The cloth is where a bespoke suit begins. Before the pattern is drafted, before the first fitting is scheduled, before a single seam is sewn — the cloth is selected. And in a properly commissioned bespoke suit, the cloth selection is not a menu choice from a book of samples. It is a decision made in conversation with an experienced tailor who understands how different fabrics behave on the body, in the climate, and over time.
At Saint Marc Clothiers, we have been guiding Atlanta’s professional class through fabric selection since 1978. What follows is the foundational vocabulary every serious buyer should own before walking into a consultation.
Why Fabric Selection Matters as Much as Fit
A perfectly fitted suit in the wrong cloth is still the wrong suit. Fabric determines:
- **How the suit drapes:** Heavier cloths hang with more authority; lighter cloths move with more fluidity.
- **How the suit breathes:** Critical in Atlanta’s climate, where summers demand fabrics that dissipate heat.
- **How the suit wears over time:** Some cloths are remarkably durable; others, despite their beauty, pill or pull within a year.
- **What occasions the suit is appropriate for:** A 14-ounce flannel is inappropriate at a summer gala; a 7-ounce tropical wool is underdressed for a winter board meeting in a formal context.
- **What the suit communicates:** Texture, sheen, and color depth signal context awareness and quality to anyone who knows what they’re looking at.
Understanding Wool: The Foundation
The vast majority of bespoke suit cloth is made from wool, and for good reason. Wool is the most versatile natural fiber for suiting — it is breathable, resilient, drapes beautifully, and responds well to tailoring. Understanding wool begins with two concepts: the Super number (thread fineness) and weight (measured in ounces per yard or grams per meter).
Super Numbers: What They Mean and What They Don’t
The Super number — Super 100s, Super 120s, Super 150s — refers to the fineness of the wool fibers measured in microns. Higher Super numbers indicate finer fibers, which produce smoother, more lustrous cloth.
Super 100s–110s: The workhorse of quality suiting. Durable, holds structure well, appropriate for everyday professional wear. What most of Saint Marc’s clients who wear suits five days a week commission for their working wardrobe.
Super 120s–130s: A noticeable step up in hand feel and drape. Slightly more delicate than 100s but still practical for regular wear. Beautiful for important suits — court appearances, client presentations, high-stakes events.
Super 150s and above: Extraordinarily fine cloth, with a cashmere-like softness and exceptional drape. Appropriate for special occasions. These cloths require more careful wear and more attentive cleaning. We recommend them for clients who are commissioning one or two statement suits, not an everyday working wardrobe.
The common misconception: Higher Super numbers are not always “better.” A Super 180s suit worn to the office five days a week will not survive the year as well as a Super 100s suit worn the same way. The right fineness for your commission depends on how you’ll wear it, not on the marketing of exclusivity.
Fabric Weight: Dressing for Atlanta’s Climate
Weight is perhaps the most practically important variable for Atlanta clients. Atlanta’s climate runs from humid 95-degree summers to cool, occasionally cold winters — and the suit that serves well in February will be unwearable in July.
Weight is typically measured in ounces per yard (oz) or grams per meter (g/m).
Light Weight: 7–9 oz (190–250 g/m)
Appropriate for Atlanta’s April through September. These cloths breathe, they move, and they keep the wearer comfortable through long days in air-conditioned offices and outdoor transitions. Tropical wools, open-weave fresco cloths, and lightweight hopsacks fall in this range.
The Atlanta professional’s summer essential. Do not compromise on this. A heavy wool worn through an Atlanta summer communicates either discomfort or indifference to the conditions — neither is a strong signal.
Mid Weight: 9–11 oz (250–310 g/m)
The transitional range. Appropriate for Atlanta’s spring and fall, and for year-round wear in consistently climate-controlled environments. Most of our clients’ core wardrobe suits fall here.
Heavy Weight: 12–15 oz (340–420 g/m)
Appropriate for Atlanta’s December through February. Flannels, heavy worsteds, and tweed weights. These cloths drape with authority and warmth. For Atlanta’s mild winters, the upper end of this range is rarely necessary — a 12-ounce flannel is typically sufficient.
The Major Weave Families
Beyond the fiber and weight, the weave structure determines the texture, sheen, and behavior of the cloth.
Worsted
The most common suiting cloth. In worsted production, wool fibers are combed to remove short fibers and create parallel alignment before spinning. The result is a smooth, fine, relatively lustrous surface. Most business suits are made from worsted cloth.
Subsections of worsted to know:
– Plain weave worsted: Smooth surface, minimal texture. Accepts a sharp crease. Slightly formal.
– Twill: Diagonal rib structure. Slightly more casual than plain weave. Drapes more fluidly.
– Gabardine: Dense twill, high sheen, exceptionally smooth. Holds a press beautifully. Requires careful wear — shows marks more easily.
Flannel
A soft, slightly fuzzy cloth produced from woolen (not worsted) yarn. The surface is napped, giving flannel its characteristic warmth and matte appearance. Classic in charcoal and grey. An essential for autumn and winter suits.
Flannel communicates a certain British seriousness. It is the cloth of board meetings, partnership lunches, and professional occasions where gravitas is appropriate. Atlanta’s legal and financial communities are ideal flannel territory.
Fresco
An open-weave cloth with a distinctive texture and exceptional breathability. The open weave allows air circulation, making fresco one of the best warm-weather suit fabrics available. The texture is slightly informal, which works beautifully in sport coats and in warmer-month business suits.
At Saint Marc, fresco is one of our most-recommended warm-weather cloths for Atlanta clients. It is the closest thing to wearing nothing while still wearing a suit.
Hopsack / Basket Weave
A loosely structured cloth with a distinctive textured surface. Casual relative to smooth worsteds. Excellent in sport coats and in suits intended for less formal professional environments.
A Note on Pattern: Solid, Stripe, Check, and Beyond
Beyond the weave and weight, the visual pattern of the cloth carries its own professional communication:
- **Solid:** Most versatile. Charcoal, navy, mid-grey — the foundation of any professional wardrobe.
- **Chalk stripe:** Formal, authoritative. Traditional in legal and financial contexts. The Saint Marc chalk stripe has been a consistent part of our commissions since 1978.
- **Glen plaid / Prince of Wales check:** Moves toward the elegant-casual. Excellent for less formal professional environments or in lighter weights for spring.
- **Herringbone:** A subtle, sophisticated pattern that reads as solid from distance. One of the most versatile patterned cloths.
How We Approach Fabric Selection at Saint Marc
The fabric consultation at Saint Marc is not a matter of pointing at swatches. We discuss your life: Where do you wear a suit most often? What months are heaviest in terms of formal professional appearances? How many suits do you currently own, and what gaps exist in your working wardrobe? What impression do you need to make, and in what contexts?
From that conversation, we guide you toward cloths that serve your life — not the most expensive option, not the trendiest, but the right cloth for what the suit needs to do and how long you need it to do it.
The cloth we recommend is one we believe in. We’ve been selecting cloth for Atlanta’s professional class for 47 years. We know what holds up, what drapes beautifully in our climate, and what will still feel like the right decision in five years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best fabric for a suit in Atlanta’s climate?
For summer wear (May through September), a lightweight fresco or tropical wool in the 7–9 oz range is the best choice. For year-round professional wear, a 10–11 oz worsted wool in a smooth or light twill weave offers the best balance of comfort and formality. For winter and formal occasions, a flannel in the 12 oz range is appropriate.
Are higher Super numbers worth the extra cost?
It depends on how the suit will be worn. Super 120s cloths offer a meaningful improvement in hand feel and drape over Super 100s and are appropriate for suits worn in important professional contexts. Super 150s and above are better suited to occasional wear than everyday use. For a daily working suit, Super 100s–120s is the appropriate investment range.
What is the difference between wool and wool blends?
Pure wool is generally superior for drape, breathability, and longevity. Wool-silk blends add a subtle luster and are excellent for warm-weather suiting. Wool-cashmere blends add softness and are appropriate for cool-weather suits. Wool-polyester blends sacrifice quality for wrinkle resistance — at the investment level of a bespoke suit, these are not typically recommended.
How do I care for a bespoke wool suit?
Hang suits on proper wooden hangers after wearing. Allow the cloth to rest and recover for 24 hours between wearings. Brush lightly with a clothes brush after each wear to remove surface debris. Dry clean only when necessary — two to three times per year for a regularly worn suit. Steam can remove light wrinkles without the damage of dry cleaning.
Book Your Private Consultation
Fabric selection is best done in conversation. The right cloth for your life and your wardrobe is one we can identify together.
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Internal Links: [What Is a Bespoke Suit? →] | [The Body-Shape Method →] | [Seasonal Fabric Transitions: From Summer to Autumn Suiting →]
*About the Author: Saint Marc Clothiers has been crafting bespoke suits in Atlanta since 1978. Founded by master tailor Saint F. Marc and continued today by his son Jude, Saint Marc is Atlanta’s longest-standing bespoke house. We source cloth from leading mills in England and Italy and guide every client through fabric selection as part of the private consultation process. We serve clients in Buckhead, Midtown, Sandy Springs, East Cobb, and Marietta.*