The Business Suit
Prince of Wales
468 €
In stock
- 100% Merino wool
- Dyed and woven in the UK by Hardy Minnis
- Half-canvas construction, tailored fit made in Portugal
Prince of Wales
Here’s where your suits let you down in the past...
1
Poor fabric
2
Too big and baggy
3
Tears around the inside leg
4
Too hot and stuffy
Get down to business
THE GOOD STUFF
Quality fabric was important to you, so we settled for nothing less than 100% merino wool. Thanks to the mystical powers of the merino sheep, this stuff is particularly good at regulating temperature—helping you stay warm when the office radiators cut out, and keep cool when the pressure’s on. It’s got a really nice texture to it, too.
HARDY BY NAME, HARDY BY NATURE
Our Merino wool was woven by the Hardy Minnis—a legendary British clothmaker that has been around since 1874. Ranging from 340-370g/m2, depending on which colour you go for, it’s a hearty middle-weight that’s got a quality, substantial handle, without weighing you down.
LET’S TWIST AGAIN
Our cloth is what’s known as double-twisted. This means that each thread is made up of two smaller threads twisted together—helping the fabric to hold its shape and ward off rips and tears.
SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN
We knew our fabric was pretty tough, but to make sure it’d last through years of wear, we sent it to a specialist lab to get tested. The results speak for themselves—4.5 out of 5 for abrasion, 4.5 out of 5 for colour resistance to dry cleaning and 4.5 out of 5 for pilling and fluffing.
A MODERN MASTERPIECE
It’s maybe important to mention that this isn’t some throwback power suit to wear whilst you check the fax machine for news on your Amstrad shares. Sure, with those slightly padded shoulders it’s a bit more ‘constructed’ than some of the more casual suits around—but thanks to that tailored fit you won’t wind up looking like you’ve stepped out of an 80s aftershave ad.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
We know that you want your clothes to fit just right, so we left our trousers unhemmed so you can wear them how you like. Take ‘em to your local tailor to get them altered, or turn them up… the choice is all yours.
HALF CANVAS, NO HALF MEASURES
Our jacket has what’s known in the suit business as a ‘half-canvas’ interlining. This means that there’s a layer of canvas sandwiched between that tasty merino wool for a bit of extra shape and support—sort of like that chocolatey bit in the middle of a Bourbon biscuit, but more useful.
THE FINER DETAILS
Quality fabric deserves to be backed up with hard-wearing hardwear. In this case, that means a YKK zipper on the trousers and horn buttons throughout. We’re always using horn buttons—and for good reason—they look ace, and they’re really tough. What more could you want?
PERFECTLY SUITED
We’ll admit it, the name of this suit is slightly misleading. Yeah—it’s the perfect way to add some flavour to the day job, but don’t let that stop you from wearing it on the weekend. Thanks to that sturdy fabric and comfortable shape it’s ideal for weddings, swanky meals and pretty much anything else that calls for a slice of style.
It’s the business
Traceability
What goes into making your Business Suit. The materials have travelled a total of 6124 km (3,805 miles) from field to doormat.
Raw material
Farming cooperatives Europe
Spinning
Germany
Weaving
Italy
Social certifications : Repreve, Newlife, GRS, BCI
Environmental certifications: Repreve, OCS, FSC, Newlife, GRS, Standard 100 by OEKOTEX
Dyeing
Italy
Social certifications : Repreve, Newlife, GRS, BCI
Environmental certifications: Repreve, OCS, FSC, Newlife, GRS, Standard 100 by OEKOTEX
Production
Crialme Portugal
Transport
Road haulage
Environmental Impact
Our aim is to always give you as much information as possible on the clothes we make so you can make an informed decision before preordering. This includes the environmental impact of each Business Suit (jacket and trousers) we produce expressed in simple terms that we can all easily understand. There’s
51.4 kg
of CO2 emitted
The equivalent of 530 kms (329 miles) by car.
26.3 L
water consumption
The equivalent of growing 438 kg of potatoes.
521.2 MJ
energy depletion
The equivalent of 176h of heating (in average flat).
Team work
Grey Herringbone
Sharp and subtle.
NO SWEAT !
Delivery costs
We deliver worldwide. For orders in selected European countries* including the UK, we charge a flat fee of 9€ irrespective of how many pieces of the same item you order. For deliveries in the rest of Europe and outside of the EU, the cost is 15€.
Easy to change sizes
If you get the wrong size, fear not, we accept returns and exchanges. For orders in Europe these are free, and for countries, in the rest of the world we ask you to pay the return and we will take care of the cost of sending out an exchange. Just log into your Asphalte account and we’ll get that sorted.
IT’S A RISK-FREE INVESTMENT
Sure, we work hard on our products, but we won’t take it personally if, for whatever reason, you change your mind about the item you’ve preordered. We’re all friends here, you can be honest with us. So long as the item is in its original condition, with tags and packaging intact, you can send it back to us for a full refund. No worries.
The Team
Asphalte began life back in 2016, just four people with a bit of experience in fashion and a simple enough aim: making good quality clothes in a low-impact way. Things started off smoothly enough, and we were picking up a bit of momentum, but something was missing. The idea for Asphalte didn’t really come together until we got our pals on the blower and asked them, ‘Hey, what do you want us to make?’ We didn’t realise it at the time, but this was the turning point. If Asphalte were a scientific discovery, this would be called the ‘eureka!’ moment. If it were a comic book, this was the part where we get bitten by a radioactive spider.
It might not seem like a revolutionary idea. That’s because it isn’t, really. But fast forward 5 years and asking our friends what they wanted has turned into sending you lot our biannual questionnaires, and using your feedback to determine what we release. And that’s our secret weapon. It’s how we make what you want for a good price, and keep waste to a minimum.
Today our team is a bit bigger than four people. In fact, there are 64 of us now. We used to be based in Paris, but now we’ve moved out to greener pastures down in Bordeaux. Besides that, we’re still working in much the same way as when we first started, with the same ideas about quality, sustainability and our customers leading the way.