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A variety of material or fabric are used for suits in England. The most important material is wool and since World War II, wool blends with sythetic fibers. Silk might be used in expensive blends, but this was less important for boys' suiting fabrics. Cotton is also used, the most important cotton fabric being corduroy. Corduroy was an inexpensive fabric and hard wearing thus especially suitable for boys. It seem especially common for low cost suits worn by working-class boys. Even so, Some of the corduroy suits we have noted seem fashionable. Some fabrics seem especially appropriate for boys' suiting, including corduroy and flannel. Flannel was widely used for blazers, but was also used for suits. After World War II we see synthetic fibers being used in blends. Terrylyn worsted was very common. Other fabric include mohair, tweed (including Harris tweed), worsted (at first pure wool), and a wide range of other fabrics. Available photographs commonly are not detailed enough to show the fabric, although corduroy can often be destinguished. Silk was alo used. We see younger boys wearing fancy velvet suits in the 19th century. Trur velvet is mafe with silk, but material with a velvet look can be made with cotton or ar a cotton-silk blend. They appaeared well before Little Lord Fauntleroy suits. We also see velvet being used as trim.
Cotton is today widely used. This is a relatively recent development in Europe. Cotton was largely unlmown in Europe until recently. It was kniwn in h Arab world. It was a luxury gabriy during the medievl period. The problem with cotton was that it wa expensifve to process because of ll the seeds inbeded in the cotton bolls. Eli Whitney solved thos proiblem wigh thecotton gin (1793). Cotton soon became the wirld's most important textile and ot cotton textiles that gave yhe induistyrial revolution a jump start. A jost of different cotton fabrics were devedlopoed, including corduroy, ceépe, denim, ginham, khaki, madras, muslin, poplin,
sersucvker, and many pthers. An important cotton fabric in the 19th century was corduroy. Corduroy was an inexpensive fabric and hard wearing thus especially suitable for boys. It seem especially common for low cost suits worn by working-class boys. Even so, Some of the corduroy suits we have noted seem fashionable. Some fabrics seem especially appropriate for boys' suiting, including corduroy and flannel. Available photographs commonly are not detailed enough to show the fabric, although corduroy can often be destinguished.
Silk was also used for children clothes, but less commomly for suits. One exception was velvet. Silk was not the most common material because of its cost. It was mostly used for clothes fror younger vchildren from well-to-do families. We see younger boys wearing fancy velvet suits in the 19th century. True velvet is mafe with silk, but material with a velvet look can be made with cotton or ar a cotton-silk blend. Fancy velvet suits appaeared well before Little Lord Fauntleroy suits in the 1880s. They had elaborate emroidery, but were not worm with all the fancy Fauntleroy trim untils the 80s. It is of course impossible to tell from the photographs to what extent the velvet-looking suits were true velvet made from silk. we suspect that many of the early velvet suits were donr in silk, but gradually cheper weaves were used, especially when the Fauntleroy style became popular. That said it ws never as popular in Europe as it was in America. We also see velvet being used as trim. Satin was another silk fabric, but not commonly used for boys clothes.
A variety of material or fabric are used for suits, both the jackets and trousers, in England.
The most important material is wool and since World War II, wool blends with sythetic fibers. Silk might be used in expensive blends, but this was less important for boys' suiting fabrics. Flannel is an important wool fabric. Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was especially important for boys (19th and early-20th century). The origin of flannel appeas to be British, apparently Welsh. The word itself is believed to be Welsh. A flannel like fabric has been noted in Wales (16th century). The British origin is supported by French and German derivtives (flanelle and Flanell). Flannel production has been documnted in Britin (17th century). They appeared to have replaced the related older Welsh plains, some of which were finished as 'cottons' or friezes--the textile being produced in Wales. Flannel was made of fine, short staple wool. Flannel was being widely manufactured in Newtown, Montgomeryshire, Hay on Wye, and Llanidloes (19th century). Increasing production occurred with the spread of carding mills. These mills prepared the wool for spinning. This was the first step in the mechanized production of woollen cloth. The marketing of these Welsh woollen clothes was largely controlled by the Drapers Company of Shrewsbury played a major role in marketing Welsh flannel. Fllannel was also produced in other parts of the United Kingsom (Yorkshire, Lancashire and Ireland). There were differences between the flannels, basically due to the grades of raw wool available locally. Initially the fabric produced was done in various shades white, blue, brown, and black, achieved by mixing the various natural wool colors. Chemical dyes were developed (late-19th century). Here Germany played a major role. Sulphur dioxide was used to lighten the shades. Flannel became a staple for bous clothing including schoolwear (19th century. We see mitures with silk and more commonly cotton being used (late-19th century. It is at this time that white flannel trousers became standard in sports, particularly cricket, until the late-19th century. Flannel was made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but in recent years is being made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. It was until after the mid-20th century the most widely used fabric for boys's suits and schoolwear. It was widely used suits an trousers throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. It was the most common fabric for blazers and still is. After World War II we see synthetic fibers being used in blends. Other fabric include mohair, tweed (including Harris tweed), worsted (at first pure wool), and a wide range of other fabrics.
Terrylyn worsted was very common for suiting material and trousers beginning in the 1960s. It largely repalced flannel. Terylene is a trademark name for a synthetic fabric. It was the first wholly synthetic fibre invented in Britain. Gradually after World War II (1939-45), synthetic fibers were introduced in the manufacture of clothing. The most popular fabric in England proved to be Terylene/wool, a blended weave including wool and nylon. A tehnical more precise definition is a polymer (polyethylene terephthalate--PET). It is comnparable to dacron in America. Terylene was produced by polymerizing ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. It was a streachy material characterized by lightness and crease resistance. Terylene fabric had many variesd uses. Manufacturrs used it to produce pants, suits, amd rainwear. It was also used in making heavy shirts.
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