Summer calls for mid-weight cloth in San Francisco, at least until one gets out of the coastal fog into the sun where it is generally 25-30 degrees warmer (that would be about 17 degrees Celsius). And so, a foggy gray suit from Thomas Mahon in H. Lesser's 9.5/10 ounce worsted plain weave, worn like the houndstooth of yesterday's post with an ecru shirt and a knit tie, this one black with white spots. The handkerchief is white linen. Out of the picture, black cap toe oxfords and a panama hat.
Each man's idea of the summer suit is shaped by his climate. The true summer clothing in my wardrobe is casual stuff, cottons and linens, for the only time the local temperature calls for it is on the weekend or in the country where the nearest suit but for mine tends to be miles away. That leaves me scrambling on those occasions when I will be going to Manhattan in mid-summer as I will later this month (I have had an 8 ounce/240 gram fresco city suit on my wish list for a year or two but it keeps getting pre-empted by things that will be worn more than a few days each season). And so while there I will do my best to remain in air conditioned spaces with my faux summer suits.
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14 comments:
That suit is nothing short of fantastic.
Bravo.
I just moved to New Orleans, where it is 90 degrees and incredibly humid basically every day of the year. Any tips on suits for that weather?
8 ounce fresco for business. Linen the rest of the time.
It's hard to know what one's climate is anymore. In NYC a couple of weeks ago it was 30C on the street, 19C in every air-conditioned building; 40C on the subway platform, and half that on the train. It's frankly impossible to be consistently appropriately dressed there.
VB
Will, welcome to the in-lander's dilemma. I have some trousers in the 8 oz. They bag a bit and do not hang or perform like the 9 oz. Big difference in one oz. What's man to do. . . .
My 8 oz trousers bag as well but that's part of the price.
There's no air conditioning here in Vermont, so it's always tough wearing a suit here in the summer!
-Urban Adventurer (urbanadventurer.com/blog)
I know what you mean. The weather in New York State is a nightmare, either deathly cold or hellishly hot. I often find myself, on days like today, wearing blazers, jackets and suits in air conditioning, avoiding being outside except when I have to. Admittedly, I do get used to it for a while. Reminds me of a story my uncle told me when he returned from Vietnam. He went from a tropical climate where 100 F was normal, and returned to New Jersey in February. Love the suit, though the collar on that shirt looks as if it has been pulled in a bit, as the edges overlap. Perhaps you have lost weight, or the tie is perhaps tighter than usually.
Tamburlaine, I live in Little Rock, also quite humid, topping 105 today. I love linen but also pure cotton. I've experimented with every form of shirting, and, weirdly, traditional oxford(Brooks brothers or Robert Talbot type) 'breathes' very well, even on a scorcher. Cotton suits also work even in the 100's. Linen works quite well in the trousers and I've also had very good experiences with Will's cotton socks which are quite light and 'breathe' well.
All of which you might expect-but I've been amazed at the utility of traditional oxford shirting: it does well in cold and moderate weather, but also works well in the heat and humidity, despite it's thickness.
Will,
Perhaps it's just the photo, but to my eye the fit of that suit doesn't look up to your usual standards.
The photo gives the appearance that there is extra fabric gaping on the sides and the shoulders seem to extend well beyond your natural shoulder?
Asian summers are no walk in the country, either. Tokyo, for example, has beastly hot, humid summers, so every store and train car has the air conditioning set to "deep freeze." Women carry cardigans to don indoors; men just suffer.
I guess our California Central Coast Junuarys aren't as bad as they might be.
Fantastic suit Will,you can show to us in another pictures?
Thanks!
N, you are noticing the standard characteristics of the English drape cut. The shoulders and that cloth on the sides are there deliberately, and that is my favorite style of double breasted.
Wonderfull suit!
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