online men's fashion

The Autumn Suit

As I wandered through one of London’s royal parks on a recent weekend, I noticed a trail of crisp brown leaves pirouetting across the pathway; “Surely it can’t be autumn already?” I thought to myself, then feeling a pang as I caught sight of the crimson sunset behind Buckingham Palace, I realised that the ‘great’ British summer, ever fragile and short lived, would soon be over: good things never last, great things often never arrive. I thought of my lazy days by the sea, the gulp of salt water, the heat of the sun on my back, the distant sound of laughter and the warm, music-filled evenings overlooking a marina.

In an attempt to move on from my melancholy, I forced myself to reflect positively on the turn of the weather; no more brutally hot afternoons, forced to stumble around in sweat-soaked linen; no more flip-flops on the streets; no more uncomfortable, non air-conditioned dining rooms. I added to these pleasant ingredients the thought that the autumn of 2011, though still relatively distant, is already beginning to show itself on the racks of our favourite stores. Corduroy jackets, cardigans and raincoats are back; the sight of them, in the ‘heat’ of August is somewhat strange and I can only gaze upon them comfortably knowing that I have book ended this year’s summer with visits to warmer climes: a sojourn in Corsica is yet to come.

An early autumn suit is my current fixation; not one of winter’s greys or blues, no cool chalkstripes or crisp Glen Urquhart checks. I am looking for something the colour of sticky caramel, something to bridge between the pale linens, sky blues and whites of summer and the harder tones of the colder season. Something that will contrast with a French blue shirt but compliment an autumnal check tie; something that will marry well with a folded linen square or a yellow paisley. It will glow in the intensity of an autumn sunset and be worn for pleasure as well as business, perhaps to the last al fresco dinner of the year.

In early autumn, it is the sort of suit that would be ideal on particularly sunny days, worn sockless with a pair of brown suede loafers or for a very casual look with a pair of driving shoes; later on in the season, it can be deployed with pink socks and a pair of chestnut brogues or a pair of oxblood Oxfords. A fetching effect could also be achieved by using the items as separates: a caramel jacket with a pair of white trousers can be used on days that still feel like summer, the caramel trousers can be deployed with a wool blazer when it feels a little chillier.

 

Keeping Your Cool

“IF you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…” Rudyard Kipling(1895)

I recently took a punt on a few items from An Affordable Wardrobe shop. I say punt not because this is an unreliable source, far from, but because buying vintage clothes can be a bit tricky at the best of times. Buying vintage at a distance of 3000 miles away is even trickier. But I’m glad I followed my gut instincts.

Aside from a vintage shirt, previously discussed, I picked up two blazers. The pick of the haul was a genuine 1960s J Press black hopsack blazer. In fact, I was rather excited when I bagged this one. J Press is one of those wonderful labels that have entered the annals of sartorial folk law, being both a progenitor of the Ivy League look, and of course the guys that dressed Jack Kennedy. Not a brand with the slightest interest in ever coming to Britain, to get my hands on a bit of their kit from that golden era of 1960s, well I was chuffed beyond measure.

Now, this is not a tale of bitter disappointment and woe, the exact opposite in fact. Both blazers were in mint condition, particularly considering their age. No, the reason for bringing it up is to highlight the characteristics of a perfect summer jacket, for this is what both are.

Just to confound the doubters the last few days in England have been absolute scorchers. Hot, bright and uncomfortably close. By virtue of my new jacket and some profuse sweating on the days I’ve opted for a suit, I fully intend to rethink my summer work wardrobe incorporating certain characteristics into bespoke suits and jackets to be commissioned around March next year.

So what are the key components of a perfect summer suit or odd jacket?

Hopsack

Hopsack is a loosely woven coarse fabric of cotton, linen or wool. As Hardy Amies points out in his ‘ABC of Men’s Fashion’, the name refers to the weave not the pattern, which has the appearance of minute squares.

Of course hopsack isn’t the only option available, but my experience is that it wears lighter than linen or mohair and wool mixes. A nice little article here (written by Simon Crompton) on Timothy Everest’s blog introduces Fresco. Another open weave cloth made from high twist wool yarns it’s perhaps more suited to suiting.

Buggy lined

There is little point in having a lightweight open weave cloth if you then go and add layers of interlining and lining. Buggy lining as the picture above shows refers to a loosely attached lining which comes either 1/3 or 1/2 way down the back of the jacket. This means for reducing weight and layers is equally appropriate for odd jackets or summer suits, as demonstrated here.

Keep the padding to a minimum

As with the buggy lining the concept is a simple one; reduce layers, reduce weight and increase air flow. People often mistakenly use the term soft shouldered when they mean lightly structured. Soft shoulders follow more closely the natural curve of the shoulder and don’t have the acute angles from the neck and between the arm and the sleeve-head that normal more structured jackets do. My jacket is lightly structured. The only padding is a small amount in the sleeve-head. This makes for a light jacket and allows for a great deal of movement.

Patch pockets

Another means of reducing layers and increasing air flow is having patch pockets. The pocket is attached directly to the outside facing cloth of the jacket, thereby removing the need for a pocket lining. Regular pockets not only have their own pocket linings but are usually attached to the inside lining of the jacket, and a good summer jacket should have as few linings as possible.

While it is too late to get suits made for this summer I shall be incorporating these lessons learnt in time for next year, where I hope to have the perfect summer suits.  If you can keep your cool while all around you are losing theirs…

 

Links: Hat Store, Right Bags, Shirt Colors…

• Two dandies visit J.J. Hat Center on Fifth Avenue at 32nd street. (uptowndandy.blogspot.com)

• In praise of Slowear. (acontinuouslean.com)

• A nice overview of ‘right bags.’ (blog.brooksbrothers.com)

• Style Icon: Sebastian Flyte (stjames-style.blogspot.com)

• Simplicity vs rakishness or can they work together? (dieworkwear.com)

• Don’t neglect tan and grey shirts. (asuitablewardrobe.dynend.com)

• Not to miss another installment by Nick Foulkes, especially when it - more or less - agrees with our Winston’s thoughts here. (howtospendit.com)

 

The Soft Roll Project: Update

Long time readers may remember it’s been my ambition to start producing a few clothes under my own label. Every season I struggle to find certain items, but without the money to get all my clothes made for me I’ve decided this is the only answer. I’ve settled on a name for the label, and the clothes will be classically inspired, hard to find, limited edition items of good quality all sold at a fair price.

The first item I want to produce is a proper soft roll collar button down shirt, the kind that unofficial Ivy League archivist G. Bruce Boyer regularly waxes lyrical about. I’m yet to find a shirt with a proper soft roll at a reasonable price – lower than £100 - and this seemed a worthy first project.

Well, last week I met the manufacturer for my shirts and we discussed how we might go about this collaborative project. Each shirt will be:

-Made to order, within the European Union, by a shirt making family with a proud history and over two generations of experience behind it;

-Hand cut;

-Individually made by one artisan;

-Available in short, regular and medium sleeve lengths;

-Available in three colours: white, blue and pink;

-Of high quality 2-fold cotton from some of Europe’s finest mills

And provided my maths is sound I should be able to retail this for under £50. This would allow me to satisfy my other criterion that the shirt should be an affordable price, and like the originals accessible to both the banker and the student. Because each shirt is made to order the make time is 5 weeks, but this is also how I’m able to bring it in for such a reasonable price; reasonable when you consider plenty of labels charge a lot more for a lot less and still don’t deliver a guaranteed soft roll collar.

My manufacturer is currently working up samples which will allow us to experiment with the collar to get it just right.

With regard to stylistic points, the shirt will be in keeping with the original soft roll button downs by being closer to a regular cut rather than a slim fit – whose day is done I think. It will have button cuffs of course, a proper box pleat and a back button on the collar. I’ve decided against having a pocket, but all going well I will offer a double pocket version to be called the weekender at a later date.

And the name of this shirt, ‘Brooks was here’.

 

A Commuters Lot Is Not A Happy One

I recently joined the ranks of the commuter. Unless you live above your place of work we are all commuters. But I mean the real deal, not those fellows whose journey to work is within the M25, but a proper long distance yomp - 2.5hours door to door - if all goes to plan.

My new job takes me from London to Cambridge each day, featuring two changes of train, a tube ride and a 20 minute walk from the station to the office morning and night. The first day in I got soaked from the toes up thanks to a summer downpour – something we get a lot of in England.

When you consider the trial of will that is British public transport these days; then the need to lug laptops, blackberries, papers and gym kit back and forth; and finally factor in the changeable whether, it’s a tricky prospect maintaining standards of dress on a prolonged daily commute. No wonder most people abandon all attempts at style and dressing well, opting instead for comfort and convenience.

This last factor, convenience, is a particularly difficult urge to overcome. Having suffered a lengthy commute, I can well understand why some men, and many more women, choose to wear trainers over shoes to and from the office.

But footwear isn’t the only issue. Even before I started my long commute I began to despair of rucksacks. While useful for lugging kit around, with the added bonus of keeping your hands free, few items of apparel do more damage to a suit than a rucksack. These bags destroy shoulder pads and reduce even a well made suit to appearing like a cheap rag. The main problem is that the damage these bags do to a suit outlasts the mere wearing of the bag.

But it is possible to commuter proof your working wardrobe. For me that started with the purchase of an Ally Capellino Timothy Tote.  This low key London label is the brainchild of Alison Lloyd and first launched back in 1980. Their range of bags and accessories have a minimalist industrial aesthetic, which coupled to pleasing design tweaks makes them highly original. They’re not cheap but they are well made and wonderfully practical. But, whichever brand you opt for a Tote is a shrewd investment.

The next step in my wardrobe reappraisal is footwear. This is a subject I touched on briefly in an earlier unrelated post. When last in Rome I noticed that during wet winter months the males out there substitute their slim Blake Stitched shoes for more robust forms with rubber soles. I’d planned a shift to such footwear for high winter but that investment in stouter shoes, in particular Dainite soled shoes, will be brought forward. As to sources, Herring Shoe do a nice range which maintain the elegance of a classic dress shoe with the practicality of either a rubber insert or complete Dainite sole.

A commuter’s lot is not a happy one, but it doesn’t have to be uncomfortable or inelegant. Happy trails.