Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! In today's video, we'll be discussing
what the term "super" means in relation to worsted wool suits and how it does and
doesn't determine suit quality. Generally speaking, worsted wool is the most
popular fabric for men's suits around the world and while there are
technically many fabrics that fall into the definition of worsted, there are
subtle differences in classification among them. One of these determining
factors is the wool's so-called super number. You may be familiar with seeing
terms like super 120s or super 180s on online retail pages or in fabric swatch
books but what exactly does the term super mean in relation to worsted wool?
Before we can answer that question, let's talk a bit more generally about what
qualifies as worsted wool. The term worsted can alternately describe either
a combed yarn, a fabric made from a combed yarn, or a weight of yarn. A combed
yarn, by the way, is made when wool fibers are rotated by metal combs that align
the long fibers while discarding these short staple fibers. The result is a long
lasting fine and smooth yarn with a somewhat glossy finish. Also, by adjusting
the pull of these combs on the wool, one can get lighter or heavier yarns
whereas varying the twists will impact the look, feel, and strength of the yarn.
Tight twisting provides a crisper feel whereas loose twisting makes for a
softer but weaker yarn. One quick note here to answer the question of why it's
called worsted wool in the first place. The names origin dates all the way back
to the 12th century when the English city of worsted in Norfolk along with a
few other cities in the area became a manufacturing
center of cloth and cloth weaving and to answer another general
question, is a lighter worsted wool better than a heavier weight? The answer
not necessarily no. Let's take an overcoat as an example of this principle;
while a softer fabric would feel more pleasant on one's skin, a heavier coat
made of something like Donegal tweed is going to be much more sturdy and keep
you more warm than a lighter and softer cashmere coat would. Of course, you're not
often going to be wearing an overcoat against your bare skin but this
illustrates the principle that the heavier weight is going to be sturdier
than the lighter weight even if the lighter weight is softer. Similarly, you
might be under the impression that a lighter weight weave is going to be
cooler to wear and a heavier weight would be warmer but this isn't always
the case either. Something that's heavy but relatively open in its weave like a
fresco fabric, for instance, is going to feel much cooler when worn than
something that's tightly woven and lighter like a super 150s fabric, for
instance. Of course, the interlining and canvas of a jacket are going to have an
impact on how hot it feels while you're wearing it but that's a subject for
another video. With all that said though, fabrics that are commonly available
today are just going to be lighter in general than fabrics that were produced
30 or 40 years ago or even more. This will be readily apparent to you if you
visit a thrift store and pick out an old suit. It's probably just going to be
heavier than something you'd buy today. Speaking of tweed overcoats though, you
can take a look at our video and related article on the fascinating history of
the tweed fabric here. It's important to keep in mind then that a lighter fabric
with a higher super number is not a hallmark of a better fabric, it just
indicates that the fibers used were thinner in diameter.
Similarly, the super number doesn't provide any information about the weave
or how heavy the fabric is. One more thing to touch on before we get into the
particulars of what supers measure though and that's how they came to be in
the first place. You might be surprised to learn that the
wool that goes into a great many suits that are produced around the world today
comes from sheep that are descended from just two rams and four ewes. In 1789, King
Charles the fourth of Spain gifted six sheep to the Dutch East India Company;
these sheep were then shipped to South Africa. In 1795, a British immigrant to
Australia named John McArthur bought 26 of the offspring of these original six
sheep and transported them back to botany bay. These 26 sheep were then bred
to form the backbone of what's now the Australian wool industry that has sheep
that now number more than one hundred and twenty million. The wool from these
sheep produced in grades between 60s and 80s around this time, essentially
measuring how fine the yarns were, was top of the line. As such, most of it went
directly to tailors on Savile Row. 100s grade wool meanwhile was thought to be
unattainable at this time in history. Until the wool mill of Joseph Lumbs and
Sons in Huddersfield West Yorkshire England was finally able to produce some
of it. Lumb bought enough of this wool for an entire year's supply and brought it
to market under the term Lumb's Huddersfield super 100s thus super
terminology for worsted wool suits was born. At this time in the late 18th
century, British wool merchants would often refer to their wares by largely
subjective terminology in describing how fine the wool was; terms like low, medium,
fine, the newly created super, and so on. But because producers and consumers
eventually wanted terminology that was more objective in how the wool was rated,
the city of Bradford, England led the way in grading wool more objectively.
This process became known as the English worsted yarn count system or more
generally, the Bradford system. Fast forward now to 1968 when the USDA
created the United States standards for grade wool, this assigned ranges of
average fiber diameter or AFD and maximum standard deviation to the
previously set up Bradford count. So with these standardization systems in
place, super still sits as the top designation for how fine a wool may be.
With that said, some companies have gotten a little subjective again in
exactly how they're grading their super wools. So for example, a super 200s wool
from one manufacturer might be a bit different in how fine it is from a super
200s wool from another manufacturer. Things are generally going to be fairly
consistent, overall. When we're discussing reputable manufacturers of
high quality, most of them are going to abide by the guidelines set out in the
fabric labeling code of practice from the International Wool Textile
Organization or IWTO. So to recap then, what the super number
is actually measuring is how fine the wool is because what's being measured is
how many times each of the individual woollen yarns have been twisted around.
Generally then, the higher the super number is, the finer the cloth in
question will be. Often, this means it will also be lighter but as we said
earlier, this isn't always the case. How fine these woolen yarns are is
typically measured in micrometers also called
microns. We've got a detailed chart for how each super number corresponds to a
micron measurement in the corresponding article on our website you can find that
here. So a higher super number will mean that a fabric is going to be softer to
the touch and generally will feel more like
luxurious. Conversely, a lower super number will mean that the cloth is more sturdy
and probably warmer. As we've said, it will generally be heavier but not always.
While it's commonly believed that the super number of a given fabric also has
something to do with its individual thread count, this simply isn't true and
there's not a correlation between the two measurements. While a higher
super number does to some extent denote the exclusivity of a given fabric,
because something like a super 200s would contain some of the rarest wool
fibers available, this is only an indication of that exclusivity and
rarity, not necessarily subjective quality. Here's another important note,
the full word "super" can only be applied to fabrics made of pure new wool. Also,
fabrics made with wool blended with other things like cashmere, alpaca, silk,
or so on can use the slightly related S designation, though not the full word
super. Now you may be wondering, how do these super numbers translate into
considerations for wearing? Stated simply, anything with a higher super number is
going to be more temperamental and hard to care for over time. The thinner, finer
fibers of a wool with a high super number may have an amazing hand which is
to say how soft they feel to the touch but they're also going to break down
much more quickly than a heftier fiber would. As an example here, something like a
super 180s wool would probably feel softer on the body whereas something
like a super 100s wool is going to be more durable, less prone to wrinkling, and
probably better suited for repeated everyday wear. On that note, snags in
finer fabrics happen much more frequently and are also far more
difficult to repair than a snag in a comparatively coarse fabric. Speaking
generally then, it's our opinion that it's best not to
get overly caught up in the super numbers of your worsted wool suits. Very
good quality suits can be created from wool in the super 100s to super 150s
range and even below that, and of course, a suit that is well fitted to the
wearer's body is going to look great regardless of what the super number
might be or even if it doesn't have one. Conversely, something in a super 180s or
super 220s wool is still going to look sloppy if it doesn't fit your frame well.
on that note you can take a look at two videos on how a suit should properly fit
here. Finally today, we've got a few general guidelines for you if you really
do want to pay close attention to the super numbers of your suits and how you
could wear them effectively. For standard everyday wear, you could go with
something with a pretty low super number. Something that's below 100 up to a super
100s or super 120s, for example. For an important business meeting, a conference,
or something that's a bit more important than the average day-to-day at the
office, you could go with something like a super 130s or super 150s and for
special events, you could go with something like a super 180s or anything
above that. Again, these are just hypothetical suggestions. If you really
do want to pay attention to your super number, of course, you could wear a suit
made from a different material entirely than worsted wool and still look good or
you could wear a worsted suit that doesn't even have a registered super
number. You just have to make sure that the suit is fitting you well and
flattering your form. In conclusion then, while the super number of a worsted wool
can be handy in determining how fine and soft the yarns of a given wool are, it
shouldn't be used as the only measure of quality in wool suiting. Remember to
focus first on fit then determine if you really like the look of the suit and how
often you think you will wear it. From this point, you can
consider the super number. So which part of today's explanation did you find most
intriguing? And if you are one of those men that pays attention to the super
number of your suits, do you have a favorite number? Ahare with us in the
comment section below and as always don't forget to subscribe to the channel
and hit the little bell icon so these videos will come straight to your inbox
in today's video I am wearing a wool suit but to illustrate the concept that
super numbers aren't everything this wool suit doesn't even have a super
grade still I like the look of it and I think it fits my frame well so it's one
that I wear relatively often the suit is charcoal in color and it has a slight
bit of texture to its weave technically it's actually a three-piece suit but I
more often wear it as a two-piece because I find that it fits me better
that way still I wouldn't be surprised if you see the three-piece configuration
on the channel eventually I've paired the suit today with a pastel pink shirt
from Charles Tyrwhitt as pink and charcoal are a classic combination you
can take a look at our article on wearing pink in menswear here the shirt
has French cuffs and I'm wearing in them today the platinum plated sterling
silver eagleclaw cufflinks from Fort Belvedere with carnelian as the stone
the red tones of the carnelian harmonized well with the pink of the
shirt also from Fort Belvedere today is my tie which is a Prince of Wales Glen
check tie in silk featuring the colors of Burgundy black and white the burgundy
is a little bit faint but when viewed in conjunction with the pink shirt you can
see that they harmonize well similarly the black and white complement the
charcoal in my suit my pocket square is white Irish linen from Fort Belvedere
and my boutonniere is the mini pink carnation all of these accessories are
available in the Fort Belvedere shop and you can find them by going here given
that I'm wearing a suit today the trousers and the jacket match
exactly so I've gone for something simple and also worn charcoal socks that
are fairly close in color to the trousers and the outfit is rounded out
today by my black cap toe derbys.