Introducing
AIRESCO
by
Holland & Sherry
If we had to detail what Colmore Tailors are all about it would be fit and fabric, pretty much in that order.
Fit is something we champion daily and really underpins the bespoke experience. However fit can be undermined if the raw material lets you down and for that reason we are passionate about using high-quality cloth at all times.
This “Introducing” series is based around testing those quality fabrics, reviewing them and empowering you with the tools to help you make better cloth and clothing choices. We will test new fabrics often so we can give you our honest opinion of how they wear, how we believe you could style them, how to care for them and so on. Its our commitment to helping you make better choices and going that extra mile to really know our products.
Historically we have found some high twist fabrics a tad scratchy. Sure that can be often by half lining the trouser and keeping the cloth away for direct contact with the skin but it still loose something tactile. High-twist have always performed well in terms of crease resistance and breathability but not always had the most pleasurable response in hand, often feeling a little board like and rigid.
This lack of tactile response is been something we've been trying to solve. We have looked often for a fabric with structure, breathability and performance, that is soft, pliable and more pleasurable against the skin. When we first received Airesco by Holland and Sherry our initial gut was that it could achieve these aims so we set about putting it to work….
In short Airesco is a collection of 3 and 4 ply worsted wool fabrics available in 3 weights. 12oz, 14oz and then the lightest at 8.5oz coming in with a slight natural stretch.
The bunch is mainly a collection of textured plains, with most having a salt and pepper style about them. This automatically elevates their style up a notch from a regular plain, but maybe makes them a touch more casual too. The 8.5oz fabric has some patterns and includes louder checks, chalk stripes and smaller gun club checks.
The fabric is woven with slight gaps, so much so that if you hold it up to the light you can see the gaps though it. The thickness and quality of the fibres (along with the twist and ply) is such that it resists creasing wonderfully and any that are left bounce back very well. This can be a blessing as it means the garment is less prone to creasing, however it also means that the line through the trousers will start to come out after two to three wears, so it's the kind of cloth that will require some pressing to look sharp.
The fabric we chose to sample in was a mid to dark blue salt and pepper in midweight 12oz (cloth ref 3321015)
Now the slightly casual salt and pepper nature of the cloth lead us to view this as a something that could be a jacket in its own right, but could also be styled as a 2pc suit too. With this in mind we opted for a Neapolitan style jacket with twin edge stitching (doppio inpuntura), patch pockets, no shoulder pads and minimal support for the cloth internally.
This look is perfect when you want to break the jacket up and wear it as a standalone piece, however the lack of support for the cloth doesn’t make for the sharpest finish, with subtle waves and folds apparent across the jackets front panels. Therefore if you were looking for a sharper finish for a wedding we would recommend putting a little bit more support internally o tidy it up.
The trousers were styled in our classic style with a front dart, no back pockets and side adjusters. The lack of belt helping to elongate my legs, something I really need. One change with did make was to remove the lining from the trouser fronts to allow for more breathability.
So now the suit is 6-months in how did it perform? And what do we think of it?
I'm glad to say it's been nowhere near a dry cleaners (yippee) and showing no signs of wear despite being worn regularly, around once every two weeks. The jacket has definitely been worn more than the trousers. The weight of it the cloth meant that whilst the garment breathed i was aware of its weight on my shoulders. It's good for UK summers but we wouldn't use the 12oz for an overseas wedding. For anything overseas and extremely warm then the 8.5oz would be a much better option (sample in make as we speak). For a jacket it’s a very good summer cloth and its textured style means its something that you can easily layer throughout the winter months, wearing with a roll neck or merino knit.
The trousers were worn less due to the fact that they were so breathable once the temperature dropped around October time they were absolutely freezing. A huge plus for their breathability and I can see them being a summer staple for sure. Summer trousers can be tricky for me due to my huge legs, so I need a durable cloth and Airesco has performed excellent.
From a performance point of view it did exactly what we thought it would however its no surprise as we never set out to test awful fabrics, but it is nice to get our thoughts validated.
It was quite light and smooth to the touch and despite feeling the fabric being a touch coarse upon first wear this went away after 2 hours.
This feeling could be overcome by half lining the trousers, however it's a case of breathability vs practicality and this instance we opted for breathability.
High twists often have no give in them as they are twisted so tightly making the fabric very stiff. Airesco is rare in this regard as it has an element of bounce to it and an element of give making it even more comfortable than usual.
We regularly discuss the issue of comfort in garments. Often this refers to the feeling of tightness across the back of the shoulder blades as the arms move forward in jackets, and the front of the thighs on trousers when walking. Its why we always recommend a larger back the most on jackets and a front dart on trousers. With this suit there was zero tightness and the fabric does appear to move with you giving you high levels of comfort.
Often we order two pairs of trousers to extend the suits lifespan, however after wearing for a few months on a regular basis the fabric is showing zero signs of wear. Having large legs from years of football and sports I have been known to destroy trousers. It’s a really good thing this time though as my other half actually gave the second pair of trousers to the charity shop so the fabric really needed to step up.
Pricewise the cloth felt very good value for money with a two-piece suit starting at £1099 and the cloth has applications for both suits and jackets and also odd trousers.
Holland and Sherry have done an excellent job of taking the normally coarse high twist fabric but making something softer and breathable. It does feel like they restrained the styling of the bunch and played it safe however we do feel like that was a good option. Textured plains are fabrics that we often champion as wardrobe builders and this cloth is a perfect summer builder.
This summer we will be road testing the 8.5oz in mid grey with a slightly more formal styling so look out for a new review in the coming months.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and please get in touch should you have any queries.
As always, here to help
Photos by instragram.com/JABRZ
Scott
T - 0121 729 6503
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Colmore Tailors are specialists in soft tailoring and men’s bespoke suits and shirts.
STYLE | LUXURY | FREEDOM
GARMENTS WORN
Shirt - Past season wool and cashmere check
Shoes - Carmina Loafers (Scott’s own)
Tie - Ralph Lauren Prince of Wales (Scotts’ own)
CLOTH DETAILS
Merchant - Holland and Sherry
Bunch - AIRESCO
Weight - 12oz (also available in 14oz and 8.5oz)
Cloth - 100% Wool Worsted
Price at 02/03/2022 - £1099 for 2pc
Cloth - 3321015
