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Photo courtesy DJ Scammell

Herringbone Suit

By Douglas James Scammell

Published 11:29 PDT, Fri October 24, 2025

Fashion For Men

When it comes to fall, and winter men’s suit fashion darker colors will be back in full swing and since the weather will be damp and colder outside it is important to have some versatile sport coats and suits that you can wear over and over again during the next three seasons, especially living here in British Columbia. One of the most versatile suits you can have is either a herringbone also known as a tweed wool fabric suit or sport coat to incorporate into your suit rotation.

History

Herringbone is a weave pattern which is known for its distinctive V-shaped weave, shown in the picture here. I discovered doing the research for this article the weave design has a very rich history where its origin goes all the way back to ancient Roman times to modern home décor and obviously menswear, where the pattern’s interlocking structure provide strength, and durability.

Herringbone got its name because it resembles the skeleton of a herring fish. Tweed is traditionally made of 100 per cent wool fabric that uses the herringbone weave design but wool is not exclusively used as there are some modern variations incorporated like cashmere, silk or even synthetics to achieve different textures to enhance durability.

Tweeds are a staple of traditional Scottish, Irish, Welsh and English clothing, being desirable for informal outerwear. The fabric is perfect for a marine climate like Great Britain has because the material is moisture resistant and durable and is made to withstand harsh climates. A herringbone suit traditionally was commonly worn by upper-class men as country clothing being used for outdoor activities such as shooting and hunting.

Weave Types:

The weave is fundamental to tweed's appearance and properties. There is many different types of weaves than just the traditional V shaped weave. Here is some most common weaves listed below:

Twill Weave: This is the most frequent weave, characterized by distinct diagonal lines on the fabric surface. This structure gives tweed its flexibility, strength, and durability, as the diagonal weave is more resistant to wrinkling and wear than a plain weave.

Herringbone: A variation of the twill weave, where the diagonals reverse at regular intervals, creating a zigzag pattern resembling a fish's skeleton.

Plaid/Check: Many tweeds, especially estate tweeds, use complex checkered patterns formed by the intersection of different colored yarns in the warp and weft.

Plain Weave: Although less common in classic tweeds, a plain weave (one over, one under) can be used, resulting in a simpler, more uniform fabric.

Density and Weight: Tweed is generally a dense, medium-to-heavyweight fabric. This density, achieved through robust yarns and finishing processes like "fulling" (where the fabric is beaten to compact the fibers), contributes to its ability to retain heat and resist wind and water. The "open" or "airy" structure often described in tweed actually refers to its surface texture and wool's breathability, rather than a truly loose weave.

There is many different brands of herringbone tweed fabrics. One of the most commonly known worth mentioning is Harris Tweed which was founded in 1909 and is exclusively made in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, specifically on the islands of Lewis, Harris, Uist, and Barra. It is a tweed cloth handwoven by islanders in their homes, using 100 per cent pure virgin wool dyed and spun from these islands.

Resurgence

I think it is fair to say a good herringbone tweed suit has never gone out of fashion.

When it comes to men’s fashion I like to mention and give credit to some of the famous icons that have made their mark. When it comes to Herringbone fashion icons, I think of Sean Connery playing James Bond. Connery wore a beautiful tweed sport coat in the James Bond movies Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965) along with some very famous tough San Francisco Police movie detectives like Steve McQueen in the movie Bullitt (1968) and Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry (1971) both wore iconic herringbone sport coats influenced by the one I am wearing in the pictures in this article below.

In more modern times the hit British show Peaky Blinders had plenty of herringbone content set in Britain during the 1920’s and 30’s who’s main character’s wardrobe Thomas Shelby portrayed by Cillian Murphy wore plenty of dapper herringbone suits which influenced its popularity into today’s modern world.

Hebrides, group of islands extending in an arc off the Atlantic (west) coast of Scotland. They are subdivided into two groups—the Inner Hebrides to the east and the Outer Hebrides to the west—which are separated from each other by channels called the Minch and the Little Minch.

Photo courtesy of Kelisi via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)