According to Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions, a gray jacket and white trousers like the ones worn by the man on the right in the also-from-Esquire illustration were once the most popular warm weather casual clothing combination. I have written before that it is a look that deserves resurrection, particularly combined with white bucks and a light-weight scarf worn over a tee shirt or polo. And, given a competent tailor, it would not be hard to do so.
The jacket is double breasted, a style that is counter-intuitive for warm weather, but the patch pockets hint at a quarter or buggy lining to permit air flow. The little additional warmth from the extra material across the chest is a small price to pay for fashion, particularly if it is executed in a high twist cloth like Fresco (J&J Minnis has a suitable light gray). And the combination of those same pockets and a set of mother of pearl buttons would ensure that no-one is likely to confuse it with an orphaned suit coat.
Cream Irish linen is probably the best bet for the trousers. Dormeuil had a white 10 ounce flannel but I understand it is gone now, and flannel does not wear all that cool to begin with. For the rest, white buck is difficult but reversed calf shoes are not hard to find while Drake's London makes modal scarves that are light as air.
And that is one way to resurrect a great look from the past.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Resurrecting the Past
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12 comments:
Will, whenever possible, could you portray that look for us with real clothes? I recollect that the cream trousers you have gracefully shown us already. I am starting to get excited about that gray jacket...
Thanks for the inspiration.
Best,
Luis.
Lovely, Will, and inspired substitutes for the original cloths. Shall we see it in the flesh next season?
Will, you've recently shown white bucks in several posts on warm weather looks. They are indeed hard to find. Any chance of your doing a post on sources, especially RTW?
Many thanks!
I am thinking about a gray gabardine or Dupioni DB for the climate in San Francisco but it may or may not come to pass for next spring. I already have a navy Shantung jacket on my list for next year and am not certain I want to bump it.
LaoHu, white buckskin is almost impossible to find. White reversed goat is around. I am using it on the apron of a sample pair of spectator Sloops that will be ready by mid-July.
I don't follow ready to wear shoes very closely, though I did check them out at Barney's last week. No acceptable white bucks there though.
Igcintra, the following routine from 1946 shows Astaire in precisely this look, albeit with a shirt and tie and spectators.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj4_jxy7zKU
(from 2:15 on)
It really is a superb summer look.
"The little additional warmth from the extra material across the chest is a small price to pay for fashion..."
This quote seems a little out of place for ASW to me. Fashion?
White flannel cloth is available by several London tailors for bespoke trousers, very useful for English summers but not in hotter weather and hence no match to lines in real heat indeed. Apart from the always-possible bespoke option, Ben Silver sells white buck and other nice summer shoes that, although manufactured mainly by Crockett & Jones, have a distinctly American bent and make great summer footwear.
John, perhaps it would have been more accurate to say "The little additional warmth from the extra material across the chest is a small price to pay for style."
The meaning in this context is, I believe, the same.
white bucks =Woogies scarpe in Senegalia Italy
Will: You reference the likelihood of a "buggy lining" in the jacket given the presence of patch pockets on the DB jacket. Can you please describe a "buggy lining," and will any respectable tailor know what you mean if you ask for it?
Thank you.
Best regards,
Mark
When the interior is finished with the same material as the exterior that is known as a buggy lining.
There are tailors who have never made anything more complicated than a half lined jacket. They would be unlikely to know what a buggy lining is. But I have no idea what proportion of all tailors that mightbe.
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