There are no good suitings for hot weather. Really. The English inventors of the suit did not face much heat over the course of their summer and accordingly did little to take it into account despite their experience in India. What we have available to us today are really suitings for the sea shore - cloths for 80 degree (27C) days with a breeze. When temperatures exceed 90F (32C) men can only sweat, or flee into an air conditioned environment.
Men considering warm weather suitings should begin by first throwing out a bit of the conventional wisdom. Dupioni silk is not a summer suiting. A ten ounce/300 gram tightly woven cloth, it wears warm and, like gabardine, is better suited to spring and early fall.
There are perhaps five cloth choices that do provide service on warm-but-not-hot summer days. Three of them are better choices for the workplace and the first is the most obvious: lightweight (7-8 ounce or 210-240 gram) tropical worsteds. These are light but not all that cool-wearing as their weaves do not allow much air ciculation. They also wrinkle too much for my taste but, nonetheless, they have their place. The best include H. Lesser's Tropicals and Smith Woolens' Gilt Twist.
The word twist leads us to a class of cloth that is to my mind the best hot weather choice. These are the high twist weaves that are woven to resist wrinkling and allow air circulation (this really works - I was wearing a pair of high twist trousers in a breeze the other day and had to look down to reassure myself that I still had them on). The slight downside to these is a moderately rough hand to the weave. Minnis fresco and Smith's Finmeresco are two excellent examples, with the Smith's considerably smoother to the touch.
The third choice are blends of mohair and wool, which are sometimes woven in a high twist weave as well. Mohair wicks away perspiration but gives cloth a bit of a sheen that can be offputting to some men. I prefer it for evening suits and dinner clothes. Harrison's Cape Kid, an 8 ounce/240 gram blend of 60% Summer Kid Mohair and 40% Super 100 wool, is a world class offering if a bit too lightweight for my taste.
Those three more formal cloths are joined by linen, which also wicks perspiration well but has a tendency to rumple, and cotton, which can be lightweight but creases easily. Either is effective for less formal occasions but leaves something to be desired in an office, though striped cotton seersucker and olive cotton poplin suits are American staples.
And those are the best of a poor lot when the weather is hot.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Hot Weather Suitings
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12 comments:
Excellent information. Do you have anything made up in the Harrison's?
Great posting. What are your thoughts on hopsack fabrics?
Will,
I am really glad you took the time to address this point.
Many of my readers ask what kind of suit I wear in the dog days of summer and the simple answer is I don't.
I'll be sure to direct them to this post as it is truly informative.
-Dennis
People are often very surprised to see me without a suit in the middle of the summer, but I'm going to sweat enough already!
Still, I love the way light seersucker trousers feel like they're not even there. And my first linen suit should be ready very soon.
Erik
Very helpful article, as always, Will.
I've just bought a really nice wool and linen mix suit from Pal Zileri, buggy lined and very lightweight but looks like it won't crumple too much - not sure who made the cloth. I'll let you know how I get on when it hots up - not been very warm in the UK yet!
Jc, I do not have anything from the Harrison's.
Frank, I like hopsack but it's not a warm weather cloth despite the texture, at least mine aren't.
Those three more formal cloths are joined by linen, which also wicks perspiration well but has a tendency to rumple, and cotton, which can be lightweight but creases easily. Either is effective for less formal occasions but leaves something to be desired in an office, though striped cotton seersucker and olive cotton poplin suits are American staples.
This is entirely dependent on where in the country you are. Go down South, where we know hot better than anyone, and nobody will bat an eye if you wear linen or seersucker five days a week to the office.
I live in Puerto Rico, this means that 80 to 95+ F days are the norm, oh and we can't forget about the humidity.
I own just two suits, a light gray sport jacket and matching pants and a formal black tailor suit. I need something in the middle obviously, suggestions?
I have really wanted to try a fresco cloth suit. I suppose it is not available at all in Ready To Wear. If it is, someone please tell me. Bespoke or made to measure seems harder to justify on clothing meant to be worn in sweltering heat.
I wear suits in hot weather, including 100F in Australia or Brazil, and I find that for me a navy Irish Linen, for instance, less likely to wrinkle than its Italian counterpart,is a great choice for the office - unless in Court. This presumes a very light shirt material is used for the shirt.
In Manhattan you're going to sweat no matter what.
I like the suggestion of Irish linen, but it's not for a board meeting unless you're on the board.
Holland and Sherry's "Shannon" book is worth looking at. Any other suggestions for linen that is a bit on the heavier side?
If one cannot wear seersucker on blistering days, one is in the wrong part of the world. In direct sunlight, it's cooler than no jacket.
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