White Suits

[Rittmeister]

This may have been covered elsewhere or earlier. Does anyone have any washable white suits, and what have been the results? Seeing so many of them in films and pictures I wondered how they stayed clean. My Cuban tailor told me that they were made of cotton or linen woven in a type of gaberdine called drill cien. Those who could afford it actually bought an entire bolt of the fabric (30 yards) and had up to 10 suits made from it at a time. Men would change these suits once or even twice a day. They were washable. They apparently had special interfacing and padding that would allow for this. According to him, a tailor in Miami has begun having the fabric made to order in Ireland and is making these suits again.

Does any have any experience with white suits or other interesting trivia about them? I have avoided getting one due to the costs and unrealiability of current dry cleaners.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

My white suits have little or not lining and interfacing. They're made of Palm Beach cloth which is readily hand-washable.

bk

 

[Fletch]

I haven't worn a vintage wash suit since I outgrew a 40 regular, but I can confirm they were very lightly lined, often self-faced inside the chest and with no lining of any kind in the sleeves or down the back. (The modern term would be unconstructed.)

Only the denser fabrics such as PBC allowed this. Make a coat that way in today's lightweight linens and all you'd have is a shirt with lapels.

Herr Rittmeister, ein Frage bitte: Was the gabardine drill your tailor remembers a Cuban custom? Or was it used more widely for summer or resort clothes?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Make a coat that way in today's lightweight linens and all you'd have is a shirt with lapels.

I actually like the shirt with lapels-type lightweight jackets. Very comfortable indeed.

One of my odd jackets is Lorraine Haspel cotton twill. Again, unconstructed and washes well.

bk

 

[Fletch]

I actually like the shirt with lapels-type lightweight jackets. Very comfortable indeed.

If you can bring it off, swell. On me it'd look like a bakery bag inside of half an hour.

 

[Tomasso]

a tailor in Miami has begun having the fabric made to order in Ireland and is making these suits again.

Would you be kind enough to find out the name of this Miami tailor?

 

[Rittmeister]

I will do my best.

 

[cookie]

This may have been covered elsewhere or earlier. Does anyone have any washable white suits, and what have been the results? Seeing so many of them in films and pictures I wondered how they stayed clean. My Cuban tailor told me that they were made of cotton or linen woven in a type of gaberdine called drill cien. Those who could afford it actually bought an entire bolt of the fabric (30 yards) and had up to 10 suits made from it at a time. Men would change these suits once or even twice a day. They were washable. They apparently had special interfacing and padding that would allow for this. According to him, a tailor in Miami has begun having the fabric made to order in Ireland and is making these suits again.

Does any have any experience with white suits or other interesting trivia about them? I have avoided getting one due to the costs and unrealiability of current dry cleaners.

The above information is all entirely correct FWIW. In the 90s I contacted someone in Calle Ocho about a lin cien suit and they were making them in Miami. They were about USD600 at the time which was beyond me.

I lost the address for the person (somewhere in the Cuban Quarter) and it had appeared in GQ as an article.

This century I started investigating the source which is Ulster Linen in NYC. They only have two colours = an off white and a blue grey. Very nice and they sent me two swatches to boot. Very different weave than traditional linen. Very strong cloth. But Ulster Linen requires you to buy a lot of yards and this stuff is 1/2 width (30in like Harris Tweed) not the usual 60 inch of today from memory.

Anyway I await further details of the tailor

 

[Rittmeister]

Thanks for the confirmation. I remember the GQ article. I will post more info as I obtain it.

 

[cookie]

Vielen Dank Herr Rittmeister

Here is Art Fawcett in a classic suit and some Cuban/Miami threads http://thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=4089&highlight=lin+cien

Here is an early mention of lin cien. It is called 100 linen because of the tight weave and because it is like the drill cloth in military clothing hence its ability to be washed and pressed constantly - the use of two suits a day in Havana was common in the pre-Castro era such as donning a fresh suit after siesta when returning to work. http://thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=18178&highlight=lin+cien


Here is the link to Ulster Linen http://www.ulsterlinen.com/yard.htm
http://www.ulsterlinen.com/PCGDS2008.pdfTWILL WEAVE 100% LINEN
DRILL 100 30” IRE 8.0 oz USD 29.60 Pre shrunk

 

[cookie]

Latest White Suit

http://men.style.com/fashion/top_te...ideshowId=slideshow50478&iphoto=30&play=false

 

[donCarlos]

http://men.style.com/fashion/top_te...ideshowId=slideshow50478&iphoto=30&play=false

does this "thing" even count? I recognise some features of suit, but the whole look... awhh

 

[maintcoder]

does this "thing" even count? I recognise some features of suit, but the whole look... awhh

Last year I had the Baron Boutique make me a linen suit for my wedding on Santorini. It is an off-white and quite nice, so much so that I am in the process of having them make me a double breasted one similar to the one Art is wearing in the linked thread.

Here's a few pictures...

 

[Rittmeister]

Beautiful suit - a perfect place to wear it. Keep us posted on how the new one comes out.

 

[Fletch]

http://men.style.com/fashion/top_te...ideshowId=slideshow50478&iphoto=30&play=false

Paging Dr. Fruitbasket...Dr. Fruitbasket...lol

 

[DerMann]

http://men.style.com/fashion/top_te...ideshowId=slideshow50478&iphoto=30&play=false

I believe that is the reason why shotguns with two barrels were invented...

 

[Miss 1929]

Love the white suit!

Raul has one of these:

we send it to the laundry and have them starch it so it doesn't get that off-work bakery effect. It is very comfy and seems to wear like iron, and it seems to be a mix of cotton and linen. Not a lot of lining in it, but the fabric is nice and thick.

Wish I could find him some more of these!

 

[Miss Sis]

Ben Stephens has a white double brested linen suit from Saxs Fifth Avenue.

When he got it it looked pretty clean but I chucked it in the bath with Napisan (my usual method of cleaning most vintage stuff!) and surprisingly, the water was a very murky brown afterwards. It is unlined so I had no quarms about washing it. It came out beautifully - he fair dazzles people with it's whiteness!

I haven't starched any suits yet. Most of them seem to stand up fine on their own without it but I think this will vary alot depending on the weave of the fabric used.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I still can't do the stark white. Cream or ivory yes... Even that orange rusty linen... but white is too fussy for me... even a tux jacket for me has to be cream.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

I still can't do the stark white. Cream or ivory yes... Even that orange rusty linen... but white is too fussy for me... even a tux jacket for me has to be cream.

With you there. In fact, I even prefer shirts that aren't stark white, but just a little bit ivory/cream, so little most people will only realise when they see it in contrast. (I don't like actual yellow shirts, though.)

I also don't use washing agents with a "whitener", the stuff that makes your shirt glow under black light.