Unfunded Liabilities: a/k/a The Cloth Thread

[The Chai]

Could not agree more with the whole vintage cloth hype. Though there are some occasional gems to be had, I much prefer taking time to track down cloths in current/recent bunches than making decisions on the fly at the tailor's.

In terms of mohairs I have managed to track down several (IMO for mohair) grails. Had a 3 ply tonik mohair and a 100% cambledoo mohair. I vastly prefer my normal kid mohair bunches or something with a 70/30 mix in terms of comfort and wear.

 

[jonathanS]

Folks, I have a question:

Long story short, I had to change tailors on who’s making up my LL Cashmere. Now the question is. Ulster or guards coat (ulster lapels or peak lapels). I’ve always gravitated toward peak lapels, because I’ve always been attracted to the 1940s golden era of Hollywood look. But, my tailor is almost insistent that we do an ulster or, if peak lapels, a standard chesterfield.

A Chester would seem too formal, and a waste of 1kg cashmere (for those wondering, Alden currently sells it at 900£/meter), so every 10 cm wasted is 100 bucks; every cm wasted is 10 bucks.

For the LL Cashmere owners, what do you think of an ulster? Would the fabric be too formal with peak lapels?

My alternative is to do a camel colored polo / ulster this year and spend the next year convincing him to do peaks 😂 or maybe he’ll convince me. That’s possible!

 

[The Chai]

Folks, I have a question:

Long story short, I had to change tailors on who’s making up my LL Cashmere. Now the question is. Ulster or guards coat (ulster lapels or peak lapels). I’ve always gravitated toward peak lapels, because I’ve always been attracted to the 1940s golden era of Hollywood look. But, my tailor is almost insistent that we do an ulster or, if peak lapels, a standard chesterfield.

A Chester would seem too formal, and a waste of 1kg cashmere (for those wondering, Alden currently sells it at 900£/meter), so every 10 cm wasted is 100 bucks; every cm wasted is 10 bucks.

For the LL Cashmere owners, what do you think of an ulster? Would the fabric be too formal with peak lapels?

My alternative is to do a camel colored polo / ulster this year and spend the next year convincing him to do peaks 😂 or maybe he’ll convince me. That’s possible!

Depends if you're the type of person that would wear a guards coat with jeans and a sweater or the type that insists it has to be worn with a suit and tie/bowtie...I'm the former

 

[xizenta]

Has anyone ever seen Fox Air Ecru Hairline made up?

FA35 : Ecru Hairline Plain Weave

Fox Air is a tropical suiting cloth with a crisp, dry handle. Woven using a 2-ply uptwisted worsted wool to achieve a crease resistant cloth that is the ideal travel companion. The merino wool, woven in plain weave, will breathe in the summer heat. The Fox Air collection contains a variety of...

foxflannel.com

Has a very frumpy kind of look to it as there are a lot of weaving errors/inconsistencies in the sample. I kind of like that but I want to see how it looks in a garment.

 

[DorianGreen]

Folks, I have a question:

Long story short, I had to change tailors on who’s making up my LL Cashmere. Now the question is. Ulster or guards coat (ulster lapels or peak lapels). I’ve always gravitated toward peak lapels, because I’ve always been attracted to the 1940s golden era of Hollywood look. But, my tailor is almost insistent that we do an ulster or, if peak lapels, a standard chesterfield.

A Chester would seem too formal, and a waste of 1kg cashmere (for those wondering, Alden currently sells it at 900£/meter), so every 10 cm wasted is 100 bucks; every cm wasted is 10 bucks.

For the LL Cashmere owners, what do you think of an ulster? Would the fabric be too formal with peak lapels?

My alternative is to do a camel colored polo / ulster this year and spend the next year convincing him to do peaks 😂 or maybe he’ll convince me. That’s possible!

I prefer an Ulster and think that it would look great in a heavy cashmere. Definitely not a Chesterfield. Having said this, if you prefer peak lapels, I think that the tailor should apply your preferences.

 

[DorianGreen]

Any thoughts on which fabric samples I should stash away? View attachment 2035411 View attachment 2035413 View attachment 2035415

You can't go wrong with any of them.

 

[oldworldelegance]

Folks, I have a question:

Long story short, I had to change tailors on who’s making up my LL Cashmere. Now the question is. Ulster or guards coat (ulster lapels or peak lapels). I’ve always gravitated toward peak lapels, because I’ve always been attracted to the 1940s golden era of Hollywood look. But, my tailor is almost insistent that we do an ulster or, if peak lapels, a standard chesterfield.

A Chester would seem too formal, and a waste of 1kg cashmere (for those wondering, Alden currently sells it at 900£/meter), so every 10 cm wasted is 100 bucks; every cm wasted is 10 bucks.

For the LL Cashmere owners, what do you think of an ulster? Would the fabric be too formal with peak lapels?

My alternative is to do a camel colored polo / ulster this year and spend the next year convincing him to do peaks 😂 or maybe he’ll convince me. That’s possible!

It depends on how you're planning to use the coat. A guard's coat is fairly formal and difficult to wear casually. But a great coat (like the one Sexton makes, but with less dramatic proportions, see here) could work if you prefer an Ulster in another fabric.

Which colour are you using? Is it navy? A cashmere navy Ulster coat would be more informal than a guard's coat but still rather difficult to wear with jeans. Wearing cashmere with jeans is difficult. Perhaps some dark black jeans might work. Chinos, flannels, and corduroys would work too.

 

[Warrant_Buffet]

Is it just me or does a no-brand "175g seersucker jacketing" sound like a red flag?

 

[classicalthunde]

A Chester would seem too formal, and a waste of 1kg cashmere (for those wondering, Alden currently sells it at 900£/meter), so every 10 cm wasted is 100 bucks; every cm wasted is 10 bucks.

Honestly, for something that you've already sunk ~$4K into just for cloth I would wait to find someone to make me exactly what I want and wouldn't settle for a compromise of a stylistic detail because it isn't something the tailor wants to do...$8-10K is just too much money to lay down for something you dont really want.

A guard's coat is a traditional British piece, I'm sure there are plenty of British tailors who would make you one. Although its not my style, I think the guard's coat that Steed did for Vox looks amazing...why not reach out to them?

 

[classicalthunde]

Any thoughts on which fabric samples I should stash away? View attachment 2035411 View attachment 2035413 View attachment 2035415

I think the top blue one is fun, would be right at home with purple tragedy

 

[reidd]

Even with the rare vintage treasures, I think it's more the hype if anything. For most of my stuff made from fabrics I consider "rare" (I hunt for alot of deadstock mohair), I find myself reaching out for them less than the regular stuff.

Could not agree more with the whole vintage cloth hype. Though there are some occasional gems to be had, I much prefer taking time to track down cloths in current/recent bunches than making decisions on the fly at the tailor's.

I think this is mostly true. Vintage cloth gets not made up over the years for a reason, mostly just due to being odd patterns probably. I think the hype around vintage quality being better is a little overblown but there is some truth to it. I have a few pieces that just feel much better than any modern cloth I have handled.

Still I like the hunt aspect of it, and its fun to have some odd patterns in the collection that are totally unlike anything that comes out these days but I agree its a big commitment to make up what is an obviously very vintagy looking cloth.

@The Chai I'd be very curious to know how that 100% mohair feels/performs!

 

[JohnMRobie]

All this talk about overcoats and cashmere pushed me over the edge. Length of midnight cashmere acquired. 700 grams from Joshua Ellis

 

[bourbonbasted]

Any thoughts on which fabric samples I should stash away?

Spoiler

View attachment 2035411 View attachment 2035413 View attachment 2035415

Both the puppytooth and windowpane are sensational. What's the tariff on that?

 

[jonathanS]

It depends on how you're planning to use the coat. A guard's coat is fairly formal and difficult to wear casually. But a great coat (like the one Sexton makes, but with less dramatic proportions, see here) could work if you prefer an Ulster in another fabric.

Which colour are you using? Is it navy? A cashmere navy Ulster coat would be more informal than a guard's coat but still rather difficult to wear with jeans. Wearing cashmere with jeans is difficult. Perhaps some dark black jeans might work. Chinos, flannels, and corduroys would work too.

I prefer an Ulster and think that it would look great in a heavy cashmere. Definitely not a Chesterfield. Having said this, if you prefer peak lapels, I think that the tailor should apply your preferences.

Depends if you're the type of person that would wear a guards coat with jeans and a sweater or the type that insists it has to be worn with a suit and tie/bowtie...I'm the former

Thanks for your thoughts, I was thinking I’d do the navy side.

My concern with an ulster is this: imo, ulster looks best as a tweed. I’d like to eventually have a tweed ulster made. Also a camel colored polo/ulster. Would 3 ulsters be too much? Maybe it can just be my look, I suppose.

The other option is to shelve the project for a year, and do a camel colored ulster.

 

[lordsuperb]

Both the puppytooth and windowpane are sensational. What's the tariff on that?

375 gbp