Fabric Patterns in Bespoke Tailoring

Glen Plaid is a classic pattern for suits, blazers, jackets — usually associated with conservative but stylish menswear.

Properties:

• A composite pattern of various plaid designs.
• A mix of small and large checks, including houndstooth elements.
• Typically uses muted colors like black, white, and gray.
• The defining characteristic is its composite woven design without an overcheck.

The pattern works well with neutral shirts/ties to maintain elegance.

Prince of Wales check is among the most classic patterns for business suits, blazers, and formal jackets.

Properties:

• A specific version of glen plaid that is distinguished by an additional, colored "overcheck" or stripe.
• The overcheck can be any contrasting color, such as blue, green, or red, over the base glen plaid pattern.
• The presence of a colored overcheck is the key distinction from a standard glen plaid.

A Prince of Wales suit is best paired with a simple shirt and tie to avoid visual overload.

Herringbone is a variant of a twill weave. Commonly used in wool suits, tweed jackets, overcoats and sport coats.

Properties:

• Diagonal lines are in reverse direction at regular intervals.
• Broken zig-zag or V-shaped pattern.
• Pattern resembles a fish skeleton.

It works particularly well for colder seasons and can be dressed either formally (with tie) or more casually (with turtleneck, etc.).

Pinstripe fabrics are most common in business suits, formal trousers, and jackets.

Properties:

• Very narrow, evenly spaced vertical stripes.
• Usually extremely thin (sometimes as thin as 1/30 inch, or about 0.85 mm).
• Commonly associated with shades of blue or black colors.

Accessories like shirts and ties are mostly kept simple and neutral to give a balanced depth of appearance when wearing a Pinstripe suit.

Checked pattern is a broad category; many more specific patterns (including plaid, gingham, windowpane, etc.) are sub-types.

Properties:

• Intersecting vertical and horizontal stripes.
• Grid of squares or rectangles are formed.
• Typically, two colours are used to contrast adjacent squares.

Good for casual wear, layering, or items meant to stand out, but may look too informal if used in a formal business suit in high-contrast colours.

Houndstooth  is frequently used in overcoats, sport jackets, tweed suits, skirts, and accessories (hats, scarves).

Properties:

• Broken (or “notched”) check: a tessellation of alternating light and dark checks
• Some squares are solid and others diagonally striped — creating a jagged, tooth-like effect.
• The pattern is often two-tone (traditionally black and white), although many color variations exist.

Houndstooth is ideal for overcoats or jackets meant to be statement pieces. For subtlety, there are smaller-scale or muted-color versions (e.g., micro-houndstooth).