With the mass production of suits in the market today where should one go to find quality men’s suits? That’s a great question that needs some clarification before providing the correct answer.
When searching for good quality high quality men’s suits you should pay attention to several details and get the following factors answered.
- What type of fabric is the suit made from?
- Where is the mill that the fabric was woven in?
- what is the quality of the components that make up the inside of the garment?
So you are looking for a good quality suit but you’re not sure where to start. First, look for good quality fabric. But how do you know it’s good quality? You’ll have to ask the person assisting you in your selection. Find out if the fabrics is from a name brand mill. Examples include Ermenegildo Zegna, Vitale Barberis Cononico, Loro Piana, REDA, Marzoni, Dormeuil just to name a few. If the suit is made from fabric from one of these mills you can bet that it’s a decent quality suit.
The next thing to ask the salesperson is about the “make” of the suit. The “make” of the suit is all the components that go into the inside of the garment while constructing the suit. Below is a list of items you’ll want to get more information on.
- What type of shoulder pads are used for the shoulders?
- How is the inside of the garment made? Is it a fused garment? A half canvas garment or a full canvas garment?
The best quality shoulder pads are made of 100% cotton and are made by a company in Germany by the name of Huffner. If the suit is made using these shoulder pads then it’s a good indicator that the suit is made well.
Most importantly you’ll want to ask about how the chest is constructed on the inside. If it is a fused garment then you are getting a very basic non-constructed garment. Fusing is another name for glue.
Fusing was invented for the mass production suit industry. When a garment is fused it saves a lot of time and labor because a trained tailor is not needed to sew the garment with a canvas inside. The majority of suits today are fused because tailors are no longer around, it’s a dying trade.
The next type of construction is what we call a half canvas make. A half canvas garment has a “canvas” inside the chest providing better construction, better fit and makes the garment last longer. A canvas is actually a type of material which is hand sewn inside the garment with a minimal amount of fussing. This garment will stand up to dry cleaning better than a fully fused garment and it will also fit the wearer better over time because it can conform to the body over time whereas a fully fused garment will never change shape.
The Full Canvas garment features the best qualities of a custom-made suit. A full canvas suit has no glue inside the garment at all so this garment will breathe and conform to the body better than all others “makes”.
A good way to think about a full canvas garment is to consider a catcher’s mitt. When a baseball catcher gets a new mitt it is very stiff. However, the longer he uses it the softer it gets and becomes more broken in. The same thing happens with the full canvas coat. The longer it is worn the more it changes shape and the better it fits. It can also breathe since there is no glue interfering with the flow of air inside and out.
The best quality mens suits and most expensive are full canvas so get your wallet out if this is the type of suit you’re looking for. Next in line is the half canvas suit and finally the least expensive is the fused suit coat.
For more tips on buying men’s suits click HERE