Summer Blues

If gray is the color of winter then blue must surely be the color of summer. And not navy blue either, but the softer tones of sunlit seas and clear skies. French blue, Irish blue and still lighter tones appear in odd jackets and suitings of linen, cotton and even Solaro. Yes, Solaro, that red-backed weave that was once thought to wear cooler because it reflected the sun. And though my own experience calls that latter characteristic into question, there is no doubt that its undertones of color add to the seasonality of the cloth.

Limited as it is to bespoke tailored clothing, Solaro is rarely seen and when it is it tends to be in the shades of tan that are the only colors offered by Smith Woolens, its originator and one of the last remaining businesses on the planet without a web presence of any kind. I was reminded of the blue stuff by a Napolisumisura customer who wrote looking for some to have made into a summer suit, and the only blue I am aware of is offered by Scabal, the Belgian cloth merchant (never having seen a swatch I am not certain that the cloth in the photo is backed with red, indeed it could be backed with navy blue for all I know but Scabal does call it Solaro). It is precious stuff apparently as Scabal's tailor pricing is about $300 a meter which is about twice as much as Smith wants for the original. But I digress.

Solaro or not, the lighter blues of summer may be a little too visible for some. I on the other hand will be wearing my French blue Finmeresco double breasted today, with an ecru shirt and a navy knit necktie with tan horizontal stripes. For it is summer and the sun is shining.