William Halstead en — outBespoken

William Halstead

Ring Jacket MTO

The importance of owning a navy suit that can be worn in a broad range of situations can not be overstated. As is known by now, I personally do not wear navy suits, or navy for that matter, very often. Thus, it was even more important to find both a fabric and cut that I am satisfied with the few times I do wear one.

Halstead 1.jpg — Cloth Properties

William Halstead
60% Kid Mohair 40% Wool
250g
Plain Weave
When picking a navy cloth for a summer suit, specifically for a hot and humid climate, there are a few things one best keep in mind.
First of all, the range of formality.
The reason I’m pointing this out is that I would easily pick a high-twist as I know it works for me during summer, but I find that the look of high-twists doesn’t necessarily lean very formal. Given how satisfied I was with the Classic Mohairs cloth by Holland & Sherry, I yet again tried my luck with mohair.
When it comes to mohair William Halstead is name to be reckoned with. Not just providing a decent range of options to choose from but one can rest assured that the quality they provide is up to standard.

So for this one, I ended up picking a fabric comprised with a significant amount of mohair, from William Halstead.

I’ve slowly learnt to appreciate not just the look but the properties of mohair since the Holland & Sherry suit and the cloth I chose this time has an even higher amount comprised with 60% Kid Mohair.

It’s a plain weave at 250g, thus it has both breathability and lightness going for it. Comparing this cloth to a heavier high-twist, the lighter thread density does result in less space between the threads, but the weave is still very open and the inherent breathability of mohair as well as this cloth’s lightness makes up for the the mentioned thread density. I have in fact deemed this cloth to be my favourite one to wear in summer.

Cloth Look

With this amount of mohair the fabric will inevitably have some sheen to it and although I haven’t been convinced by the mohair sheen earlier for this navy suit I actually quite like it.
Also, I think it helps counter balance the slightly more informal look of open plain weaves.
When making this pick I wanted a solid navy fabric but with a little more interesting pattern-like look, close to hairline pattern, but more subdued to keep the formality.
The look of this fabric provided just that intended balance, while not any distinct pattern as such the lighter under threads gives the impression of horizontal stripes, albeit, again, not too distinctive.

Also, most likely due to the mohair yarn tending to be slightly more fuzzy, this cloth has a more textured and coarse appearance, compared to the Holland & Sherry, which I generally prefer. I might be mistaken, but from what I could gather this William Halstead quality, among others in the bunch, was a special commission from Ring Jacket and the different qualities are supposedly well fitting for a summer suit (even in Japan). I can certanly attest to the breathability of the fabric.

Suit Details

This time around I made one change to the jacket which in turn makes a big difference appearance wise.

As I alluded to in my Crispaire presentation, I really like the details I have been sticking to for custom suits from Ring Jacket, which are based on the same details seen in the Subalpino and Army Serge suit.

On this suit however, I opted for jetted pockets as opposed to patch pockets.

I’ll admit that when I ordered it, I had initially asked for patch pockets, but quickly changed my mind.

The choice to go with patch pockets, although my preference in general, must have been a momentary lapse of reason on my part, as the purpose of this suit was to provide a more formal option for summer.

The more controversial choice here is my choice to stick with the prominent stitch details as well as the double stitching along the lapels, but in the end I really like that look and having that detail there gives a little continuity to the line-up.

This does create a slight juxtaposition between the formal jetted pockets and the double stitching details, but at the same time creating a little more emphasis on the prominence of both detail features.

Now, it should be mentioned that when I say formal, I mean something in the lines of business formal and the choices I make are done while aware what they entail.

With regards to other details, comparing the shoulders to for instance the brown Crispaire jacket, there is some puckering, but slightly less as such.

On the other hand, with the fabric being lighter and the lighter thread density, the stitch details are a little more visible along the sleeves and the shoulder.

Although I tend to keep the lining simple, the light blue cupro lining adds a little colour contrast, which I generally prefer.

Lastly, my choice of dark brown horn buttons.
These are just about dark enough to not interfere on the formality scale. I prefer dark brown buttons as opposed to black buttons as I think the latter creates a distinctive contrast when worn with brown shoes.
On the other hand, dark brown buttons can still be worn with black shoes without looking odd.

The trousers are based on the same S-178 model as always. A good 6cm cuff, two out pleats and that elegant elongated waistband.

Seeing as the jetted pockets on the jacket was a preference added after the matter, as in after the order was made, it didn’t occur to me that I should have considered making some other additional changes.

For instance removing the cuffs, but this can be done afterwards so I don’t see that as a big issue. A couple of other details I might have considered is going with one pleat as opposed to two and removing the back pocket buttons.

But even so, I don’t see this as a particularly significant issue or something I feel any regret about. As a whole, there’s is that juxtaposition of formal and casual but it’s not like this is a black tie ensemble.