Dear Simon,
Hello and congratulations on your blog’s recent milestone!
I have a question regarding cashmere suits.
I am thinking of buying a suit that is 100% cashmere. Now I have come across many suits that are wool/cashmere blends, but not many that are 100% cashmere.
Is a suit that is completely cashmere practical? Will there be a lot of pilling, like there is with a cardigan for instance?
Thanks for your help.
Yours,
Farbod
–
Hi Farbod,
This touches on a question someone asked about ultra-fine wools on my post about Huddersfield mills last week. The finer a wool becomes, the more it loses body and elasticity; it loses some of the elements that make wool such a great material for clothing.
Cashmere is even worse. It is wonderfully soft, but this means it has very little body and memory. This can be OK in a jacket, which has internal structure in the chest to hold it together. But it is terrible in trousers. They have no chance of retaining a crease, and begin to bag at the knees after a while.
I know because I made that mistake with my first commission from Sartoria Vergallo. The jacket is great, but the trousers have lost shape very quickly. I still occasionally wear it as a suit, but mostly just as a jacket – it has patch pockets and brown horn buttons so works well in that regard.
I would avoid wool/cashmere mixes most of the time as well, at least for suits.
Simon
