Category: Cloth

This is a summary and analysis of the high-twist wools available from different mills and merchants.  As with the linen one we did last year, the aim is to set out most of the range so that bespoke customers know if th...

Why did the Japanese spend all day screaming at Douglas? How does Gianluca think Italian artisans are being dishonest? This conversation between myself, Gianluca Migliarotti of Pommella trousers, and Douglas Cordeaux of...

I was very excited when I received this jacket a month ago. Primarily because of the shoulder. Enzo Ciardi is fast becoming one of my favourite tailors. I like him, I like his roomy Neapolitan style, and everything he's...

[This is the latest in a series of posts on Cloth that has now built into something very substantial: browse the others on the dedicated page here]   The use of synthetic fibres in cloth for tailoring is generally f...

This is the latest instalment in our series highlighting my favourite new seasonal cloths - providing a heads-up to readers on those that will mostly only be around for six months. It’s interesting to see how the rang...

  Performance fabrics are very in. Every retailer seems to be offering travel shirts that resist wrinkling, staining or soaking. Fans of classic clothing are usually sceptical about such fabrics. This is largely bec...

The Joshua Ellis mill is just outside Batley. That’s not a name many readers will associate with British cloth. They’re more likely to know Huddersfield for suits, or Scotland for tweed and cashmere, and with the re...

They said Milano Unica was like Pitti without the peacocks. That was partly true. Certainly, there are no photographers, so even though many of the same people visit Milano Unica (MU), they're not on display. Everyone i...

You know when you think you’re not part of a trend, and then see everyone wearing the same thing? As a clothing snob that likes to think he’s different to everyone else, it’s very annoying. I had admired Michael H...

  When selecting a cloth for an overcoat, what should you look for? This might seem like a pretty easy question: you want warmth. That’s what an overcoat is for. But how much warmth, and where it comes from, are n...

This is the second post we've done highlighting our favourite cloths from new seasonal bunches. The first, on Spring/Summer 2018, is here. Unfortunately the bunches come in late in the season, but there's still probably...

Luxury fibres like cashmere or vicuna can make lovely, indulgent cloths for sports jackets. Having mostly stuck to linen, tweed or related mixes in recent years, I recently commissioned a jacket in 100% cashmere (from Ed...

Samuel Gassmann Last week I was in Paris for two days, catching up with old friends and artisans, and seeing a few new ones. One of the most interesting things was an interview with Lyne Cohen Solal, the new head of the...

This is part of a long-running series of articles known as the  Guide to Suit Style, covering everything from the number of buttons on a suit to the difference between made-to-measure and bespoke.    It will continue...

Given the heat at the moment in London, it shouldn’t be surprising that linen is the most attractive thing in the pop-up up shop, which has been going wonderfully so far. Edward Sexton’s Hollywood-top trousers (abo...

This is the second in our series presenting all the cloth bunches currently available for bespoke, summarising what they contain and picking out our favourites. The summaries should help determine which bunches readers ...

Linen has long been a favourite for tailoring intended for hot weather. Its prime appeal is it’s cool to the touch (a lot more than wool, and a little more than cotton) because the fibre is a good conductor. Metal ...

Great as our Guide to Cloth series is, it deliberately doesn’t recommend specific cloths in specific bunches. This is largely because bunches change regularly (sometimes every six months) and if we did, the Guide woul...

In many ways, tweed should be the perfect material for a modern man. It is practical, hard wearing, and can be dressed up or down, from almost-formal to definitely-casual. On the formal side, a navy tweed jacket, grey w...

*Cloth now sold out. Fox are taking pre-orders for the next batch* At our pop-up shop back in April 2017, Fox Brothers brought up some vintage bolts to offer readers, including a rather beautiful ecru cavalry twill.   ...

A couple of years ago, a friend asked me for advice on dressing down his normal suit-and-tie wardrobe. Like many men, he wore suits (in worsted wool) to the office, and jeans or chinos at the weekend. The office was beco...

Caccioppoli, the Italian cloth merchant, was Jamie’s favourite place to photograph when we visited Naples over the summer. The aesthetic appeal is not immediately obvious. The Caccioppoli building is big, taking up mo...

  In some ways, summer trousers are more challenging than jackets in terms of cloth, and therefore more interesting. Trousers present the challenge of having something cool, but with enough body or crispness to hang...

It's hard not to feel that the future of the suit lies in more practical cloths than the fine worsteds of the past 30 years. We may move towards a situation where these cloths will be reserved for formal wear, while e...

When I was in Japan at the end of last year, I was keen to see not just menswear crafts, but traditional crafts in other areas as well. Previous articles on swordmaker Sasuke and kimono maker Motoji attest to some of th...