The cashmere question comes up twice a month at our shop. A customer has budget for Tier D and is weighing pure wool against cashmere blends. It’s a reasonable question, cashmere is legitimately better for some purposes and worse for others. Here’s the honest guide.
What cashmere actually is
Cashmere is the downy undercoat hair of cashmere goats, harvested once a year in spring. The fibre is finer than wool (15-19 microns vs 22-30 for fine wool) and softer. It’s also more insulating per gram to cashmere garments feel warmer than wool garments of equivalent weight.
That last point is the practical issue. In a tropical climate, more insulation is not what you want.
When cashmere makes sense in Thailand
Three cases:
1. The evening-only suit
You plan to wear the suit for formal evening events in air-conditioned venues, hotel banquets, gala dinners, embassy receptions. Cashmere drapes more luxuriously than wool, has a distinctive sheen under evening light, and the air-conditioning means warmth isn’t a problem.
Recommended blend: 30% cashmere / 70% wool, Super 150s weight around 260 g/m. Around THB 38,000-48,000 at our Tier D.
2. The travel wardrobe
You live in Thailand but travel regularly to cooler climates, Japan in winter, Europe in autumn, business in Hong Kong in January. A cashmere-wool blend suit works across climates: warm enough for the London flight, drapeable enough for the Bangkok meeting the next day.
Recommended blend: 50% cashmere / 50% wool, 280-300 g/m. Around THB 45,000-55,000.
3. The gift or milestone suit
A suit that marks an occasion, your son’s wedding, a career milestone, a 50th birthday. Cashmere is a material you can feel is special, and the feel is a lot of what makes a milestone suit memorable.
Recommended blend: 20-40% cashmere, depending on occasion.
When cashmere doesn’t make sense
Four cases:
1. Daily tropical wear
If the suit is going to work in air-conditioned offices but also in taxis, on pavements, and in meeting rooms that may or may not have AC, you want a pure high-twist tropical wool. Cashmere will feel warm and the extra cost won’t return benefit.
2. A first custom suit
Cashmere blends are harder to tailor than pure wool, the fibre is more delicate, seam allowances behave differently, pressing is more technical. A first-time customer is better served by Tier C Italian Super 120s wool than by a cashmere-wool blend at similar price. Save cashmere for your second or third order, once you know what you like.
3. Travel-heavy use
Cashmere is delicate. Check-in luggage, airline humidity cycles, frequent dry cleaning, all age cashmere faster than pure wool. If you fly weekly in a suit, choose a durable Super 120s tropical wool.
4. Budget doesn’t reach Tier D comfortably
A cashmere-wool blend that’s less than 20% cashmere is barely cashmere. Low-percentage blends exist but offer minimal handle benefit over pure wool. If you’re stretching to afford cashmere, put the budget into better tailoring (full canvas, hand buttonholes, third fitting) on a Tier C pure wool instead.
What to ask about cashmere cloth
Four specific questions at the fabric-room stage:
- What percentage cashmere? 100% cashmere is rare in suiting and not durable enough for a jacket. 30-60% in a wool blend is the practical range.
- What’s the super count? Super 150s or higher is standard for Tier D cashmere blends. Lower super counts exist but diminish the luxury appeal.
- What’s the weight (g/m)? Below 280 g/m for tropical use; above 320 g/m only for winter travel.
- What mill? Loro Piana, Scabal, Dormeuil are the recognised names for premium cashmere-wool blends. If a tailor can’t name the mill, the fibre origin is unverifiable.
What we stock
Our Tier D cashmere-wool range includes:
- Loro Piana “Tasmanian Super 150s” with 30% cashmere, 260 g/m tropical weight.
- Scabal “Summit” 50/50 cashmere-wool blend, 290 g/m.
- Thai-mill 20% cashmere blend (Tier C upper, significantly cheaper), 270 g/m.
Feel the cloth before committing. Each blend handles differently, Loro Piana is drapey and refined; Scabal is firmer with more structure; Thai-mill blends are serviceable at lower cost but not the same handle.
Cashmere care, the non-negotiables
- Never hang on wire. Always wooden hangers with proper shoulder shape.
- Dry clean once per season, maximum. Over-cleaning kills cashmere faster than anything else.
- If it rains on the suit, let it air-dry on a hanger. Don’t apply direct heat.
- Store with cedar blocks or proper moth protection. Cashmere fibres are softer and attract moths more readily than pure wool.
- Small pulls (“pilling”) can be removed with a cashmere comb. Don’t cut.
Expected lifespan with proper care: 10-15 years. Without care: 3-5.
A concrete comparison
Two real customer orders from 2025, side by side:
Customer A: Tier D cashmere-wool blend (50/50), full canvas, three fittings. THB 52,000. Uses suit for quarterly business travel to Japan and occasional Bangkok galas. Says he can feel the cashmere when he puts it on. Year 2 of ownership; fabric still looks new.
Customer B: Tier C Italian Super 130s pure wool, full canvas, three fittings, working sleeve buttons. THB 31,000. Uses suit for weekly wear in Phuket-based business. Zero complaints; fabric has developed a slight “worn-in” drape that he likes.
Neither regrets his choice. The decisions came down to use case, not budget.