The Wool-ly Mammoth

No, the extinct mammoth hasn't found its way into our wedding preparations.

This is about wool. Well, finding the perfect kind of wool for Dodie's suit/modern tuxedo.

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Up until two days ago, the term "super 120's" wouldn't have meant anything to me. Not until I got to chat with one of my friends did I know that it referred to the fineness of wool, or more specifcally, the fineness of the yarn used to weave the faric. According to eTuxedo:

"The 'Super' system is a way of grading the quality of wool fabric. The higher the number, the finer the yarn used to weave the fabric. Theoretically the higher the number, the more yarn is packed in per square inch, the silkier it will feel and the nicer it will be."

To my dismay, however, my friend also told me that super 120's in the Philippines came with a pretty steep price tag. So it got me thinking. Is it really all about the "supers"? Fortunately for me, eTuxedo's article didn't end there. It went on to explain that a lot of other factors still need to be taken into consideration:

"In reality you can weave a really nice super-100’s cloth that will feel fantastic, resist wrinkles and make you look like a million bucks, or you can weave cloth made of super-100’s yarn and not pack it tightly so it doesn’t feel fantastic, doesn’t resist wrinkles, and doesn’t make you look like a million bucks.

To further complicate matters, the cloth is just one leg of the tripod needed to make a great garment. You also need quality manufacturing (how the inside of the garment is stitched and made) and superior styling. A garment with exceptional fabric, exceptional manufacturing, and exceptional styling will naturally be exceptional. If it’s missing any of these 3 elements then it's just another tuxedo.

At the end of the day, you have to take the 'Super' system with a grain of salt – recognize that super 120’s yarn is nicer than super 100’s, but that doesn’t guarantee the super 120’s garment will be made better, fit better, or make you look better".

I guess our challenges now are how to find the best type of wool within our budget, and how to spot synthetic from real wool. But as one of my favorite cartoons goes, that's another tale for another time.