There are many benefits to custom clothing. Impeccable fit and comfort top the list, but the ability to express your personality through your clothes is important too. Our image consultants in Philadelphia will guide you through the selection of all manner of styling details. Today, we’ll focus on how to pick a custom suit lining.

What To Consider When Picking A Lining

When you buy a tie, you need to think about what shirts you have at home. When you buy a sport jacket, you’ll want to consider shirts. Pant purchases require thinking about your sock collection, and the list goes on.

Linings are unlike other components of clothing in that they don’t require coordination with other pieces. Sure, it won’t hurt if you put a burgundy lining in a navy suit so that it matches the tie you’ll wear on your wedding day, but you don’t have to do that. Linings are inherently hidden and don’t affect your first impression, so we encourage clients to have as much (or as little) fun as their personalities warrant.

With that in mind, the world is your oyster – bold paisleys, dots, geometrics, and other special-interest linings are fair game. Just make sure it aligns with your personality.

Different Lining Placements

A deconstructed jacket featuring a French facing with butterfly back – just fabric and some lining.

In addition to selecting the lining itself, you can pick how the lining is set up in the jacket. With that said, lots of our clients defer to us when making this decision.

• Full linings are what you see on the majority of jackets on the market, not just the ones we make. The lining covers the entire inside of the jacket and the insides of the sleeves.
• Half linings are good for guys who tend to run hot. The lining is removed from the lower half of the jacket’s inner back panels, making it a bit lighter and airier. The sleeves are still fully lined.
• 1/8 linings remove even more lining than half linings. Eighth-lined coats only have lining on the inside of the jacket’s side panels, inside the sleeves, and a little bit around the shoulders (which we refer to as a “butterfly back”). This works very well for summer jackets and softer models you plan to wear more casually.
• Lastly, we have jackets with a French facing. Nearly all lining has been removed from these models, leaving only the insides of the sleeves and the aforementioned butterfly back. This is perfect for the softer deconstructed coats we’ve been making in the past few years.

Materials For Custom Jacket Lining

While linings tend to feel very silky, they often aren’t made of silk. We typically find them in a man-made material, with viscose being the most common. You may have heard the term “Bemberg lining” at some point in your life – Bemberg is simply a trade name for cuprammonium rayon, which we also refer to as “cupro.”

Any of these materials will give you a jacket that moves easily with you and is a cinch to put on and take off.

Custom Linings at Henry A. Davidsen

A custom lining made from a client’s personal photos.

In addition to the hundreds of lining options we offer for all our jackets, we also make custom linings for our clients. This is a perfect idea for wedding suits and tuxedos – what could be more meaningful than a collage of you and your significant other lining the jacket you made up for the special day? All we need is a few digital photo files, and you can leave the rest to us.

Conclusion

Ready to check out some linings? We’re here to help. Give us a call at 215-310-0219 or email info@henrydavidsen.com to set up a consultation.