Suit Fabric Overview

For those of us that enjoy dressing in a nice suit, it may be helpful to have a little education into the background and definitions surrounding the fabric of what we love to wear.

Wearing suits began at roughly the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, at the end of the eighteenth century. At that time the British Isles dominated the world in the production of wool. Wool comes from sheep. The first step is called "carding," where the wool is scraped together into long strands. There are two basic types of wool: woollen and worsted.
- WOOLEN: This type of wood is coarse and heavy. Carding is all that is done to refine the wool. The result is used for sweaters, tweek, flannel, and meltons.
- WORSTED: After its been carded it is combed to make the fibers more parallel with fewer exposed ends, resulting in smoother strands. These strands are then tightly twisted to make very long, fine strands.


This raises the issue of the term "Super" as in "Super 120's." The first usage of this term came from the Ermenegildo Zegna factory in the northern Italy village of Trivero. The introduced the term "Super 80's" denoting that their wool was 18 micron's in diameter. The number refers to the diameter of the wool, not the thread count. The higher the number advertised, the finer the wool, although it is a marketing term, not an actual measurement.

Regardless of the Super count, there are 3 types of worsted wool that are typically used in suits.
- Merino: It's a type of sheep. Wool from merino sheep create the softest, most expensive wool for suits.
- Cashmere: This is an even finer hair, from Himalayan goats.
- Angora: From Angora goats, in Turkey


Wool is dyed before it is woven, thus the phrase "dyed in the wool." This results in a more consistent and permanent dye (as opposed to dying the wool after it's been woven into fabric. Patterns are then created from weaving wool yarns of different colors and textures.
- Hopsack: a course, loose weave
- Flannel: a loose term for any fabric with a smooth, napped surface
- Twill: a weave that makes a diagonal line
- Gabardine: made from a tight twill weave
- Houndstooth: a twill variation, made of jagged, broken checks
- Herringbone: made by alternating the direction of two twill patterns to make a 'V' pattern
- Glenplaid: a pattern of small checks alternating with large squares
- Windowpane: large, plain, open square pattern
- Pinstripe: solid wool with a fine stripe of a contrasting color
- Chalk stripe: Like a pinstripe, but with a less sharply defined line that may be faintly blurred or indistinct.

Wool suits are here to stay. Hopefully this little taste of wool education will help you better understand and appreciate the suits you enjoy so much.

The Supers

Wool comes in a variety of grades. Maybe you've seen suits in a department store with "Super 130s" or "Super 120s" written on them and wondered what that meant. The S system, a sort of scale for rating wools, places fabrics generally somewhere between Super 80s and Super 200s. So what do those numbers mean? In short, the numbers refer to the fineness of the fibers, as measured in microns (one millionth of a meter), that make up the fabric. For example, a Super 140s wool is made from finer fibers than a Super 100s. The finer the wool, the higher the number. You might assume that the higher the number, the better the fabric. Not necessarily so.

First, a bit of history. The S system has been around for a long time (since the 18th century), and has always denoted the fineness of the wool in question. In those days the range was between 30 and 100. In more recent history, technology has enabled textile manufacturers to push the boundaries on how fine they can go by spinning the wool lighter and finer than ever. Fineness isn't the only indication of quality; length and strength are also important. The longer the fiber, the stronger the yarn that can be spun from it. And with strength comes the ability to twist tightly, creating a fine weave and eventually a superior fabric.

So how do these numbers figure into your decision on which fabric to choose? Be aware that the numbers can be a bit misleading. You would assume that a high number fabric would create the best suit. That depends on what "best" means for you. Remember that the higher the number, the softer and lighter the fabric. If you go for a Super 150s and above, you should count on using the garment sparingly, as it won't take well to normal day-to-day use and is much more high maintenance. You should dry clean it very infrequently, if at all. They are delicate and wrinkle fairly easily. They have a great feel and look, but are not as durable as the lower numbered fabrics. And the higher numbers will cost you more.

If your suit is going to see a lot of action, you're better off going with something in the Super 100s-140s range. These are known as the performance wools--you can wear them throughout the day without wrinkling or loss of shape. They travel well. Generally speaking, they make for good all-year suits. Today's fabrics in this range are superb, combining a sumptuous feel with resilience and durability.