Hello all,
I have been invited to a wedding in a very hot country later on in the year. I perspire very easily in warm weather and I have been thinking of what to wear to the wedding. I definitely want to wear a suit and a shirt, but I want the suit to retain its shape. Don't want any linen, because that creases very easily.
I think the weave of the shirt and the suit has to be as porous as possible. I also think if the weight of the suiting is too low ( 9/10 oz perhaps), the suit will not retain its shape very well. Do you agree?
What shirt/suit fabrics has served you well in warm weather?
Best regards,
Bolaji
Last edited by byoloye (2007-07-17 11:03:58)
I'd say seersucker. it retains shape well but is very cool. linen i feel is a bit too flimsy, but plenty of people love linen suits so don't take my word for it. maybe a very high quality coated linen of some kind would work. I'm not sure where you're going or how hot it will be, but i wore a tropical weight wool poplin suit in 100 degree farenheit Florida heat and wasnt terribly uncomfortable. Perhaps a linen shirt for added coolness? might work for a less formal wedding, especially if worn with a suit jacket
Voile is nice and most of the "zephyr" qualities are more open and airy. There are others but both of these are relatively wrinkle resistant.
I dont know how hot you mean, but I do perspire easily myself. Voile is very sheer and to avoid exhibitionism by wearing a wife beater underneath, you may want to get a double thickness sewn on the actual front bib of the shirt.
I was going to suggest the new bamboo/linen from Acorn but I havent tried it yet meself and you mentioned that you didnt want linen.
I recommend sticking with white rather than blue or pink, although it sounds like white is what you are after anyway.
For suits, the Fresco cloth from JJ Minnis or Holland and Sherry in the lightest weight, the Harrisons "Mystique" and "Havana" and the H.Lesser "Golden Bale Tropical" (I never tried Lessers tropical superfine because I thought the finish was too dry looking for summer) all perform well under hot and humid conditions in NYC on me. I have not tried Minnis "Airborne" quality but that is some of the lightest 2x2 fold goods my fingers have ever felt
Bolaji, Riva has some voiles that aren't sheer at all if you choose, say, a light blue instead of white. I've skipped the wifebeater and double front using these fabrics with no negative results to report. Other fabrics that I've found to be surprisingly wrinkle resistant and cool are the lightweight SICTess twills and jacquards. Because of their rather loose weave, they combine the breathability of voile with the wrinkle resistance of traditional twills. Other fabrics I can think of that are good for warm weather and relatively wrinkle resistant are the Etamine type weaves from Riva. Cotton linen I find a bit scratchy for really warm weather but it still wears cool and is more wrinkle resistant than pure linen. I would avoid any lightweight broadcloth as these tend to wrinkle in no time.
Last edited by Cruz Diez (2007-07-17 12:01:16)
You may also want to consider a partial, rather than a full lining in the jacket.
I agree with FNB that a wool/mohair blend is the best bet. I just parted with medium-dark grey suit with a faint light grey stripe in a plain weave of 85% wool/15% mohair that was my default dressy suit for the hottest of weather (I’m talking 90+ degrees and very high humidity). The fabric was in the 7/8 oz. range but resisted wrinkling even when it got moist and was cooler than anything except a shirt-weight unlined linen suit that is not appropriate for court, weddings, funerals, etc. When new it had virtually no sheen, but after a dozen years it did shine enough to be consigned to charity. I’ve replaced it with a solid charcoal blend of the same proportions but in a heavier (9/10 oz) fresco type weave which has not yet been tested in the most brutal heat. I’m sure wrinkling won’t be a problem, but we’ll see about coolness. The best shirting I’ve found for the heat is a lightweight royal oxford. Because of the weave it doesn’t show wrinkles and it breaths quite well yet is opaque; and with a spread collar and French cuffs it’s plenty dressy.
Some excellent suggestions so far. I will definitely be book-marking this thread.
Seersucker is an excellent idea, but I think it will be a bit too casual for this particular event.
The wedding will be taking place in Nigeria. I am expecting the temperature to be in the 30 celsius range. It's one of those weddings where I will have to be on top of my sartorial game. I was considering a window-pane suit (not sure yet if it will be gray or navy blue back-ground), one button, peak lapel. I'm going to start looking through the suggested books. There might be some window-panes.
With the suit, I was thinking of a plain soft blue or a white shirt. I think the window-pane is a statement in itself, so a pink shirt could probably be too much. I can be quite boring like that. I will look at the voile, jacquard and royal oxford suggestions.
Please keep them coming.
Have a great day,
Bolaji
I have a green DB in Tonik (90 mohair/10 wool) and it's not really for the hottest weather.
I'm going to have a word with my tailor.
To be fair to him, he held up the fabric to the light and it looked like an open weave to me. Goes to show how much I still have to learn...
I am getting some new shirts made from linen and a linen bamboo quality.
I was reading in Hardy Amies' book last night, and he says the best material for travelling is mohair, of 12-15 ounces. It does not hold wrinkles and is right for every situation. He said for summer a 9-11 ounce mohair is fine, although it will wrinkle a bit.
This was written in the 1960s, obviously.
Yachtie's suit here (post 24) shows that Mohair can look fantastic.
http://www.filmnoirbuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2576&p=1