Suits needn't be worn only for work and formal occasions. Those old Hitchcock films had Cary Grant and James Stewart drinking cocktails, seducing women & getting into danger all the while perfectly dressed in sober grey and navy blue suits. We just completed one a little more colourful than that; the client had holidays and garden parties in mind and definitely not hanging from Mount Rushmore by the fingertips. Unfortunately, Covid put life on hold so it is still waiting to be seen on the streets of Cordoba.
Looking through various samples of linen-silk from Dugdale Brothers & Co. we found #7633 Blue Navy Barleycorn in which the weft and the warp were different shades of blue, changing its appearance depending on the viewing angle and distance. Close up there is a visible texture and so it doesn't need a check or stripe for decoration. From 10 feet away it appears as a homogenous block of blue.
Robert Charnock of Dugdale Brothers & Co. cloth merchants of Huddersfield explains its 50/50% linen/silk "relaxes the cloth and gives it a nice natural lustre and kinder handle" which we agree with as it is very soft to the touch.
Furthermore it is breathable and light; linen has a fairly open weave and in lightweight 9.1 oz weight it will be all the cooler on hot days. To cater all the more for heat the client asked for a half-lining so that only the jacket sleeves, shoulder blades and front quarters would be lined.
We can't discuss linen without acknowledging its tendency to crease. A bent arm will form creases in the crook of the elbow in just 5 minutes; the sharply ironed crease in a pair of trousers will soften as the evening goes on. Menswear bloggers and magazines repeatedly use the same phrase; 'rumpled charm' to describe this, to the point we are tired of hearing it. People are charming; suits may be worn by charming people but suits are not, in themselves, charming. So let us not sugar-coat this: you want a linen suit, you're going to get creased long before the evening is finished.
How to deal with this? Understand that linen looks good for certain occasions, locations and temperatures. Linen, even when black, has no place at black-tie events, the opera, a funeral or a job interview. It does have a place in hot climates, Summer weddings, marinas and yachts, cocktails before dinner, art galleries, museums and seafood restaurants in Valletta. It is almost the only thing for a panama hat.
And since the creasing makes it impossible to look formal, try leaving the tie off as well because linen is one of the best things for an open-necked shirt. Having dressed this way, proceed to ignore your own appearance for the rest of the evening, careless that after half-an-hour you already look like you slept in it last night. The presence of a pocket handkerchief and just the right amount of personality can make you the most elegant tramp when stood next to the expensive trainer brigade.
As for the cut, we agreed on something elegant that would be appropriate to an evening dinner or a garden party: a two-piece with patch pockets, notch lapels and just 3 buttons at each cuff. There is even a boutonniere loop behind the lapel (look it up). The client asked for two pairs of trousers; one flat-fronted with side-adjusters, the other with forward-pleats, belt loops and turn-ups. Two pairs of trousers is always wise with bespoke suits since trousers wear out long before the jacket; a second pair prolongs the suit's life because suit jackets are cut longer and look awkward worn without the matching trousers.
For a bright blue such as this, only brown shoes which should be polished. Derbys, brogues and loafers look fine, though Oxfords are marginal and Chelsea's definitely a bit much. Suede is perfect and to beat the trainer brigade at their own game, so are suede trainers - but not those running types where the rand comes up over the toe, we're thinking Fred Perry's & Converse lo-tops here.
Underneath, an open-necked shirt, t-shirt or polo. Even a formal shirt & tie if you must, but we don't advise shiny silk.
And the final accessory, as our photos suggest, should be either Champagne or a Negroni.
They say "in the Summer, repair the roof". I agree and advise a linen suit should be commissioned before January so that it's ready for late-Spring. Normally, you can expect a similar suit to be made in under 10 weeks with 2-3 fittings.
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