Fabrics for Men’s Suits

Men’s suits are made in a whole variety of different fabrics, and frequently from blends of fabrics; but wool is the most common choice.

The two main types of woollen yarn produce woollens (where the fibres are not combed before spinning and so remain relatively soft and fluffy in texture) and worsteds (where they are combed to produce a smooth, hard wearing cloth). It is worsted that used for suiting.

Wool is actually one of the most durable of the natural fabrics used for men’s suits. Its fibers are capable of “remembering” the shape of your garment, provided that you take good care of it.

Wool is good at absorbing moisture and can also breathe, which makes it comfortable for the wearer even in warmer temperatures.

The quality of worsted wool is indicated by grading system which counts the number of times the yarn has been twisted; the higher the twist, the finer and lighter the fabric. Worsted is normally made of yarns with no less than an 60-80 twist. High twist wool is identified with “Super” numbers from Super 100s to Super 180s, where the numbers in this case relate to the number of threads per inch of fabric. But the highest number doesn’t necessarily mean the best choice: the finer the fabric, the more delicate it is and the more prone to damage and wear it will be.

Wool is often blended with other materials to improve its look and feel (silk, cashmere) or to add to its durability and resistance to creasing (typically synthetic fibers).

Cotton is the second most popular choice of fabric for men’s suits, especially for those who live in a warmer climate. Cotton is known for its ability to breathe; it is very flexible in that it can be woven into different densities; and like wool, cotton takes dye easily. The only drawback with cotton for men’s suits is the tendency to crease and wrinkle rather more that wool and other fabrics.

Linen is sometimes used for men’s suits, but it has many drawbacks that don’t necessarily fit into the modern man’s day-to-day life – and certainly won’t suit conventional business life. A linen suit is lightweight and will keep you very cool in the warmer months; the downside is that it creases very easily. Linen is best reserved for unstructured, relaxed men’s suits and a definite casual look.

Incidentally, if you encounter a code such as 70W30P in a men’s suit, you have a blended fabric – the code indicates the materials and the proportions. In this case it is 70% wool and 30% polyester. If you do decide to buy a blended-fabric men’s suit, avoid anything that has less than 45% natural fabric.