Suit Fabric Types: Wool, Linen, Cotton, Mohair and Blends

A visitor asked us in October what fabrics we have, which is the right question asked the wrong way round. We have the cloth of four mills, and the useful conversation is about fibre and weave.

So here it is, fibre by fibre: how each feels, how it behaves when you sit down in it, whether it holds a crease, and where it sits in price. The numbers on a selvedge are a separate subject, set out in Super numbers and cloth weight explained. For August alone, go to the best suit fabric for hot weather in Los Angeles.

Worsted wool, and the weaves it arrives in

Nearly every suit we make is worsted wool, and most of the choosing happens inside that word. Worsted means the fibre was combed straight before spinning, which gives a smooth, dry, hard-wearing yarn. The weave then changes everything.

Plain weave and tropical worsted

One thread over, one under. Smooth, matte and quietly formal, the default business suit. A tropical worsted is the same weave made light and open: cool, papery, takes a press beautifully. Mid range, and the safest first commission.

Fresco and the high twist cloths

The yarn is twisted hard before weaving, so the cloth feels springy and almost rough, with visible air between the threads. It is the most crease-resistant suiting there is. Sit in traffic on the 405 in a fresco and stand up looking as you did at breakfast. No lustre, so a daytime cloth. Mid range.

Hopsack

A basket weave, two threads crossing two, leaving a small open square across the surface. Light, breathable, softly textured and plain from four feet away. The classic navy blazer cloth, though an open one catches on a watch strap. Mid range.

Twill

A diagonal rib running up the cloth. Tougher than a plain weave of the same weight, with a little sheen, and it drapes with authority. It resists creasing, forgives travel, and a cavalry twill will outlast everything else in the wardrobe. Mid to upper range.

Birdseye and nailhead

Two colours of yarn woven so the surface carries a tiny repeating dot. Across a room the suit reads plain navy or grey; up close there is a depth a flat cloth lacks. Our usual answer to a second suit, mid range, and described further in suit patterns, stripes, checks and weaves.

Sharkskin

Two colours again, in a fine diagonal that gives a slight shimmer and a smooth, cool surface. It has always been the suit worn to be seen in, and it shows a careless press as clearly as a sharp one.

Flannel

The one woollen among the worsteds, brushed after weaving so the surface is soft and the weave disappears. Grey flannel is the most handsome suiting cloth there is, and the most comfortable. It is heavy, and worn here perhaps six weeks a year, often as odd trousers at $450.

Mohair, cashmere and the silk blends

Mohair comes from the angora goat: crisp, wiry, lustrous, holds a knife-sharp crease, and breathes unusually well for something that looks like evening cloth. Pure mohair is too stiff for most people, so it is woven as wool and mohair, commonly a quarter to a third mohair. A fine cloth for a custom tuxedo, upper range.

Cashmere is the opposite. Soft, warm, matte, with a drape that falls like water, and poor at resisting wear on its own. For a suit it belongs in a blend of ten to twenty per cent against wool. Top of the range, and better spent on an overcoat from $1,200 than on a suit. The shapes a coat comes in, and the coating weight that suits this climate, are set out in bespoke overcoat styles.

Silk goes in the same way, in small proportion. A wool and silk cloth takes dye richly and carries a faint dry sheen. Wool, silk and linen together makes a beautiful odd jacket. Upper range.

Linen and cotton

Linen is spun from flax. Cool, dry, strong, and it creases the moment you sit down, in soft folds that are its character rather than a fault. A heavier linen folds handsomely; a thin one crumples. It holds no pressed crease past lunch, so it belongs on a daytime suit or a wedding in the sun. Mid range.

Cotton suiting is comfortable, matte and easy, and is best understood as a casual suit rather than a cheaper wool one. It creases, it fades gently at the edges with the years, and unlike wool it does not recover overnight. A stone or tan cotton suit is a pleasure at the weekend. Lower end of the range.

A word on performance blends

Cloths with a few per cent of elastane exist at good mills and give a trouser some ease through the seat. We will cut those if asked. The polyester-heavy cloth sold as travel suiting we do not keep: it does not breathe, it shines at the elbow, and it cannot be shaped under an iron.

What the price is buying

Our cloth comes from four mills: Drago from $2,995, Zegna at $3,495, Holland & Sherry at $3,495 and Loro Piana at $3,995, alongside our house cloths from $1,795 for a two-piece. The making does not change between them. Every garment is full canvas and fully bespoke, made by hand by Max in our atelier in Southern Brittany, with unlimited fittings and a year of complimentary alterations. You pay for the cloth, as set out on what a bespoke suit costs in Los Angeles.

Questions we are often asked

What fabric is best for a suit?

A mid-weight worsted wool, for almost everyone and almost every occasion. It breathes, recovers from creasing overnight, takes shape under an iron and lasts. Everything else here is a second suit chosen for a reason.

What is the difference between worsted wool and flannel?

The finishing. Worsted is combed and woven smooth, so the weave shows and the cloth feels dry and crisp. Flannel is brushed afterwards, which raises a soft nap and makes it warmer and heavier. Worsted most of the year here, flannel for December.

Is a wool and mohair suit worth having?

If you want lustre, a crease that holds and a cloth that still breathes, yes. A quarter to a third mohair against wool makes a very good dinner suit in a warm climate.

Does a linen suit have to crease?

Yes, and the creasing is the point of it. Flax does not spring back the way wool does. A heavier linen creases in soft folds that look intended, which is why we steer clients there. For a clean line all day, choose a high twist wool.

Is cotton good for a suit?

For a casual suit, yes. It is comfortable, matte and pleasant in spring. It creases, does not recover overnight, and fades at the edges over the years. Treat it as a weekend suit rather than a business one.

Should there be any synthetic in a suit cloth?

A few per cent of elastane in a trouser cloth is reasonable and we will cut it. Beyond that, no. Synthetic-heavy cloth does not breathe, it shines early, and it will not take the shape a tailor works in with heat and an iron.

Come and handle the cloth

Tell us where the suit will be worn and we will put four or five lengths on the table, prices showing. The consultation runs an hour and costs nothing, and you will sit with Robb or Ben.

Read how we work on our bespoke page, book a fitting here, take an appointment at calendly.com/info-robbp/bespoke-mr-james-fitting, or call 310-503-3592. We are at 221 Culver Blvd in Playa del Rey, by appointment, with free parking.