Been eyeing a medium gray sharkskin fabric at a local retailer. Any opinions on sharkskin? Is it considered dressy, or is it too Vegas?
I think they can be nice for casual wear, although it might depend on the context. Certainly, the fabric has Las Vegas Rat Pack connotations.
Last edited by Horace (2007-02-12 01:47:34)
I recently purchased one in a dark grey and I don't see anything Vegas about it. To be sure, sharkskin is that slight diagonal zigzag pattern in the fabric?
when I was younger I really liked the extreme sharkskin, but nowadays I like a slight sheen, usually created by the texture of the wool weave
The actual sharkskin fabric, which is somewhat hard to locate nowadays, has a taughtness and a sheen to it, that's a little "Vegas" (if you like) but it has a use for Hip suits. The pick and pick which is far more common and has that diagonal zigzag look but no sheen (often it's rather matte) is fine for any industry or occasion where a conservative Old-Boy-Hip sort of suit is felt to be required.
By the by, this whole distinction of Vegas vs. Old World is evaporating, at least in the Metro areas of the USA. A Nice suit is a nice suit and fabric mixtures with fibers like mohair and silk are making reappearances in suits. There was a time when certain finishes were considered outre but so few remember much beyond matte and shiny finishes that I wonder if those who dwell on it aren't prisoners of their own bourgeois class hangups.
I mean, I wouldnt get crazy but depending on where you live, a bit of sheen in a suit is making a comeback, especially for summer, especially for evenings.
I like the shimmerings of something light to medium greys and also in the beige and brown tones for the summer evenings as well.