Search Results for: summer

Just a reminder, the order window for this year’s summer tweed run closes Monday, July 31st. Last year’s run was tremendously popular, so I’ve brought it back one more time. For those unfamiliar, this is an English woven cloth, made to look like the raw silk jacketings of yesteryear. The difference: being a silk-linen blend, rather than pure silk, it’s both cooler wearing and less shiny, making it easier to wear in modern contexts. The subtle, irregular flecks you see throughout the cloth also make this something like a summer version of Donegal tweed (hence the name). 

For readers who may not have custom tailors, or just like the ease of ready-to-wear, No Man Walks Alone is taking a length of the fabric for a special pre-order run on Sartoria Formosa sport coats. The jackets are handmade in Naples – to the same standards as the workshop’s bespoke commissions – and come in a silhouette that I think is both distinctively Italian and flattering (in contrast to the skinny suits seen elsewhere). The shoulders are soft and sloping, but just ever-so-slightly extended, and the chest is cut a bit full. You can see examples of their work in this post. The pre-order window for Formosa’s jackets also closes Monday. You can take 15% off the price with the checkout code PREORDER15. I genuinely think Formosa’s ready-to-wear line is one of the best values right now on the market, and the discount only makes it sweeter. 

Designing cloth has become one of my favorite aspects of running this blog. It’s great to see a cloth materialize, after months of planning, and then see readers send their lengths to tailors, so they can be turned into suits and sport coats. In the past, I’ve put together special edition runs of tobacco brown Fresco, navy houndstooth Fresco, and a silk-linen blend I call “summer tweed.” The last one is my favorite. 

It’s also apparently a favorite of readers. In the last year, I’ve gotten more emails about this one than any others. Those who subscribed have written in to say how much they like their fabrics (and the resulting jackets they had made). Those who missed out have asked if the cloth will ever be offered again. 

So, I’m doing one more run of this fabric – this time with a special collaboration with Sartoria Formosa (more on that below). 

Summer is a good time for lighter-colored shoes, but they’re not always the easiest to wear. Outside of plain white sneakers – which are admittedly pretty useful, even if ubiquitous – colors that are lighter than mid-brown often stick out too much from your trousers. Most men want to wear things that draw the eye upwards, putting the focus on their shirt, tie, and jacket combination. Lighter-colored shoes, on the other hand, often draw the eye down. 

There are a lots of exceptions. Tan shoes can look great with a pale gray suit, if only because they’re darker than the trousers (the other combination, tan shoes with a navy suit, almost always looks terrible for the opposite reason). I also think they work well with low-contrast ensembles, such as these in this post, or when the shoes are balanced out with a lighter-colored jacket. 

There are also some shoes that are just iconic, such as white buckskins. Having started with students at Princeton in the 1950s, white bucks quickly spread throughout the Ivy League school system, becoming “the shoe” for the style-conscious. Usual combinations included tan chinos or grey flannels, with the dirtiness of the buckskin being a source of pride (much like a well-worn button-down collar). They’re less commonly seen today, but their association with traditional American style endures. 

My favorite jacket from Steed isn’t even something I own. It’s a cream-colored DB Edwin once cut for style writer Glenn O’Brien. In an old feature at GQ, O’Brien said of it: “I have a few tuxes. I guess in case somebody books me in Vegas for a couple of nights. My first-string tux is a peak-lapel Anderson & Sheppard – makes me feel like a million plus. Another is a shawl-collar double-breasted tux. The oddball in my formal wardrobe is this double-breasted white dinner jacket I had made by Steed of Savile Row. It’s not really white, but sort of ‘clotted cream.’ Somehow I rarely wear it. Maybe I’ll throw it on for a party some hot night.” 

If tailored clothing can be hard to wear in the 2016, semi-formal clothes are only more so (and none harder to wear than a cream-colored dinner jacket, as O’Brien notes). Generally speaking, such jackets are reserved for open-air social gatherings on hot, summer evenings. Think: country club dances, yacht club parties, and outdoor weddings (presuming you’re the groom).  

Much of this comes from the jacket’s origins. In the 1930s, well-heeled vacationers wanted something formal they could wear in the tropics, but without having to endure the heavier, darker fabrics traditionally found on evening clothes. So they had white dinner jackets made, originally with single-breasted closures and shawl collar lapels, although double-breasted designs later became popular. 

It’s no secret that the key to wearing tailored clothes in the summer is to get something with an open weave. Style writers mention the same line every July: get a jacket that’s softly tailored and unlined, made from a tropical wool or porous linen. That way, you can feel every passing summer breeze. 

The same idea applies to shirts. Everyone knows you can wear a lightweight cotton or linen shirt on a hot day, but few people think about the weave. 

At the most basic level, plain weaves are often more breathable than twills, although not all plain weaves are built alike. Some can be tight; others a bit loose. I recently picked up a few things from Acorn in the UK (a recommendable fabric supplier for those who get custom shirts made. Their cloths are a good value, even if they’re not particularly luxurious). A run down of some of their summer options:

The penny loafer was the sine non qua of the post-war Ivy Look. Often worn with Shetland sweaters, flat front chinos, and tweed sport coats, they were the choice of Ivy League students across the East Coast, later finding broader appeal through Esquire. More than being an Ivy shoe, however, penny loafers embody the kind of casual, dressed-down style that the US has always championed (much like button-down collars, in that sense). In fact, that’s what originally made them popular with students, who wanted something comfortable and smart, but sufficiently casual to avoid looking corporate. 

Which is why they continue to be so great today. They’re dressier than sneakers, but not as formal as wingtips. They go just as well with jeans and casual jackets as they do with sport coats and trousers. The Prince of Wales even wears them with casual suits (although I don’t recommend them with dark business suits). 

If the penny loafer is an American icon, it stands to reason that the best pennies ought to be from a US company. Unfortunately, G.H. Bass – who invented the style in the 1930s by placing a vamp saddle on a Norwegian slip-on – hasn’t made good shoes in decades. That leaves Alden, Allen Edmonds, and Rancourt, all three of which are good, but I find their best pennies to be very casual. Alden’s partially lined slip-ons, for example, go well with jeans and Trad looks, but their dressier, Copley-lasted loafers don’t have as much sophistication as Edward Green’s Piccadilly (my favorite with tailored clothing). 

Summer calls for a different kind of necktie – one that’s brighter in color and lighter in weight than its cold weather relations. Mogadors, linens, and slubby silks are often the choices this time of year. Mogadors are favored for their vibrant colors, whereas linen, tussah, and shantung are used for their texture (see Mark Cho for inspiration). 

There are also Panama silks, which are woven in a way that’s similar to Panama hats (two wefts up, two down). Unfortunately, much like ancient madder silks, the texture here is hard to appreciate in photos. You really have to handle them in person to get the appeal, but so goes the travails of shopping online. 

When you do get a chance to feel them, however, you instantly understand why they pair so well with cotton and linen jackets. “It’s the dry hand and matte finishing,” says Drake’s Creative Director, Michael Hill. “Especially in dustier colors, such as this series we recently made, they just complement casual forms of tailoring.” 

Just a friendly reminder that next week is the last week to get in on two cloth runs I’m organizing. The first is a slubby, silk/ linen blend inspired by a raw silk sport coat I saw on Taka from Liverano & Liverano (pictured below); the other is a navy houndstooth Fresco that’s both wrinkle resistant and highly breathable. Both are my way of getting summer fabrics with a bit more pattern and texture – things we appreciate in the fall/ winter seasons but struggle to find during the warmer months. 

When I originally designed these, I had sport coats in mind – although they can also be used for casual suits (ones where the jacket and trousers can be worn as separates). A few readers, however, have emailed me with project ideas I never even considered. One is thinking about turning his silk/ linen blend into a double-breasted summer suit; the other is planning to use the same fabric for a field jacket (see Eidos for inspiration). Both sound fantastic and are making me reconsider what I’m going to do with my lengths. 

Note, given the nature of custom runs, once the fabrics have been produced, there won’t be any more available. We’re running exactly the amount needed to fulfill the pre-orders – nothing will be held as stock. If you’re interested in joining, you can read more about the projects here. Of course, you can also email me with any questions.