How to recognise a good suit

We are often asked which is the best suit. The honest answer is that there is no single one: there is the one that fits you, cut from a good cloth and well made. Here is what we look at, and what you can check for yourself in the shop.

The cloth

A good cloth is recognised first by its hand and its drape. Crumple it for a few seconds: it should recover its shape. The ‘Super 120’s’ figure indicates the fineness of the wool, not its quality: the higher it is, the finer the yarn, often softer, but also more delicate. Weight matters just as much: around 230 g for summer, 310 g for all year round, 340 g and above for winter.

The name of the mill is a good clue. Our cloths come from great houses such as Vitale Barberis Canonico, Loro Piana and Drapers, and many are woven in the Biella region of Italy.

The construction

This is what cannot be seen, and what makes the difference over time. Between the cloth and the lining, a jacket contains a canvas that gives it its shape. On many cheap suits, this canvas is simply fused to the cloth: the jacket stays stiff. In a half-canvassed construction, the canvas is stitched in and left free in the upper part of the jacket: it follows the body and keeps its shape.

A simple test: pinch the cloth at chest height. If you feel a layer moving freely between the cloth and the lining, that is a canvas. Our suits are made with a traditional half-canvassed construction.

The finishing

It shows the care taken over everything else: working buttonholes on the cuffs, topstitching on the lapels and pockets, side adjusters on the trousers, a button fly on our English cuts. None of these details stands out from a distance. Together, they make a good suit.

The cut

The finest cloth cannot make up for a badly fitted jacket. Four points can be checked in front of a mirror:

• The shoulder seam ends at the tip of the shoulder.
• The collar stays against the shirt, leaving no gap at the back.
• When buttoned, the jacket does not form an X-shaped crease at the waist.
• The sleeve shows about a centimetre of shirt.

Our size guide gives a first reference, model by model. Nothing replaces a fitting.

So, which is the best suit?

The one whose cloth suits your use, whose cut fits you, and that you will still want to wear in ten years’ time. If you are to have only one, start with a navy of medium weight, such as our Kensington in ‘grain de caviar’.