I have a bolt of the 11 oz one carried by Smith. The plain diagonal weave tan wih a red back similar to the one in the first photo. I was going to do it in DB but I cannot make up my mind.

This fabric lends itself well to spectators, especially the black and white version.

Imagine, nice wedgewood blue shirt, black and white tie, black and white shoes, and a wedgewood or airforce blue pair of socks.

http://www.noveporte.it/taccuino/tau/grande.php3?idfoto=525

I thought true Solaro was Made in England and available in only one color (red/tan), one weight (330 gr), and 4 patterns (3 herringbones and one that here is called 'grana di riso').

Other tones/shades etc should be different kinds of gabardines.

ps) who said that bespoke trousers should be unlined? It's a matter of personale taste, nothing more. Half lining is extremely common and apreciated in Italy.

Last edited by Daniele (2006-07-18 02:21:39)

Last edited by Daniele (2006-07-18 06:06:33)

Solaro, underappreciated, the "original" trademark 13 ounce version only by Smith. The Columbo cloth is interesting. Years ago Lesser did a 7 ounce Italian variant in herringbone, plain weave, in tan/red, olive, grey/blue. Not easy to mill, and they had quality problems so they never repeated it.

Smith Solaro is very hard finished, beautifully drapes, and invariably elicits favorable comments, at least in the tan/rust classical versions.

Smith has 4 or 5 variants, all the same color pallette but different designs: herringbone, large and small, rice, rhomboids, conventional gabardine, and so on. I would think only the regular gabardine would work for a car coat or full length raincoat. There are only a few days per year where this color seems to work, at least in the Northeast.

Saw a guy on Madison and 76th this spring with a SB suit, 2 button. Very, very nice, classic Solaro.