One of the integral components to your garment is the fabric you use to construct it.   There are folks who’ll say you should only buy wool suits.  Others say the versatility of cotton makes it ideal for suiting. At Rex Bespoke, we pride ourselves in constructing garments that are right for you… Our curvy queens may prefer a bit of stretch while our kings with kids might appreciate something a bit more stain resistant.

We’ve compiled a list of more common fabrics that might help you decide the right fabric for you.

Let’s get into this cloth talk:

Wool Whispers

Wool is naturally water resistant, dirt resistant and extremely durable.  Naturally, wool is the most common and widely used fabric for suiting.  

Because it maintains its shape and is a very breathable fabric, wool is by far the best fabric option for your first suit. Wool also plays very well with others so even when blended with other materials, wool still maintains many of its natural advantages.

There’s levels to this wool thing but we’ll talk about that later… For now, know that wool is generally the way to go for a suit.   

Orange Bespoke 2 piece suit with custom logo buttons
worn by: Papi Picasso 

Cotton Conversation

Cotton is the second most used fabric for suits.  Cotton suits aren't quite as light and breathable as linen (very light and breathable but them wrinkles hit different), but they’re a great summer suit option.  Cotton isn't the softest fabric, but it’s often blended with either wool or polyester to offset that.

Because cotton is the most widely used and produced fabric in the world, your customization options are endless.

We like options😉.

Double breasted white custom suit with gold buttons
Worn by:  Collie
photographed by: Aaron Ortega

Polyester Politicin’

Polyester gets a bad rap.  Cheap, uncomfortable, hot, stuffy, flimsy… a few terms that come to mind when most folks think about polyester.  Although polyester is not as durable and breathable as cotton or wool, polyester provides an elasticity in conjunction with other fabrics that can create a perfect clean cut look.

“stretch”, “form-fitting”, “tight up”… any garment described this way is like a polyester blend.

By no means is this an endorsement for full polyester suits (nah fam, just nah) but for certain looks, it may be a good idea to consider a polyester blend.

Oh and more polyester usually means less wrinkles… “wrinkle free” “wrinkle resistant” … these terms usually mean there’s some polyester blend.

Satin Speak

A long time ago, satin was made of silk. But now, it's mostly polyester (scroll up) and rayon.

Generally speaking satin is a manufactured silk alternative that has almost the exact same look and feel of silk but is much easier to maintain.

There are shinier satins that are less expensive and really give a cheap look but when a good satin is paired with a quality wool suit (we got those)… 🔥 (see below)

double breasted brown tuxedo with black satin lapel
worn by:  Keith
photographed by: Kev