Oh boy. Oh boy. That is a tough question…

The quality of the suit depends on many things; the construction, the materials, and most importantly the fit. Fit and materials have their own chapter so rather than re-hashing ideas expressed elsewhere in this text, I will concentrate on construction.

Wool is a fundamentally light material, and the mark of a good suit is “drape” where the cloth appears to flow lightly over the surface of the body. The only way to achieve this is by adding structure to which the well can be attached, this structure is known as a canvass. The construction of this structure is a major indicator of quality.

There are three basic construction techniques used in mass-produced suits; fused, half-canvass and full canvas. These are listed in increasing order of price and quality. If you are having your suit made by hand then any one of these techniques may be used, but they should be employed to a much higher standard than in high-street products.

Let’s have a look at each technique and its advantages.

Fused

This is by far the most common format for suits at the lower end of the market, and to find something better on the British high street is rare. A fused suit is made by using a canvas made from “fusible”, to which to wool is essentially glued.

The fused suit comes in for a great deal of criticism, especially on the Internet where people tend to latch on to an idea and use it to differentiate between “good” and “bad” with little technical information to back it up. The argument in these circles is that because fused suits are glued together, repeated exposure to dry-cleaning chemicals and day to day wear will result in the glue breaking down and leaving “bubbles” in the chest.

It is hard to argue that this wasn’t the case in days gone by; ten years ago this was probably quite a common occurrence, but modern production methods have improved dramatically. The fusing in a modern suit happens not only by heating the fusible but also by applying strong pressure as the heating occurs. The result is a strong but flexible bond that should stand up to at least two years of wear.

All this is not to say that the fused suit has risen to the levels of durability and longevity of the other two methods, but it certainly means that your money isn’t being thrown away on a sub-quality suit. As mentioned above, 90% of the suits that you will find on the high street, even from “fashion brands” such as Boss, Ted Baker, Armani and many others, so month get too hung up about the fact that a suit is fused.

Fused suits are perfectly acceptable if you are saving some money, or are buying a “fashionable” suit which you know you will replace in a year or two – but be aware that a half canvass suit may cost as little as 20% more but last for 4 or 5 years.

Half canvass

The half canvas suit is often held up as a minimum standard on advice boards and by tailors alike: the use of a piece of woven horsehair that the wool can be stitched to results in a garment where the cloth can move and flow in a more natural way.

A half canvas garment is one where the horsehair cloth starts at the shoulder and flows down the front to roughly the bottom of the ribs. This layout allows the cloth to be supported in the most important regions; the chest and shoulders where the weight of the garment is held. In the less important area around the pockets and the bottom quarter of the jacket there is no structure, allowing the garment to flow and move as required.

The advantage of this technique is that horsehair is a natural fibre, and as a result it will hold the shape in which is is repeatedly held, so a jacket that has been “broken in” by a few weeks of wear will have a natural curve to the chest were a “fresh” jacket will hang straight down from the hanger. This adaptation over time tends to produce a jacket that looks more natural for the wearer and feels marginally more comfortable.

This technique is significantly more expensive than the fusing process, so brands that utilise it are normally those who charge a higher price or those who are suiting specialists. There are a small number of firms who have specialised for many years in suits or shirt in the Savile Row and Jermyn Street area of London who are now expanding outward with chains across the country. Because these brands bill themselves as high quality rather than high fashion they are quicker to embrace the traditional production methods. These shops have little by way of brand appeal but do represent very good value when looking for workhorse suits.

Personally I recommend taking the extra time to find one of these suits, as they represent a better investment in the long term. I still have half canvass suits that were given to me in my first few years working in the tailoring industry, and despite being worn every day for years while in dusty stock rooms and hefting bundles of suits about they are all in a more or less perfect condition.

Full canvas

A full canvas suit is made in the same way as a half canvas suit but the difference is that the horsehair chest-piece extends all the way to the bottom of the jacket. The advantage of this is the overall shape of the jacket can be crafted in more detail by the tailor, and used to give more control over the final shape. A full canvas jacket ca be manipulated by a skilled tailor to give even the roundest man a nipped waist, and make even the thinnest man look well balanced.

The implication of course is cost: adding 40% more canvas in order to gain just a smidgen more control over the garment is not a cost effective deal, so most manufactures never go as far as this in their suits.

The same cannot be said for tailors who produce bespoke garments for individual customers. Even the cheapest of these bespoke makers will cost at least £1,000 per suit and most you will find will charge upwards of £3,000. In these cases (and in fairness, the very occasional mass-producer) will not hesitate to put some of that money into the added control and feel of a full canvas jacket.

My feelings on these three techniques can be likened to my opinion on cars: the fused suit is similar to the hatch back, useful, economical, but uninspiring. The half canvas is like a German saloon; reliable, long lasting and with enough luxury that using it regularly isn’t a chore. The full canvas is like a hand made Ferrari or Rolls Royce; the added cost goes straight towards the pursuit of perfection, for many unnecessary but for the true enthusiast completely priceless.

If you wish to determine the construction of a suit in a shop there is a method known as the “pinch test” where you can pinch either side of the cloth above the top button and if you can feel three distinct layers then you are dealing with either half canvas or full canvas. The other way of course is ask the sales advisor in the shop, but it is worth remembering that, certainly at lower end establishments, they may not understand the subtleties of construction.