Why your next suit should be wool

When shopping for your first or tenth suit it is easy to look at suits selling for $200 and be tempted. It may look good on the mannequin from a distance and the style may look the as nice as bigger brands but is the quality there? What exactly makes a quality suit?

A suit can be made of various materials. We’ve been talking to M.J. Bale about wool suits and what the advantages are of wearing the hair of the sheep.

Breathability: Wool fibres can absorb large quantities of moisture vapour and then through evaporation into the air, keeping the skin fresher and drier for a longer time. In summer this is an obvious win.

Temperature Regulation: Wool provides a personal ‘air-conditioning’ system to maintain temperature regulation through its natural crimp, which creates a lot of very small insulating air pockets. Keeping you from sweating means you can keep that jacket on and maintain that formal look.

Softness and Fineness: Today, Merino wool achieves incredibly high standards of fineness and softness, making it one of the most comfortable and high-performance fibres, including next-to-skin garments.

Odour Resistance: Wool’s breathability helps to reduce sweat and odour, keeping the wearer’s skin drier and fresher; and the fibre’s complex chemical structure also helps to control any unpleasant odour molecules by locking them away and only releasing them upon washing.

Elasticity: Merino wool is naturally elastic and sheds creases, due to its unique structure and crimp. At microscopic levels, Merino fibres are like coiled springs, returning to their original state when the stretch and extension through wear and movement is released. This helps to maintain the garment’s shape, appearance and quality.

UV Protection and Fire Resistance: Wool offers a natural protection from Ultraviolet light and is fire

Versatility: Merino wool can be used in a wide variety of lightweight fabrics and fine knits, plus very innovative developments, such as Merino lace or jersey, ideal for Spring/Summer garments.

Timeless Elegance: Thanks to its elasticity, wool maintains an enduring drape and shape during the whole day and under the warmest climates and environments, making it the ideal fibre for travellers and busy business men and women.

We recently wrote about an M.J. Bale model who road-tested  over 20,000km’s and eight countries a wool suit and the results were obvious, the suit lasts longer than the man, maintains it’s look and shape without falling apart. Check that story out here