Winter suits are rarer than those for the rest of the year. I am far from an expert on ready to wear clothing but, on those occasions that I cruise the racks at the friendly neighborhood menswear retailer, the suits are all medium weight and lighter. Heck, the last time I looked at Zegna's made to measure cloth offerings the heaviest material they had was 11 ounces (330 grams), which is what I wear in moderate temperatures. When it is colder than 55 (13 C) I reach for something warmer.
By winter suits of course I mean those with cloth in the range of 13-16 ounces (400 to 500 grams), 16 ounces being about as warm as a man can wear in a temperature space. André Churchwell's glen check in the photo is an example, with cloth that is visibly heavier than what we see in typical department store suits.
I guess we cannot blame most of the clothing retailers, and I say most because many major cities still have one or two menswear shops that stock a full range of weights (Samuelsohn of Montréal, Canada, for example, makes some respectable examples that retail for $1,000 and a bit more). Seasonable wardrobes cost more than one year-round set of clothing, and it is possible to extend that temperature range of that mid-weight stuff with outerwear. Both the retailer and the customer may save some cash, though the real cost of that approach of course is cold legs for the man wearing what is essentially a summer suit in the depths of winter.
A compromise approach that does not add much cost to the typical wardrobe is to acquire mid-range clothes and then supplement them at one end of the temperature spectrum with a couple of summer suits and a couple for winter. There are in each season a couple days that are more moderate than others when mid-range cloth is perfectly adequate, but the winter suit will be appreciated when temperatures fall below freezing. Every wardrobe should have a couple of them.
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5 comments:
I have a flannel suit from Paul Stuart, and I've seen them from Polo Ralph Lauren as well. The suits are fairly lightweight for flannel, but I'm not really good a determining weight. But they are definitely winter suits.
Of course it goes without saying that there is Winter and there is 'winter'. In the very mild southern part of the U.S. what is used as a three season or shoulder season suit farther north is only donned in the depths of December thru February. Down here a 16 oz. suit would never leave the closet, unless one was visiting relatives in the northern tier.
The other impediment may be over-enthusiasic, but poorly moderated,"climate control" in modern office buildings; "winter-weight" suiting is't so comfortable in an office heated to 70 degrees F with a sunny-side window.
I suppose the compromise for the fellow lacking an André Churchwell income has to be tweed coat and thick trousers. I have but one real winter suit and the rest of the time I have to wear thick, flannel odd-trousers. Stops the cold legs problem. Sourcing thick flannel trousers may be a tall order in itself, all mine are a decade old, some even older...
Or, of course, the other solution: long underwear. Not ideal, but for some climates—and budgets—the best option.
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