Corduroy comes into its own as the weather turns cooler. A ridged version of cotton velvet commonly used for trousers, it has a certain additional utility for casual suits like the one worn in the photo by the late Duke of Windsor (he wore them in summer, but we have cooler wearing choices for warm weather today).
I think corduroy suits look a bit more elegant than corduroy odd jackets, if only because they're seen less frequently, and they are particularly effective combined with a knotted scarf instead of a necktie. Wear one to taste late harvest wines after the leaves have turned.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The Knock-About Suit, Part II
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9 comments:
Great post, Will, and thanks for posting the photo. I can't get enough of the DoW. What sort of trousers would one pair with a corduroy odd jacket?
When I wore one it was usually with cotton drill trousers.
Is the picture a mirror-image of the original, or did the DoW really have his breast pocket on his right side?
Good catch kds. Fixed.
The Duke's left wrist looks a trifle naked. Could he be wearing a short sleeved shirt under that jacket?
I can look at pictures of the Duke all day - makes my day.
I saw a young man last Fall wearing a navy corduroy jacket near Grand Central. He had it paired with a purple-ish check shirt. (no tie) Made me want to go buy one.
You know Bill, that may be one of the untold stories of the Duke. In every photo I've seen where he's wearing a jacket on a warm day, there's no shirt cuff. I believe he did wear short sleeved shirts.
But he knew it was wrong....
I think corduroy suits look less country because suits use thinner corduroy with a narrower wale (the wider the wale, the chunkier the corduroy usually is). This allows the maker to drape the fabric. A coarser fabric is not as amenable. An uncle of mine had a dark corduroy suit made that he wore proudly for years.
When I view the picture I do not see the jacket and trousers as matching fabric. It appears to be corduroy trousers paired with, possibly, a donegal tweed jacket in a lighter shade.
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