STYLISH GENTLEMAN
It looses little in coolness for this advantage
and can make for a wonderfully stylish
summer suit or coat. Think of the summer
sportsmen of the 1930s for your inspiration.
Many of the fine Italian tailors make
frequent use of blends of wool and silk to
make light weight and cool suits, without
sacrificing style. Indeed, a good wool and silk
sport coat can be worn on all but the coldest
days. These are often to be found on the rack
at independent menswear stores, where they
cognoscenti will look for patterns and
colours that can work with everything from
denim to linen and flannel.
Another versatile cloth is hopsack, a loosely
woven cloth normally made from wool. It
drapes beautifully and is very forgiving of
both travel and heat. My navy blue hopsack
blazer is normally the first thing I pack when
travelling in summer. It ’s colour and texture
means it sits right on the edge between casual
and smart. Perfect for wearing with grey
flannel for the office and jeans for the
weekend.
The final summer cloth is probably the king
of them all. The fantastic Fresco produced by
JJ Minnis in England’s weaving heartland of
Huddersfield. It’s a worsted wool cloth, made
in a rough and open weave. This gives it a
great texture and means it feels very cool to
wear. Indeed, I’ve worn it on usually hot and
humid days in India and felt as cool as my
colleagues in loose cottons. Being made from
worsted wool it is incredibly resilient,
making light work of humidity or being
folded into a suitcase. This makes it the
ultimate travel suit material.
Even a suit cut from an open cloth like this
can still be hot to wear if made traditionally
however. In a normal suit there are thick
layers of padding inside the suit. Called
interlining, these are glued or stitched into
place to help turn the two dimensional cloth
into a three dimensional coat. This is great
on a cool day or in an air-conditioned office
but less pleasant at a summer garden
party.This is where the various unlined, half
or buggy-lined jackets come into play. Made
without interlinings and often with no lining
at all, they allow for a very smart suit, yet
without any of the weight and heat of a
normal cut. They can also be used to make
heavier wools, such as cashmere, into
wonderfully cool and relaxed jackets. Italian
and American makers often have these as
part of their spring and summer offerings.
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