can I wear this to work? Is it formal enough for a business meeting? How do I style it for outdoor parties and events? Let’s explore and answer some of these pressing issues to round out your wardrobe with confidence and verve.

The Fit Is Everything

We can’t overstate just how much fit matters when it comes to a linen suit. You’re thinking: isn’t fit a pretty key aspect of every suit? Absolutely. Particularly with linen, however, as it’s a fabric that loves to wrinkle. That’s part of its charm, yes, and you should expect that any linen suit you wear is going to wrinkle a bit—you can embrace that and dress up the suit in other ways (we’ll talk about that below). What you shouldn’t embrace is a lightweight suit that doesn’t fit well, which will cause the suit to wrinkle far more than necessary.

A fitted suit presents a strong, confident look no matter the fabric. It’s particularly important in this case because the better your suit fits, the less the linen will wrinkle and lose the shape of the cut.  Bespoke suits that are measured, patterned, and cut for you and your body will be better for the look and better for maintaining the quality and appearance of the fabric over many years.  

When to Wear a Linen Suit

Because of its lightness, breathability, and cool texture, linen makes for an ideal outdoor fabric. A good linen suit should be a staple of your wardrobe during the spring and summer months, and it can feel great to slip back into it just a few more times when those really warm late autumn days and nights sneak into September and October. But when and where, specifically, should you wear one?

Major Outdoor Occasions

Sometimes it can feel like every weekend from May through September is booked with a wedding, graduation, a reunion, or some kind of family or office get-together. That’s a big reason why you should invest in a linen suit. You’ll look stylish and fashion-forward at outdoor receptions and parties and stay cool while everyone around you swelts in their polyester blend.

Summer Concerts and Performances

Is a linen suit the way to go if you are tracking through the grass and dirt for three days at Lollapalooza or the sand and crowds of Pitchfork? Only if you’re willing to see your suit get covered in some serious dirt and mud. But a slightly more formal outdoor experience—like a nighttime concert, film, or theatrical performance in the park—can be made all the more enjoyable and stylish in a comfortable linen suit.

Work Days and Business Lunches

Linen suits have become a common sight in offices, agencies, and practices once summer rolls around. It’s a good idea to keep a wool suit on hand for very formal work events like major presentations. But it’s very easy to dress up a linen suit and make it appropriate for a day in the office, lunch with your colleagues, or less formal meetings.

How to Wear a Linen Suit

Linen suits give you more flexibility than many people realize. It comes down to how you wear the suit and what you decide to wear with it. But first, the suit itself: most people probably think of linen suits as being white, cream, or beige, but the truth is that the light feel and appearance of linen means you can be a little looser and more experimental with your colors. Linen makes a great canvas for pastel colors, like light blue, denim, cream, mauve, pink, and tan suits. Even standard colors like navy, dark brown, and black will feel less heavy or formal when in linen, especially if you offset them with a light-hued shirt.

Caring for Your Suit

For such a casual-looking fabric, linen is remarkably tough and durable. With regular care, a quality linen suit should last you a long time. But as we already know, linen is also a fabric that wrinkles and stains easily. So how do you keep your suit looking its best?

Storage

Like most suits, you will want to hang your linen suit up in a cool and dry location. Make sure that your suit isn’t folded, crumpled, or balled up when you store it, or deep wrinkles will set into the fabric that is difficult to iron away. Irons, actually, are generally less effective at removing wrinkles from linen than a steam press.

Cleaning

There’s no need to dry clean your linen, where the chemicals can stain the material. Instead, you can wash it by hand, or simply spot clean it. You should never put your linen suit into the dryer. Though a strong material, linen is loosely woven together (which is part of what gives it its light feel) and can shrink dramatically in a dryer. Instead, hang up your suit to air dry before storing it in a cool and dry spot.

The Guide to Suit Fabrics

Givemeservice on January 7, 2022

finished jackets in tailoring atelier on hangers

With a plethora of different fabrics and patterns on the market, it’s easy to become spoiled for choice when buying a suit! However, the type of fabric is important when wearing a suit for a particular event or a particular time of the year. Therefore, this guide deals specifically with different types of suit fabrics and weaves. 

In this article, you will find out what defines a good suit fabric. You will also learn the key characteristics of the most popular types of suiting fabric. Finally, you will get clued into the controversy over synthetic suits.

Why Does Suit Fabric Matter?

There many details to consider when buying suit, but the two main factors that decide on a suit’s quality and cost: construction and fabric. This is the suiting equivalent to parts and labor on a car. Very quickly, suits are made with either fused, half, or full canvas interlinings onto which fabric is either glued (fused) or sewn. Glued suits are cheaper, sewn suits are more expensive.

Fabric is the other main factor that decides a suit’s quality and cost. Good fabric will feel better, hold its shape for longer, and look better for its lifespan. As you might imagine, it’s a more expensive product than its lower-quality counterparts.

Fabric Types

Cashmere

Cashmere is a kind of wool that comes from the soft under-hair of a particular kind of goat native to Mongolia. It has an incredibly soft texture, great water resistance, and excellent breathability. You can find cashmere suits in lighter or heavier weaves suitable for varying temperatures.

Cashmere can last many, many years with proper care. It also insulates even better than most sheep’s wool, making it an ideal material for cold-weather suits. Plus, it has a lustrous appearance and drapes elegantly for pants!

Cotton 

Plant fibers represent another category of fabrics a customer can choose from. Cotton is an accepted option for many casual suits, and is, in most cases, less expensive than wool or linen. It is flexible and breathable, but shows creases more than wool fabrics. Another classic plant fiber is linen, which is made from the fibers of the flax plant. While it is very breathable, it does develop a characteristic wrinkle

Silk

As a fiber, silk is elastic and has pretty good strength. However, it’s super-light and easy to wear. It has moderate resistance to wrinkles and it does not attract dirt because of its smoothness. Silk is a natural temperature regulator, which will keep you warm in winter and cool in summer. It’s perfect for all seasons and fits most body types; however, it’s best for more formal events.

It’s pretty rare to see a 100% silk suit nowadays. That sort of thing is generally limited to the like of Prince Charles while vacationing in the tropics. It’s more likely that you’ll see silk as part of a suit’s fabrication (60% worsted wool and 40% silk, for example). It is sometimes used in high-end suit linings, but this should only be done if the customer really loves a lining’s design, as synthetic silks like viscose are actually stronger than the original fabric.

Velvet

Velvet is another soft and luxurious fabric that can be made from both natural and synthetic fibers. Even the term velvet itself describes “soft and smooth” nowadays. The soft pile of velvet makes for a warm, comfortable winter jacket. Velvet has a bit of heft to it because of its thick pile, making it less suitable for hot weather wear.

Avoiding Synthetic Materials

While nearly all mass-market retailers sell various polyester suits, high-end brands generally don’t use this fabric because its affordability gives it an air of cheapness. Polyester is an affordable synthetic material basically made out of plastic. Low-quality polyester suits do look sort of shiny, giving them a cheap look.

the polyester suit issue is open for debate. If you want affordable suits, go for it! If you want a fancy brand and high-end quality, you’re going to need to dish out the dollars for an expensive all-natural material like wool. Our team tries to work withing your budget! 

New Jersey’s Choice for Quality Suit Fabrics 

Finding one suit that fits is hard enough, never mind finding a variety of suits in different fabrics. But with a quality Bespoke suit, our team can put together a custom-sized suit with a variety of colors and fabrics, in a breeze.

If you’re looking to spruce up your suit collection, and are in need of a quality suit, consider contacting us. At BBespoke, our reputation is based on an uncompromising dedication to craftsmanship and personal services.