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Menswear Industry Info
Some
Facts About Wool:
Wool
fiber actually has tiny pores. When it's dyed, the pores open up and the dye is
absorbed. That's why wool suits and other garments look and stay so rich in
color. Wool can be stretched up to 70% of its natural length and still retain
its shape when released. This is why a wool suit won't sag, and why wrinkles
relax easily. Wool has a natural climate control system which keeps you
comfortable by trapping pockets of air to insulate you from heat and cold. Wool
is so strong it's used to cover tennis balls and pool tables, and so fine it's
the choice of tailors and designers around the world.
Some
Terms Pertaining to Custom Tailored Suits:
Balance: Adjustment of back and front lengths of a suit coat to harmonize with the posture of a particular figure. Poor balance is often reflected in a suit's collar standing off the customers neck.
Baste: Garment loosely assembled for a first fitting.
Bespoke:
A suit made to a customer's specific requirements. Commonly taken to mean "made
by hand".
Canvases: The inner materials used in a suit jacket, sportcoat, or blazer to give it shape. Much of the coat maker's work goes into shaping the canvases so that the coat becomes three dimensional, reflecting the customers figure. Canvases are often made from linen, horse hair, hemps, jutes, or other materials. The weight of the cloth from which a jacket is made determines the canvases which should be used.
Floating: A misnomer used by the ready-to-wear industry to imply a certain quality of the make of Canvas in their jacket construction. The chest canvas in a suit, sportcoat, or blazer is an integral part of the coat's construction, attached at certain strategic points to ensure that the front of the garment is unmarked. In a ready-to-wear garment, a floating canvas is likely to be affixed firmly to the collar and glued in other places (see "fusing").
Fusing: Use of chemicals and heat to weld the interlinings (including canvas) to the outer fabric, as distinct from stitching. Fusing cloth helps the appearance of the garment to look clean (i.e. flat) and is particularly popular with light-weight fabrics which are difficult to sew. It is, however, difficult to impart shape using fusing, and many fusible materials tend to perish with constant usage and cleaning. Fusing is often regarded as akin to cheating by traditional tailors since, superficially, a garment can be made to appear well-made with little actual craft used in its manufacture. A useful analogy would be constructing a building without a foundation. Although, the quality of modern fusing materials has improved to such a degree that many of the top ready-to-wear clothing manufacturers use this method in their suits.
Gorge:
The seam where the collar is attached to the lapel forming the Notch. The style
of the suit determines whether the gorge is higher or lower on the chest.
Made-To-Measure: Garment adjusted to a customers measurements from a standard Measure block, usually by machine. A very limited number of adjustments can be incorporated into made-to-measure suits. (i.e. sleeve length, chest, and trouser length). Bespoke suits are not made-to-measure. In fitting for a bespoke suit, a tailor will take up to 30 different measurements, and will often make detailed notes of figuration and posture.
Puckering: The tendency of cloth to gather in runs, often apparent on the lapel or trouser seams. In hand-made garments this can result from too much tension being applied to the thread while sewing. Puckering is more common in fused apparel, and results from the fused material and cloth shrinking at different levels.
Scye: The fit of the armhole. A tailor will take several measurements to determine the scye. A correct fit of the scye will hold the collar and shoulder of a jacket in place when a customer is seated, ensuring that the back of the jacket does not rise. Many people trying a bespoke suit for the first time feel tightness around the arm hole for this reason.
Sleeve Pitch: The angle at which the sleeve is pitched to the sleeve head. In a Bespoke suit the sleeve should be pitched to match the angle that the arm hangs naturally from the shoulder.