Sablé wool
The name of a satin weave whose tidy yet attractively oblique grain evokes the sandy (sablé in French) beaches over which you might run hands this coming summer. With a Natural Stretch, the incredibly comfortable sablé wool produced by the House of Lanificio F.lli Cerruti tastefully adapts to the silhouette of its owner and is never excessively shiny (unlike a classic satin weave). Blended with a jacquard by the Italian draper it also permits for subtle patterns.
Seersucker
This waffled-effect material, traditionally in blue and white stripes, first appeared in India in the 18th century. Adapted to the wetness of its native climate, it was quickly exported to become a summer classic in the United States. Worn in Congress until the arrival of air conditioning in the 1950s, seersucker is available these days in a wide variety of colours, and still dissipates heat just as efficiently. The American tradition of “Seersucker Thursday” continues to require that men and women wear seersucker suits in Congress, the second or third Thursday in the month of June.
Serge
Denotes a fabric whose inter-woven threads have light, oblique stripes.
Shearling
Denotes a supple fabric where the sheep or lamb’s wool is worn inside the coat. With its sanded skin the exterior of the garment has a velvety or oiled appearance. Its thickness depends of the climate in which the selected animals have been reared.
Silk
The empress of noble fabrics, whose trade secret was jealously guarded by the Chinese for over 2500 years, silk is the only natural textile fibre whose thread is continuous. It is taken from the cocoon of the Bombyx Mori caterpillar, also called the silkworm, and its appearance varies according to the way it is woven or worked.
Slip stitch
This little thread at the interlining of a tie will restore its original form after having been stretched.
Stays
Supple stays are called ‘baleines’ in French, in reference to the whalebone which was long used to stiffen corsetry. Their modern cousins, often removable and synthetic, are today slipped into shirt collars to ensure a perfect shape, and give (you) a clear conscience. Suffice to say a certain pleasure can be procured from going without…
Stripes
A motif for the marginalised and heretics of the middle ages, for childhood, for pleasure and for business men since the 19th century, stripes are a melting pot of contradictory symbolism. Chosen well they remain an unquestionable sign of elegance.
Super 120’s, 130’s, 150’s…
The grades given by the IWTO (International Wool Textile Organization), known as SUPER 120’s, 130’s or 150’s, denote the fineness of a wool fibre used to weave a fabric. The higher the figure, the finer the fibre. The diameter of every 100’s wool fibre must measure no more than 18.75 microns. The 110’s should be 18.25 microns, the 120’s 17.75 microns… you just have to take away 0.5 microns to know the subsequent diameters.