Classic Mohairs 2.0

The last suit upgrade and a special one as such. This first personal order suit with Ring Jacket was a special event for me back when I commissioned it and the subsequent recent trouser upgrade four years later is equally so. Although I intend for these presentations to be about cloth more so than suit details, seeing as this was my first custom order from Ring Jacket and now the change of trousers for the same suit, I will lay down most of the base specs and some of the reasoning behind it.

People usually tend to play it safe on the monumental occasion of ordering the first mto or bespoke suit, but I had all intentions of following my own plans and navy as you would expect was not on that list.
I used to always think of green is a highly underrated colour for tailored wear and it’s a colour that matches my skin tone nicely (according to others I might add). As Such the decision for this first suit landed on an olive green fabric.

The weave is somewhat on the tighter end of the scale, or rather at least not as open as let’s say a fresco would be, but I figured with a lighter fabric such as this the wearability during the hotter months wouldn’t be a problem . And truthfully, I have been blown away time and time again by how well this wears on hot days.

Despite the mohair making up only 15% of the cloth it seemingly has quite the effect on how this cloth wears.

If you read this presentation before, you’ll notice that I have updated it and I think that was overdue. At the time I had yet to make a proper conclusion with regards to how I felt about this cloth in terms of being a summer appropriate cloth. With this being the third iteration of this article I can safely say it definitely performs excellent even on hot days.

It wears light, provides quite the amount of breathability and holds shape really well. Actually more than quite.

I have gotten so many compliments on the trousers pleats being sharp and I can reveal that as far as the former trousers on this suit goes, I have never had those pressed , which is a true testament to how well it holds shape. As for the drape, it’s not quite like a high-twist but still impressive. Like I said, no press has been done yet I still don’t feel the need to (even as of today a year later).

One reason for me being on the fence about this cloth before is that I generally haven’t been a big fan of the vibrant look of mohair and it takes some getting used to. But with this cloth, as I mentioned it comes off as matte outside. I remember looking at the different clothes, first between different brown and green tones, then narrowing it down to only green and honestly I was not sure at all how this would turn out. It wasn’t on my radar before the appointment, but I have been satisfied with this pick ever since.

Suit

Jacket

I based my commission on the jacket model No-269 and initial trousers on the model S-178, which were my favourites from Ring Jackets RTW selection. 

The 269 model is the same as the Subalpino and Army Serge suit jackets, and I modeled the details for this jacket on those.

Trousers

The trousers I got with this suit for the initial acquisition were based on the S-178 trouser model from Ring Jacket with a higher rise. After a few years and some extra kilos added they fit had rendered all but ideal. As with all the suits that has gotten a trouser upgrade, what we initially did was having the crotch altered which did help take them to a more preferable waist hight. For some trousers like the Fox Air and Crispaire suit trousers, the result was that we ended up in sort of a wearable but not preferable state, meaning, they do have a nice rise but are quite tapered. As mentioned in the article about Crispaire I do wear these but rather as separates or sometimes as an alternative to the new trousers. In other cases like the trousers for this suit the results weren’t as great and although they are still wearable it’s proven difficult to obtain a good full fit with the remaining fabric allowance around the thighs. There are two reason for that, one which is the weight gain over time, as in, we have already used most of the fabric allowance, but also because I prefer a slightly fuller cut now compared to before. As such, even though they fit and are wearable, they don’t have the full cut that I now prefer.

below: the original trousers.

Igarashi

Of course, if I was to make it now I would’ve chosen the 286 jacket model, but the difference between the model and this jacket is not significant in the bigger picture. That’s not to say I don’t like the design of Ring Jacket trousers, I like the variety the bring to my wardrobe and when I first started commissioning suits from them I was more then satisfied with the trouser model. Even later on as we had trousers made with a higher rise up to date with my current preferences, the trouser model in terms of details and look was never caveat in any sense. So adding the new trousers with a different design boils down to opportunity and cost more so than which I necessarily like more.

Along the same lines as most of my Igarashi commissions these also have the same design with the elongated belt, two button fastening, two outwards pleats and side adjusters. Once again I get to experience the thrill og seeing this fabric made into a garment and as with the first trousers, I am in love with how the pleats and crease line just looks so incredibly sharp in this fabric.