Am I an idiot for buying a Drago S180s Wool Flannel Suit?

[clameron]

Hi everyone,

I'm somewhat new to menswear, and even newer to the forum. I'm getting married this fall, and am currently in NYC looking for a MTM suit. I had a nice time at Proper Cloth today, and (sort of) settled on the Drago S180s Wool Flannel Allen Suit in Charcoal Glen Plaid.

I've since read some (somewhat disparaging) threads on here around super 180s fabric. I'm hoping to get some feedback before pulling the trigger. Any and all opinions are welcome, but I'm most interested in seeing whether this passes the "I'm not a giant idiot" test.

Some additional context:
- This won't be something I regularly wear; maybe 3-4 times a year.
- Wedding is in Canada in mid-October (temps of ~55F/10-15)
- My only other suit is a fairly vanilla dark navy worsted wool.
- Budget is ~1k USD.

Many thanks!
Cam

 

[TheIronDandy]

I think much of the reason people caution against S180 fabrics is because there has been a movement that finer, thinner, lighter (S180s is very fine wool fibres) wool is "better". Those thin fibres wear faster, especially as a flannel. The brushing used to achieve the flannel effect causes some damage to the fibres - this is simply a tradeoff you make to get the texture of flannel.

In essence, this means that a S180s flannel is likely to start showing wear quite fast. The fact that S180 fabrics tend to be quite light (less material in them) will possibly compound this.

All that being said, you will be wearing it 3-4 times a year, and at that rate, you can easily wear it 10+ years without any of these things showing. Drago is a good mill, that make excellent fabrics: I have a jacket in one of their worsteds, and it has served me extremely well. The sturdiness of a fabric is more relevant for those who wear their tailoring daily. Since I wear tailored trousers for walking around town for 4 hours, a S180s flannel would wear out in months. But our use cases are completely different: I need 600g cavalry twill (a notoriously hard-wearing fabric), you do not. As long as the color and texture is the right level of formality for your wedding (you DID consult with your partner, right?), I think you'll be fine.

I would caution that the picture you linked is showing quite a short jacket. I know, this is "modern" but unless you're a super-fit model, short tight jackets isn't unlikely to do you any favours. A traditional jacket should be long enough to cover your butt - especially for a situation as formal as a wedding, where you might not want to show off that you've been doing a lot of squats.

 

[clameron]

Thank you! Exactly the insights I was looking for.

I did indeed consult with my partner, and I did indeed ask for a more classic fit. I used the attached photo (thanks @dieworkwear!) as my reference.

There will be a couple back-and-forths with Proper Cloth to nail the fit down -- so perhaps I will post again in the weeks/months to come to solicit some advice around fit.

Thanks again --
Cam

 

[Andrews1980]

If its one of your first suits then don't order super 180's. They are very pleasurable to the touch but hard to maintain.

Super 130's would be my limit. Make the suit wearable, easy to maintain and durable.

THe first few suits should always be the most durable and wearable as they have to do more work. Once you have 3-4 solid garments then feel free to start using the envelope more.

 

[AndrewMillss]

.