Style Guide – Summer Suits & Separates

Summer Suits come to mind with the promise of finer weather – long hot days and mild balmy evenings. At least, that’s what we always hope for and, if the recent long-term weather forecasts in the press are anything to go by, it looks like this summer is set to be a scorcher. So, when buying summer suits it’s worth considering the following;

Construction

Our fully bespoke, handmade suit is the best choice for warmer weather. The handmade jacket contains a fully floating canvas. This means the internals of the chest are all stitched by hand. The chest panels (foreparts) contain canvas, horsehair and melton. The hand stitching of these three components allows air to travel more freely, making the suit more breathable. Machine made suits have the canvas, horsehair and melton fused and then machine stitched together, which makes the jacket thicker and thereby less breathable.

In addition to opting for hand made summer suits, you can always choose a part lined jacket. Less lining inside the jacket helps to increase airflow in and around the garment, greatly improving breathability.

Fabrics

When selecting your fabrics, it’s always best to go for lighter weight wools and mohairs, somewhere between 7-9 oz. Linen is also a great choice for warmer climes, but has a more casual feel when finished so is a less attractive business option, although it remains popular for weddings and separates.

While some of you may be put off wearing tweed in the summer months, we do offer an 11oz city tweed which is lighter than regular tweeds, which tend to start at 14oz. The city tweed is therefor fine for summer wear and is available in a variety of colour ways from fabric mills LBD and Holland & Sherry.

Colour

Colour consideration is also important. Lighter shades reflect light rather than absorb it, making the garment much cooler to wear. For more formal occasions and work wear there’s definitely room for experimenting with colour. Step away from the more traditional and conservative dark shades of charcoal and navy and head towards lighter shades of grey and more interesting, vibrant blues.

The Yorkshire Textile Company offers a few of our favourites, with more unusual shades of brighter blue. Still conservative enough to wear for the office and ideal for beating the heat, these come in at 9oz, making them very breathable. Holland & Sherry’s Cape Horn bunch has an interesting range of colours and patterns in 8oz fabrics that are also worth considering.

Waistcoats

Here at C&D we are huge fans of the waistcoat. The addition of a waistcoat gives suits a super smart look as well as an additional layer of warmth in spring and autumn. In summer the waistcoat really comes into its own when those suit jackets come off.

Having a waistcoat allows you to keep the formality of the three-piece suit but also gives the flexibility of an entirely different look and feel when worn alone with trousers and a shirt. It also allows for an additional layer of style in its contrasting back, usually constructed in a lining fabric (which is lighter in weight). This is just one part of a suit that you can really have fun with, opting for vibrant contrasting colours, patterns and designs.

Timescale

Our fully bespoke hand made suits take between 10-12 weeks to finish. Order now for late June/early July completion.

More –

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Bespoke Blazers for Summer
Bespoke Shirts for Summer