Fabric and Construction
Understanding cloth weight
Cloth weight is measured in ounces per yard or grams per square metre. For a coat, 20–26 oz wool holds its shape and resists wind; for a suit jacket, 9–11 oz in a Super 100s to Super 120s range offers durability without looking cheap or feeling suffocating. Super numbers describe the fineness of the wool fibre, not the quality of the weave: Super 150s can pill faster than a well-milled Super 100s if the construction is careless.
What canvas tells you
A fully canvassed jacket has a floating interlining of horsehair canvas that molds to your body over time and allows the chest to breathe naturally. A half-canvassed jacket uses canvas through the chest only; the lower portion is fused. A fully fused jacket glues the interlining to the face fabric throughout, cheaper to make, but prone to bubbling at the dry cleaner and unable to develop the drape of a canvassed chest. Run your fingers across the front of any jacket before buying: if it feels stiff and uniform, it is likely fused.
Lapels and finishing
A hand-rolled lapel will never lie perfectly flat, that is correct. The slight roll is the result of a tailor pressing the fold with beeswax and stitching by hand, giving it a natural undulation. Machine-stitched lapels press flat. Neither is automatically superior, but if you are spending serious money, hand-rolled indicates investment in finishing. Pick-stitching along the edge of a lapel or pocket flap is a visible declaration of hand work. On a very expensive garment, the stitches will be slightly irregular; on a cheaper garment that mimics hand work, they will be perfectly uniform.
Coats: what to examine
The quality of an overcoat reveals itself in weight and hang. A double-faced wool coat, fabric woven in two layers, bonded without lining, is the most refined option: clean interior, no additional lining required. Melton wool is densely milled, resists water and holds its form; it is used in the best peacoats. Cashmere coats require significantly more care than wool equivalents, dry-clean only, store with cedar, avoid folding where possible, but the handle is warmer per gram than any other natural fibre.
Examine the interlining at the hem and the buttons: resin buttons can crack; horn and corozo hold better. A covered button is cheaper to produce; a horn button visible on the surface is a better quality signal.
Knitwear
Ply count matters more than advertised luxury. A two-ply cashmere will pill if the count is low; a well-carded, long-staple, two-ply in an honest 16-gauge gauge construction will not. Scottish-milled cashmere tends to be tighter and more robust than Italian equivalents at a given price point. Lambswool is underrated: it is more durable than cashmere, less expensive, and ages well. A merino rollneck at 18-gauge is a practical piece; cashmere the same gauge is an indulgence, which is fine, if you treat it as one.
Inspect the seams on any knitwear purchase: an overlocker seam on a joined knit is fine; a linked seam (where each stitch of the seam matches a stitch of the knit) is the higher-quality construction and will not create a ridge under a jacket.
Leather goods
Full-grain leather is the surface of the hide closest to the hair side, with the grain intact. It develops a patina with use. Corrected-grain leather has been buffed to remove imperfections and given a coating, it looks more consistent new but does not develop character in the same way. Bonded leather, made from scraps and adhesive, should be avoided for anything expected to last. For bags and belts, look for vegetable-tanned leather at the edges (not painted) and brass hardware that is solid rather than plated.