Lumbs Golden Bale Cloth

By Film Noir Buff

What is Lumb’s Golden Bale and where does cloth made from it rank on the list of men’s suiting?

Think Sir Arnold Robinson and Sir Humphrey Appleby sipping scotch in green leather arm chairs and discussing how to preserve the world’s tranquility. Think Balance of power. Think wealth and influence combined with English, democratic modesty. That is Lumbs Golden Bale cloth.

In decades past, It was mostly made by H. Lesser and the quality became synonymous with Lesser’s retro matte cloth finish. The wool itself comes from… well, this link explains it perfectly:




www.bulmerandlumb.com/news/?p=48

When Harrisons of Edinburgh bought H. Lesser, thus combining my two favorite cloth merchants, the question in the minds of the cloth cognoscenti was whether they could and would maintain both the historical quality and look. There was indeed some trepidation about whether the young bucks at Harrisons could maintain that Dickensian Tellson’s Bank feeling that Lesser cloth always lent UK Bankers and Solicitors.

Well heeled men everywhere can now rest assured that Harrisons has indeed exceeded all expectations. The quality is improved and the original look of the fabric is not only preserved but enhanced- plus Lesser que Lesser – so to speak. Let the tailoring begin!

What do you get when you buy Lumbs Golden Bale? You get visual buttery softness combined with subcutaneous toughness. Like a high tensile steel, this material is malleable without any brittleness.

The more you wear the fabric, the softer it looks and feels, yet still retains the shape of its first day from the tailors. In fact, the more you wear Lumbs Golden Bale, the better it looks; developing, as it were, a patina. That is because the quality of the fibers and the weave provide multiple layers of beauty.

This is the everlasting gobstopper of suits. It will probably never wear out and you will one day be forced to give it away or leave it to your descendants. How’s that for Old Boy thrift?

My one complaint is that they need more patterns! Apparently the global turn down produced an aversion to the banker look. However, for those of us who have earned their stripes, we would like a better selection.

For the rest, there is a generous variety of solid shades, pick and picks, bird’s eye and small Prince of Wales checks in 7-8oz tropical weight, 11-12 oz business weight, 13oz Old Boy weight and a small series of worsted flannels which are vastly superior to the original Lesser version.

From the good fabric merchants of Harrisons:

Since the introduction of what are commonly known today as bunches, there have been few partnerships like the one enjoyed between H Lesser and Lumb’s Golden Bale.

H lesser & Sons was one of the original Merchants invited to become members of the select club that were deemed worthy enough to supply cloth of this quality.

The criterion for membership was a simple one, a reputation for providing the trade with cloth of the very highest standard; standards that are fundamental to the reputation of H Lesser.

Lumb’s Golden Bale is the Flagship bunch for H Lesser cloths; the component fleeces are still handpicked and inspected by the some of the most experience buyers in Huddersfield.

We still insist on the highest levels of production, from the spinning into yarn, right though the weaving process, and onto the final finishing.

Lumb’s Golden Bale epitomizes everything that H Lesser has stood for all these years, and will continue to do so for many years to come.




www.harrisonsofedinburgh.com

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