Seersucker: Summer Style

Increasing summer heat means that the search is on for fabrics that are cool, stylish and, for holiday use in particular, easy to maintain. A cloth that has become a summer favourite for me is seersucker.

Gregory Peck wears seersucker as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird 1962

Tailoring is becoming less structured and more comfortable. Linen is popular for summer but can be hard to look after as a tailored linen garment is best dry cleaned. A better choice is seersucker. Easily maintained (it can be washed in cool water, more below) and relatively crush-free, seersucker is ideal for travel in warmer climes where a lightweight, airy, and relatively crushproof cloth is essential. While remaining crisp and elegant in the heat seersucker develops a slightly lived in look which Gregory Peck displays to perfection in To Kill a Mockingbird (see above).

Originally from India, it was introduced to Europe on the eighteenth century and while we now associate it with the USA (where it started out as workwear for the poor but later became an essential part of a preppy summer outfit), it was originally adopted by the British and other Europeans for wear in hotter climes.

Seersucker is woven from cotton, linen or manmade fibres, although I suggest you avoid the latter. Some years ago I was loaned a seersucker suit. It looked great; navy blue, double breasted with tapering trousers with turn ups. However, the cloth was made from a synthetic fibre which meant that on hot days it became almost unwearable: hot, damp and smelly. Natural fabrics, on the other hand, remain breathable and comfortable.

The cloth is woven at varying tensions so that it has alternating puckered stripes which are said to lift the material away from the body, allowing cooling and drying air to circulate; whether this is a valid scientific explanation I don't know. Certainly seersucker is light in weight and I find it cooler to wear than medium-weight linens, even though it has a tighter weave. Its slight elasticity adds to its comfort.

We tend to associate seersucker with blue or grey and white stripes, but it's available in plain colours and a wide variety of stripes (see below). 

And of course seersucker has been worn by the congenitally cool for many years, as can be seen from this selection of images:

Cecil Beaton wears Anderson & Sheppard seersucker in 1936

David Hockney 1967

James Stewart in seersucker, Spencer Tracy in linen

Miles Davis in seersucker

So, seersucker provides a summery alternative to linen. Both have similar casual, slightly rumpled, preppy looks. The choice between them is down to personal taste. Many dislike the wrinkled nature of linen: while seersucker rarely looks too crushed. Linen has a looser weave and, if not too heavy, ventilates better than seersucker - but the latter is a lighter weight cloth so doesn't seem to retain heat as much as linen while still protecting against the heat of the sun. 

In terms of maintenance, seersucker seems to hide stains more effectively than linen, especially if striped or checked. Seersucker (unlike linen which will need dry cleaning) can in theory be  washed in water, but linings may complicate this, so check the washing instructions. Despite these considerations, I have no preference between linen and seersucker and wear whichever I am in the mood to wear on a particular day. I do prefer seersucker for travel as it's so easy to look after and is relatively crease-free

Try mixing seersucker with other cloths: seersucker trousers with a linen or lightweight wool blazer or vice versa, a seersucker jacket with shorts or trousers from a contrasting colour summery cloth.

Wearing seersucker

I own two seersucker suits. A navy blue suit was made to measure some years ago by King & Allen. The striped suit shown below was off the peg (altered to fit) from MbE at Grey Flannel. This is the cooler to wear of the two as the jacket is unlined, single breasted and loosely cut to ensure ventilation. The navy blue suit has a partly lined, double breasted jacket, making it slightly warmer to wear on a hot day - but it looks great as a more formal, warm weather work suit. 

Both are worn regularly as separates, indeed, the casual nature of seersucker means that you don't so much buy a suit as matching jacket and trousers - the future of the suit indeed (see my feature "Will The Suit Survive?")

RIP Edward Sexton - bespoke tailor 1942 - 2023

I was very sad to hear of the death this week of Edward Sexton, that impeccable tailor and gentleman who was so much part of the modernisation of Savile Row since the seventies. 

Always impeccably cut: Edward Sexton 1942-2023

I was lucky to interview him some years ago and to meet him on occasions since - the last in November last year when I took the photograph above of his celebrating both his new Savile Row store and his birthday. He will be much missed.

Below you can read the feature I wrote in 2015: 

After decades as a lawyer, essentially an uncreative and often destructive profession, it's a huge pleasure for me, in my new life as a blogger, to talk to people who make it their task to create quality, elegance and style. I recently went to Beauchamp Place, in the shadow of Harrods in South West London, to meet Edward Sexton, bespoke tailor and striver for perfection, in his studio.

I can, even as a then disinterested youngster, remember the impact made on Savile Row by the opening of Tommy Nutter and Edward Sexton's Nutters in 1969. I even went over there to press my nose to the window. For some reason I can't now explain, I thought that Nutters was mentioned in one of the James Bond books as 007's tailors. The last Bond book was written a few years before Nutters opened, so I'd just got it completely wrong.

Of course, Nutters wouldn't have made suits to Bond's tastes anyway. Although the quality of the tailoring was high, the clientele was international pop and rock stars and the styles were those of Carnaby Street rather than the establishment of Her Majesty's Secret Service. Images of stars wearing Nutters long waisted coats with huge, wide collars, exaggerated roped shoulders, flared trousers and clashing checks advertised Edward Sexton's creativity and sixties style.

These elements still echo in his tailoring, providing a refreshing and individual alternative to the classic styles available elsewhere in London. These style clues from earlier and possibly more original days of tailoring reminded me of Mark Powell, another tailor whose work I write about here. The relationship between cutting edge tailoring, depth of experience and heritage is complex and so interwoven that they can never be separated. Without tailors with a foot firmly in the best of the past, we would be much the poorer.

But Sexton isn't dwelling on the past. The focus of his skills, and the very obvious pride he has in them, is on the quality of his tailoring. He showed me how he structures, sews and manipulates canvas, cloth and thread to make a garment that moulds to the wearer, moving with him or her and masking unevenness or pocket contents in way which, to me, seems magically mysterious. 

Despite his depth of experience, he told me that he can learn something new every day and he admitted to me that he has never made the perfect suit. This must make him the perfect tailor. Who wants to go to a craftsman who claims always to make perfection? It's the striving for elusive perfect tailoring that makes the genius. Luckily he also loves to pass on his skills to a younger generation and seeing him work with a young apprentice made me envious of the creativity and skills he has to pass on. 

Everything is completed in his studio; cutting and tailoring. Sexton offers a made to measure range, offering all that we love of the Sexton style. Suits in this range cost around £1800 [written in 2015] and are made in China from his own patterns. The block is then altered back in London after fittings with the client. A large proportion of Sexton's clients are women.

Sexton is obviously a man of great generosity and the number of young tailors and apprentices working closely with him highlights his desire to pass on his many years of experience to a new generation, ensuring the future if his business, and indeed of London tailoring.

See Edward Sexton.

Men's Fragrances for Summer

Summer brings warmth and sunshine, but it also brings new scents after the long dark days of winter and the fresh green of spring: mown grass, hot sun on bare soil, sun on skin and that mood-lifting airiness of a sea breeze. This is the time to fill your senses with the cooling aromas of the countryside, of the mountains and seaside and to reflect these in the fragrances that you choose for the warmer months.

The choice for men is vast, from Avon through the alphabet to Zadig & Voltaire there are scores of fragrance brands to select from. Many are suitable for men and women, adding to the richness of the choice. I favour buying a voucher as this gives either you or the recipient of a gift the time to select a favourite.

Summer scents for men

We tend to choose fragrances that echo seasonal moods; florals, citrus and fresh woods replace the heavy spiciness of winter's smells. The green scents of leaves and grass, the fresh sharpness of a cold swim in the sea and the warm dusty scent of a pine enclosed village square.

Here are a few suggestions:

Florals

Florals are best for summer when they have a fresh edge to them. Too sweet a floral note may not work in hotter weather. For a fresh floral affect try Versace Eros whose notes have a citrus/woody edge.  Yves St Laurent Y and Etro Man Rose also both contain flowery elements made masculine by other ingredients.

Citrus

In my view citrusy scents work best in warm weather. The sharp, clear fragrance has a cooling edge which cuts through the heaviness of a hot day. Try Novelista Citrus Affair, Limes by Floris (a firm favourite of mine), or Lemon Line by Mancera. All give that sharpness that works well in summer.

Grassy and Fresh

For that grassy green freshness that brings summer to your senses I suggest you try Creed's Green Irish Tweed, Parfums de Marly Greenley or Ralph Lauren Polo Green Classic. All will give you elements of apples and the zingy natural fresh air scents that go so well in warmer times.

Summer Scents

When selecting a perfume for summer use it may be best to avoid the spicy, smoky, heavy scents that we associate with the colder months. Warmer weather needs a fresher approach that won't cloy. Being sharp and fresh the products I've suggested can be worn at any time of day and for any event.

Whatever takes your fancy, there is a scent for you for the summer months. Take your time over your selection and be sure to try a few; you will soon find your favourites.

This is a paid collaboration with Notino. Such collaborations help me to maintain this blog.