Cloth and cut

Choose the cloth. Then the cut.

Linen, cotton and wool for Mumbai; the Italian cut; and what custom, made-to-measure and bespoke actually mean.

The cloth

Three cloths do most of the work here

LinenCottonWool

The cloth that breathes in Mumbai. It creases, and the crease is the point: a linen suit is meant to look lived in by lunch.

Best for daytime weddings, Goa and Alibaug, a summer office that is not too formal.
The truth it wrinkles within the hour. If that would bother you, choose a linen and wool blend, which holds its line.
Colours sand, stone, pale blue, tobacco. Navy linen for the man who wants linen and a suit.

Crisp, matte and quieter than linen. A cotton suit is the one you wear from a meeting to dinner without anyone noticing a change.

Best for the office in the hot months, travel, a cocktail evening that is not black tie.
The truth it holds a crease better than linen but it is less forgiving of a tight fit, so the pattern must be right.
Colours stone, olive, navy, a chalk stripe for the brave.

The cloth a suit was invented for. A fine, light worsted drapes, recovers from a crease overnight and photographs better than anything else.

Best for evening weddings, the boardroom, a receptions season, any suit you want to still wear in ten years.
The truth weight matters more than price. For Mumbai we start light; for the north in December, flannel.
Colours navy, charcoal, mid-grey, and a check when you want to be remembered.

The cut, and the words