Identifying appropriate cloth for spring odd jackets is a difficult chore. A man wants something lighter than the lightest tweed, meaning 12 ounces/360 grams or less, and the worsted tweed weaves are too faux for my taste. There is linen of course, and blue or tan jackets in fresco, Finmeresco and the usual high twist subjects, but there is a limit to the number of those one can entertain and it is reached fairly quickly. And so one thumbs through Glenroyal, Moonbeam and the other books of lighter weight cloth looking for something to replace a certain venerable city worsted, without success. That time is here again.
Now the old books remind us that gaberdine odd jackets used to be popular for the season, and my 12 ounce/360 gram tan gaberdine suit, like the one in the illustration, is certainly perfect for this time of year. Further, a gray would be a nice choice for a city jacket, like the coat worn by the older man so long as it is not paired with that not terribly complementary necktie. But just try and find one. All the shades that are available are either too dark in color for an odd jacket, or too lightweight. There is a very nice pale gray in the Scabal gaberdine book but naturally they have made it as a Super 150s so they can crank the price to near cashmere levels and in a 9 ounce/270 gram weight so it will be too cool-wearing for our sunny sixty degree (16C) San Francisco summers. The hunt continues.
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7 comments:
The older gentleman in the grey jacket is wearing a variation of a Royal Artillery regimental necktie, but with the stripes going the American, rather than the British, way.
I've never been able to find any gabardine shades other than tans, that seem "right" to me. Flusser had a pearl gray dupioni silk about ten years ago that was at first unsettling to the eye but made up to me a lovely suit. (Not for me)I suspect the same outcome once you find something that suits you.
I'm busy looking for a summer odd jacket at the moment, so perhaps I will have to consider this as an option. I don't want anything too lightweight though - the English summer rarely justify it.
Although in the past you have spelled it correctly, you have throughout the post consistently misspelled gabardine. Enjoyable post, however. Thanks.
John, joining me in that mis-spelling are both Holland & Sherry and Scabal who make it. My dictionaries allow both gaberdine and gabardine and in this post I chose the version they use.
Midweight pale grey gabardine . . . . A job for the London Lounge?
Interestingly, Wikipedia (my source for most things...) distinguishes betweeen gabardine the material, and gaberdine the traditional Jewish robe, as mentioned in The Merchant of Venice.
Perhaps, as with so many things, the distinction is either entirely artificial or else has disappeared over time to the point where both spellings are acceptable.
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