By Amedeo Scarano, Master Tailor & Founder, Caprice Bespoke

How to Choose the Right Wool: A Fabric Guide for the Tailored Wardrobe

Most men who commission a bespoke suit arrive at the cloth stage with a colour in mind. Few arrive with a working knowledge of what they're actually touching. That gap — between aesthetic preference and material understanding — is where poorly chosen cloth lives. A suit cut in the wrong wool for the right occasion is a wasted commission.

This guide is intended to close that gap. It covers the primary wool families, the numbers and weights that define their behaviour, the mills that define their quality, and the practical choices that should govern a first or fifth bespoke suit. According to the Woolmark Company, wool remains the world's most technically advanced natural fibre — and understanding its properties transforms the cloth-selection process from guesswork into strategy. If you engage our private tailoring service, this is the foundation of the conversation we will have.

Worsted Wool: The Foundation of the Tailored Wardrobe

Worsted wool begins with combing. The raw fibre is combed so that individual strands align in parallel before spinning, producing a smooth, dense yarn with minimal surface fibre. The resulting cloth has a clean face, a clear definition of weave, and a drape that holds its line through movement. This is the cloth of business suits, formal wear, and the majority of tailored jackets made in the last three hundred years.

The worsted family is broad. A plain worsted in a tight weave — a tropical, a fresco — breathes and holds a crease. A worsted in a twill — the classic herringbone, the sharkskin, the chalk stripe — catches light differently and carries more visual texture. The construction of the weave, as much as the fibre itself, determines how the finished cloth wears and moves. For a full range of tailored worsted pieces, browse our complete collection.

Worsted wool is the default starting point for a first bespoke commission. It is predictable at the cutting stage, it responds well to pressing, and it tolerates the kind of regular wear a working suit demands.

Understanding Super Numbers: The Myth and the Reality

The super number printed on a cloth ticket describes fibre fineness, not quality. Specifically, it expresses the number of 560-metre hanks that can be spun from one pound of the raw fibre. A Super 100s cloth uses fibre measuring approximately 18.5 microns in diameter. According to the Woolmark Company, Super 150s wool is defined by merino fibres measuring under 17.5 microns — finer than a human hair by a factor of four. A Super 200s cloth uses fibre at roughly 13 microns. Finer fibre is softer to the touch and can be woven into a lighter, more fluid cloth. It is also, categorically, more fragile.

This is the misconception that drives poor fabric choices: the assumption that a higher super number means a better suit. It does not. A Super 200s cloth will pill, abrade, and wear through under the stress of daily commuting far faster than a well-woven Super 110s. The finest fibres require the most careful treatment — a suit commission for daily office wear in a Super 180s is a garment that will age poorly regardless of the quality of the tailoring.

For everyday professional wear — whether in our office attire collection or bespoke commissions — the range of Super 100s to Super 130s represents the sweet spot. The cloth has sufficient fineness for a clean, elegant surface while retaining the durability to hold up under regular use. Super 150s and above are the domain of occasion suits, ceremonial wear, and garments that will be worn carefully and infrequently.

Twist Count: Durability Written Into the Yarn

Less discussed than super numbers but equally important is twist. Twist refers to the number of times the yarn is twisted per unit of length during spinning. A high-twist yarn — used in fabrics like fresco and high-twist tropical — produces a cloth that resists creasing, recovers quickly from pressure, and tends to wear exceptionally well over time. As Esquire's tailoring editors note, this technical property is what separates a suit that holds up on a long-haul flight from one that arrives crushed.

A low-twist yarn produces a softer, more drapey cloth — flannel falls into this category, as do many of the softer Super 150s worsteds. The handle is more luxurious. The crease recovery is slower. For a suit that will spend long hours seated in meetings, the trade-off matters.

High-twist cloths can feel almost crisp in the hand at the bunch stage. On the body, properly lined and cut, they deliver significant practical advantages. A fresco suit in summer, or a high-twist tropical for a man who travels frequently, will reward the choice.

Weight: What 280g, 320g, 360g, and 400g Mean in Practice

Cloth weight is expressed in grams per linear metre (g/m). The weight describes how much fibre is packed into a metre of cloth, which translates directly into drape, handle, warmth, and seasonal appropriateness.

280–300g: Summer and Tropical Wear

Cloth at this weight is open-weave, breathable, and appropriate for warm-weather wear. These cloths don't crease easily, but they don't hold structure particularly well either. Best for jackets and trousers worn in genuine heat. See our formal occasions collection for lightweight occasion pieces appropriate in warmer climates.

310–330g: Year-Round and Transitional

The most versatile range. A 320g worsted in a mid-grey or navy will serve from September through to May in most Northern European and North American climates. It has sufficient body to hold the shape the tailor cuts into it, enough warmth for cool mornings, and enough composure not to look heavy in mild weather. This is where most first bespoke suits should sit.

340–380g: Autumn and Winter Suiting

Flannel and heavier worsteds occupy this range. The cloth has noticeable substance. It drapes with gravity. In a navy or charcoal flannel, it produces the kind of suit that photographs as serious and wears as authoritative. It is distinctly seasonal.

400g and Above: Heavy Woollen and Overcoat Weight

At 400g and above, you are moving toward heavy woollen suiting and overcoat cloth. These weights exist for extreme cold and for coatings. As suiting, they are deliberately weighty, deliberately structured, and deliberately seasonal.

Flannel: Warmth, Depth, and the Winter Foundation

Flannel begins as a worsted but diverges in the finishing. After weaving, the cloth is milled — a process of controlled shrinking and agitation — and then brushed, which raises the surface fibres to produce the soft, slightly napped face that defines flannel's handle. The result is a cloth with more visual depth than a plain worsted, more warmth, and a surface that absorbs light rather than reflecting it.

A grey flannel suit remains the single most versatile garment in a tailored wardrobe. The cloth accepts a range of shirt colours and ties, reads as appropriate in both formal and business-casual contexts, and improves with age as the surface develops a gentle patina. The Savile Row Bespoke Association consistently identifies grey flannel as one of the defining cloths of the English tailoring tradition — a heritage that informs the cloth philosophy at Caprice Bespoke.

The Great Mills: Where the Cloth Originates

The quality of a piece of cloth is inseparable from the tradition of the mill that wove it. Two pieces of cloth labelled Super 120s in the same weight can differ substantially in handle, drape, and longevity. According to the Savile Row Bespoke Association, a bespoke suit requires over 50 hours of skilled handwork — and that investment deserves cloth that will honour it for decades.

Loro Piana (Quarona, Italy)

Loro Piana controls its supply chain more completely than almost any other textile house in the world, owning the fibre sourcing in Australia and Peru as well as the finishing facilities in the Vercelli area of Piedmont. For bespoke, their standard bunches in the 110s–130s range are beautifully consistent and hold up well under regular tailoring.

Vitale Barberis Canonico (Pratrivero, Italy)

Founded in 1663, VBC is among the oldest continuously operating wool mills in the world. Their strength is consistency and range — their bunches cover the full spectrum from lightweight tropical worsteds to heavier flannel-weight cloths, with a house character that tends toward brightness of colour and clarity of weave. As the FT's How to Spend It has noted, Italian milling remains the gold standard for cloth used in bespoke commissions above a certain price point.

Fox Brothers (Wellington, England)

Fox Brothers has produced cloth on the same Somerset site since 1772. Their flannel is regarded by many as the benchmark for the cloth. Their fresco — a high-twist open-weave worsted — is the canonical summer cloth for English bespoke tailoring.

Holland & Sherry (Peebles, Scotland)

Holland & Sherry operates as a cloth merchant rather than a single mill, sourcing from the best producers in the UK and finishing to their own specifications. Their bunches — particularly the Classic range — are the reference point for most Savile Row houses.

Linen and Cashmere: The Complementary Cloths

Linen occupies a distinct position in the tailored wardrobe: a summer cloth for hot climates, honest about its wrinkle, exceptional in its breathability. The wrinkle in linen is not a fault — it is evidence of the cloth doing its job, absorbing moisture and moving with the body.

Cashmere as a pure suiting cloth is difficult to recommend for anything other than occasional wear. Blended cashmere — typically wool and cashmere at ratios of 80/20 or 70/30 — retains the softness and warmth while adding the structural resilience the pure fibre lacks.

Caring for Wool: The Disciplines That Preserve a Commission

Wool is a protein fibre with a degree of self-cleaning capacity. The Woolmark Company notes that wool is naturally flame-resistant and regulates body temperature — properties that also make it more forgiving in storage than synthetic alternatives. The enemies of wool are three: heat, moisture combined with friction, and sustained compression.

After wearing, hang the suit on a well-shaped wooden hanger. Allow it to breathe for at least twenty-four hours before returning it to a garment bag. A soft clothes brush applied in downward strokes removes surface dust and raises the nap of the cloth slightly.

Pressing at home should be done with a damp pressing cloth between the iron and the garment. Direct dry heat on wool fibres causes irreversible glazing. Professional pressing by a tailor is preferable for any significant restoration of shape.

Store wool suits in a breathable garment bag and add cedar blocks or sachets of lavender to deter moth. A suit rested properly between wearings, brushed, aired, and stored correctly will hold its shape and surface for decades.

Choosing Cloth for a First Bespoke Suit

The first commission should not be an experiment in extreme fibre fineness or unusual cloth. A navy or charcoal worsted in the 110s–120s range, at 310–330g, in a plain weave or subtle herringbone, is the correct starting point for the vast majority of men.

This is a strategic choice that allows the cut and construction to do the work they should, without the cloth's personality competing for attention. Once the relationship with the tailor is established and the block is refined, the cloth choices can become more ambitious. The first suit earns the right to the more interesting ones that follow.

To explore the full range of tailored pieces already available at Caprice Bespoke, browse our complete collection or read more in our fit guide for bespoke suits. To discuss your first commission in detail, book a private consultation with our team.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Super number on a wool fabric mean?

The Super number describes fibre fineness in microns. Super 100s is approximately 18.5 microns in diameter. It is a measure of fineness, not quality. Finer fibres are softer but significantly less durable, making Super 150s and above unsuitable for everyday wear. For daily office suiting, Super 100s to Super 130s is the recommended range.

What wool weight is best for a year-round suit?

A cloth in the range of 310–330 grams per linear metre is the most practical weight for year-round suiting in temperate climates. A plain worsted or mid-weight twill in this range is the standard recommendation for a first bespoke commission. It holds structure well without becoming oppressive in mild weather.

Which Italian wool mills are considered the best for bespoke tailoring?

Loro Piana and Vitale Barberis Canonico are the two dominant Italian houses. Loro Piana controls its fibre supply from raw wool through to finished cloth. VBC, founded in 1663, offers a comprehensive range with consistent quality across weights and weave types. Both are available through Caprice Bespoke's cloth selection service.

How should I care for a wool suit at home?

After each wearing, hang the suit on a wide wooden hanger and allow at least twenty-four hours for the cloth to breathe. Brush gently with a soft clothes brush. Press only with a damp pressing cloth between the iron and the garment — never apply a dry iron directly to wool. Store in a breathable garment bag with cedar to deter moth.

What is the difference between flannel and worsted wool?

Worsted wool is combed before spinning, producing a smooth, dense cloth with a clean surface. Flannel begins as a worsted but is milled and brushed in finishing, which raises the surface fibres to create a soft, slightly napped face. Flannel has more warmth and visual depth; worsted has more structural crispness and year-round versatility.

What is twist count and why does it matter for a bespoke suit?

Twist count refers to the number of times the yarn is twisted per unit of length during spinning. High-twist fabrics like fresco resist creasing and recover their shape quickly — ideal for frequent wearers and travellers. Low-twist fabrics like flannel are softer and drapier but hold creases more readily. The choice between them should be informed by how often and in what conditions the suit will be worn.