Suits and Socks, Installment XXVII

I have written before about how both Grant and Astaire used socks lighter than their trousers to good effect and it has become a favorite technique. In the photograph, tan Edward Green cap toes show their stuff for perhaps the last time this season (they go into storage to make room for boots) below my blue-gray Finmeresco suit. In between, light silver-gray cotton socks complement an unseen gray striped shirt. A tan Shantung necktie completed the picture.

Speaking of Finmeresco, Smith Woolens has re-issued the Finmeresco book but the one I am looking at contains a strange assortment of choices to my mind. There are some very nice three ply 9/10 ounce (360 gram) offerings including a dusty blue but the 9/10 is too light for regular wear in the City and the heart of the collection had been the four ply 11/12 ounce (360 gram) stuff that is nine month cloth in San Francisco. I found several shades of navy and a plethora of olives, tans and browns but not a single gray, and none of the more interesting colors like mustard and my own blue-gray that were in the original book. This is unfortunate as I had just about convinced myself that another Finmeresco should be next on my list when Mr. Thomas Mahon visits in November but I guess I will stick to gabardine for shoulder season. 13 ounce (400 gram) gab wears warmer and wrinkles more easily than Finmeresco but it has a definite charm of its own. Or perhaps it is time for a visit to Jodek, the H. Lesser distributor in Los Angeles for a look at what is left in that inventory.