Not everyone likes flannels. They can bag a bit, at least more than the worsteds guys are used to wearing to the office. That just means a press now and again, but hey some people are very lazy busy.
If flannels aren’t an option, and it’s too cold for high-twists, men can be at a bit of a loss for what smart trousers to wear with their tailored jackets. They often turn to things like whipcord, covert or cavalry twill.
But these are quite niche categories. Cav twill is a tight twill with a double line rather than a single – which isn’t necessarily what people want. What they’re actually striving for is a broader category of cloth that doesn’t have a name: worsted trouser fabric that doesn’t feel part of a suit.
Readers often ask about this. So many articles like this come from repeated inquiries. The question is basically: “I don’t like flannel; what else should I wear with my jacket that’s sharp but doesn’t look half of my old suit?”
This type of cloth does exist, but it doesn’t have a common label, a tag. Language is often like that – it’s rarely the kind of cohesive, consistent taxonomy you get with an area of scientific study, for example. It’s usually a mess of industry terms and common usage, constantly evolving with the needs of the speakers.
If there were to be a taxonomic rank of cloth, it might be something like:
- Fibre: wool (mostly anyway)
- Fineness: not super fine (too shiny) or super coarse (too hairy)
- Yarn: worsted (not woollen)
- Weave: twill (probably; it’s the densest)
- Finish: Not milled (like flannel is) or super pressed (shiny)
- Weight: Heavier (otherwise we go to high-twists)
I used to have a pair of trousers like this; Elia Caliendo made them in 2012. They were a charcoal twill from Zegna if I recall. Sometimes readers would ask about them, or ask what I would wear for this kind of trouser, and I’d refer to them.
But I wouldn’t have a name. Perhaps we could create one – the Non-Suit Worsted (NSW). If anyone has the reach to make a term common enough to enter the language, it’s Permanent Style. But still I doubt it will.
And that name isn’t that good, as it implies the cloth can’t be used for a suit, when it can – it’s just that it can also be used as a separate trouser. Any other suggestions that aren’t unusably complicated, do let me know.
Anyway.
The point of this is that I do have a cloth of this type to recommend, having recently replaced those Caliendo trousers.
In the photo above are three worsted-wool bunches. Left to right they are:
- Universal from Harrison’s
- Botany from Smith’s
- Oyster from Harrison’s
- And out of shot, Classic Worsteds from Holland & Sherry*
These represent a rough spectrum of coarseness and finish. Classic Worsteds is lighter, finer and has more of a press, feeling very much like a suit fabric. My suit below from Whitcomb was made in it.
At the other end of the spectrum Universal is heavier, coarser and less pressed. You could definitely make a suit out of it, and historically it was the kind of thing that was commonly used, but it’s not associated with suits today, which tend to be lighter, smoother, shinier.
I used Universal for my trousers (74202), and it’s worked out well. That’s them below, made up by Whitcomb & Shaftesbury, worn with my Ciardi jacket in Anglo-Italian cloth, Yohei Fukuda shoes, a PS Yellow Oxford and PS Bullskin Tote.
Universal is not light – it’s 15/16 ounce. But it doesn’t really feel that heavy. You can always wear more weight on the legs than on the torso, and the smoothness of worsteds means they feel cooler than tweeds or flannels.
There is a necessary connection between weight and this type of cloth. Heavier cloths tend to produce a coarser finish, which is what you want – it gives texture without the milling of flannel. The amount of press then pushes that texture down or doesn’t.
I should also give credit to Manish, who had a pair of trousers made up in this material – in black, at Bryceland’s 0- and it was admiring them that led me down this rabbit hole. I think he’ll cover the Bryceland’s MTO trousers offering at a later date.
I’d recommend this type of material to all those readers that have asked. There’s nothing wrong with whipcord, cavalry twill or covert cloth, but often it will have colour variation you don’t want, or few business/city/formal colours. These are all suiting bunches, and the range of colours and patterns reflects that.
There are some other options worth mentioning too. I’ve never really liked worsted flannel, because it’s usually designed to be a lightweight version of flannel and as a result loses most of the characteristics (the combination of softness and body) that make flannel appealing in the first place.
But, if worsted flannel is the same weight as woollen (normal) flannel, it can actually be a nice option, as it’s similar to flannel but not as textured and harder wearing. Fox has a nice 12/13oz option that I had made last year and included in my page of favourite Fox fabrics.
Let everyone know if you’d had something made in this area that you like, though. I’ve only had a couple of pairs in the past 12 years, so it’s hardly a wide experience.
What have you used that works well?
If you’d like more explanation of any terms in this article, have a look at The Guide to Cloth
*Classic Worsteds has recently been discontinued as a bunch. The closest from H&S would be the City of London bunch
