Monday, September 8, 2008

Winter Special

Hello...Astor and Black announced today a few new Winter specials...be sure to order now so when the weather drops...you are well taken care of. Tremendous new fall fabrics to choose from...so give me a call and I will come see you!

Astor and Black Winter Specials:

ADD ONE CUSTOM MADE OVERCOAT TO ANY A+B PACKAGE AND RECEIVE 10 PERCENT OFF THE OVERCOAT

ADD TWO CUSTOM MADE OVERCOATS TO ANY A+B PACKAGE AND RECEIVE 15 PERCENT OFF BOTH OVERCOATS

Thursday, September 4, 2008


Canvassed vs. Fused Suits

All of us need suits. For interviews, for work, for socializing.

This post will explain the difference between a well-made and a cheap suit. I'll begin by saying that price is not necessarily indicative of a suit's quality. Much of a the quality of a suit depends on its construction, namely whether the jacket is canvassed or fused.

Canvassed Jackets.

A little bit of suit history. Traditionally, men's suits were canvassed. This means that between the lining of the suit and the wool on the outside, there's a layer of canvas. This canvas creates the foundation for the suit, much like a foundation for a house. The canvas is cut to your body shape and the wool is hand-stitched to the canvas. As you wear the jacket, the canvas conforms to your body's shape, creating an excellent fit.

Because the wool is hand-stitched to the canvas, the fabric also drapes much more naturally, allowing a clean, well put-together look.

Fused Jackets.

Nowadays, however, most suit companies don't take time time to do this. Instead of a canvas lining, they companies fuse stiffer fabric to the wool of the jacket with glue.
This creates an unnatural stiffness in the jacket which does not allow the wool fabric to drape properly over the body. It's not just cheap brands that do this; Armani and HUGO BOSS, among others, construct most of their suit jackets this way to save themselves money (while still charging an arm and a leg for their 'designer' suits).

What complicates the problem of fused jackets is that the glue degrades over time, or may come unstuck during the dry-cleaning/pressing process. When that happens, inevitably, you are left with the problem of bubbling. Where the wool detaches from the fused backing, the fabric ripples and generally looks horrendous. Moreover, there is no way to fix this problem once it's occurred- the jacket is basically shot.

How to Tell a Canvassed vs. Fused Jacket.

In a canvassed jacket, most of the stitching attaching the canvas and wool is behind the lapels. If you look carefully on the reverse side of a jacket's lapel, you can see the tiny stitched holding the layers of fabric together. A fused jacket will have no such stitching.

It used to be the case that pick stitching, the stitching around the edges of a jacket's lapels, was indicative of a canvassed jacket. This is no longer the case, however, as many fashion houses now add pick stitching merely for the look.

The single best way to determine whether a jacket is canvassed or fused, however, is the pinch test. Because most of the stitching holding the canvas to the wool is on the lapels, the canvas "floats" under the wool fabric, allowing the wool to drape naturally. What you can do is first pinch the fabric on the sleeve of the jacket to get a feel for the wool's thickness (sleeves are not canvassed). Then, pinch the fabric on the chest of the jacket.

Does it feel the same thickness as the sleeve fabric? If so, it's canvassed.

But if the chest fabric feels stiffer and thicker, the jacket is more than likely fused.

What does all of this mean to me anyway?

Generally speaking, fused jackets do not last as long as canvassed jackets, nor do they look as good.

When you look at the price of some fully canvassed suits, you might get sticker shock. However, if you're going to be making the financial investment, it's better to spend $1,000 on one canvassed suit that on two $500 fused suits, or even for three $300 suits!

The canvassed suit will look better on you and outlast any fused garment you buy. Moreover, the canvassed suit is more than likely of generally higher quality construction.

Where Can I Go for a Canvassed Suit?

Astor and Black makes excellent custom, fully-canvassed made-to-measure suits starting around $600. www.astorandblack.com

What to Avoid.

Avoid most department stores. The staff are relatively ignorant about how suits should properly fit. The clothing quality is sub-par.

Fashion brands like Kenneth Cole, Hugo Boss, Armani, Burberry, Michael Kors, etc. are generally poorly constructed in 3d world countries and then sold to you at a ridiculously inflated price just because of their brand name. The employees generally work off commission and will generally tell you anything- wheeling and dealing- to get you to buy a suit.

Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank also make generally poor quality suits. The staff can by pushy as well by telling you that clothing that does not fit you actually does, or that your style is somehow wrong. Generally not worth the price.

Thanks to "Dissenting Opinon" for most of the info in this post. Good stuff lads.

We at S.O.L. hope that you learned something to help you in your suit search!