Casual trousers for cooler weather? We need only remember two words: corduroy and moleskin. Pair them with tweed jackets, navy blazers or sweaters in colors of the season.
Corduroy of course is velour côtelé, or ribbed cotton velvet. It takes its name from the material used on the jackets of hunting livery worn by the servants of the Kings of France. Both corduroy and moleskin, a brushed cotton, are hard wearing members of the fustian class of cotton fabrics that also includes cotton velvet.
The ridges in corduroy are known as wales and the cloth is made with as few as seven (jumbo) to as many as 16 (needlecord) wales per inch. Usually, though not always, more wales means lighter cloth. Corduroy is generally available in cloth as light as nine ounces and as heavy as 23 ounces and a wardrobe might include different weights for different temperatures. I find needle cord comfortable in temperatures as warm as 75 °F (24 °C) whereas a walk in the 23 ounce jumbo stuff will get me sweating at 50 °F (10 °C).
Try them tieless with long sleeved knitted polo shirts worn with a neckerchief or buttoned at the neck and a pair of suede chukkas.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Casual Trousers for Fall
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5 comments:
What is a good source for heavy moleskins and good corduroy trousers? Also, how about calvary twill for Fall/Winter?
What about cavalry twill? It's hard wearing but not as warm as flannel.
Cords are widey available and moleskin not difficult to find which is why I didn't specify sources. Ben Silver has some lightweight cords and medium weight moleskins. Cordings should have both.
Have you tried the 100% wool corduroy fabic from Lora Piana?
It tailors beautifully and performs much better than the cotton versions.
Samuelsohn from Canada has the best selection of colors for the US market.
It should be great for the Bay area.
Dan, I imagine that was the stuff Ben Silver was selling last year made into trousers? It looked very tasty but I didn't try it.
Does Loro Piana still offer the cloth?
Will, Not sure if the Ben Silver cloth was the same, but they do represent the Samuelsohn line.
Lora Piana still produces the cloth and Samuelsohn may have it exclusively for the North American market. The cloth weighs out at 480 grams, but don't let that scare you. The fabric breathes beautifully. I am in Tennessee and I assure you that it does not feel heavy at all. It's offered in about 11 shades, all great with Autumn jackets and sweaters.
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