Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we discuss seersucker.
I talk about this iconic summer fabric, what it is, what it's not, what you should look
for when you buy one, and how to combine it.
First of all, seersucker is this puckered fabric that I'm wearing right now.
Traditionally, it comes striped, and the most popular color combination is this light blue
and white.
However, the original color combination was more of a cane sugar brown and white; I'll
tell you more about that later.
The huge advantage is that it's made of cotton and very lightweight and therefore, it's very
popular during the summer time.
The original crinkling effect is achieved by bringing tension on yarn, so it crinkles.
Because of that, it's very easy to maintain as you don't really need to iron it and unlike
regular cotton, it really doesn't wrinkle very easily.
Some people even say it facilitates the movement of the air but personally, I rarely feel that
but it's nevertheless a great summer fabric due to its light weight.
Even though stripes are traditional, you can now also find solids and checks, and no matter
what the color or pattern is, it can be a seersucker.
Sometimes, you also find linen blends or even silk, added to the fabric, though the original
seersucker and the one most often used is made of a 100% cotton without any additions
of polyester.
The origins of seersucker are in India.
The words "Sheer" means milk and "Shukkar" means a brown version of cane sugar.
So from Sheer, Shukkar, it turned into Seersucker.
Even though it's not super popular in Europe, it made its way from India through Europe
in the 18th century all the way to the US.
It was first mass-produced in New Orleans by Haspel who still is very famous for seersucker
suits today.
Legend has it that the owner actually wore the suit, went into the sea, took a bath,
just hung the suit up, and wore it the same day for dinner.
It proved this point that it was maintenance free because it even withstood a bath in salt
water.
In the beginning, it was a "poor man's suit" but in the 30s, students in Princeton picked
it up.
Eventually, Life magazine deemed it acceptable to be worn at the office and the Duke of Windsor,
famously wore it during his assignment in the Bahamas during World War II.
As you know, once the Duke wore it, everybody wanted to wear it, and so it became much more
acceptable.
In 1962, Gregory Peck wore a three-piece seersucker suit in the famous movie "To kill a mockingbird".
For more details and information about the history of seersucker, please check out our
in-depth guide here.
When you buy seersucker fabric, you want to make sure it's original seersucker because
sometimes you find finely striped fabrics that are cotton or blends that are advertised
as seersucker, but they're actually not.
Basically, you can take the fabric and look at it from an angle, and you should see little
waves and crinkles that show you it's an original seersucker.
If you don't see it, stay clear of it and go for the original thing.
In the US, it's very easy to find them off the rack and large companies like Ralph Lauren,
or Brooks Brothers, or Haspel, sell them all over the place.
The most popular style is what I'm wearing here, in a single breasted version with either
three buttons or two buttons.
Because it's a summer suit, it makes perfect sense because a double breasted suit would
insulate you more and make you feel hotter.
Nevertheless, some men wear a double breasted seersucker suit because they can show that
they got a bespoke garment because they're hardly available off the rack.
In terms of accessories, what goes really well with seersucker is a knit tie in any
kind of color but of course, bold colors work best.
White shirts or light blue shirts, maybe light pink.
Seersucker also looks great with pocket squares in either plain white, or you can go with
summer colors such as orange, burnt red, yellow, or light blue.
Boutonnieres are also perfect they underline the summery character of seersucker.
Some men also like to wear bowties with seersucker and ideally, you want something summery, fresh,
and a madras pattern, a linen texture, something that's not too polished.
Of course, seersucker also works really well with a Panama hat.
Alternatively, you can also wear sunglasses but make sure they're classic.
You really shouldn't wear sunglasses and Panama hats together unless it's really bright outside.
If you're looking for summery accessories for your seersucker suit, please take a look
at our store here.
The advantage of buying a seersucker suit is that you can wear the pant independently
and oftentimes, pair it with blazers.
Of course, you could also wear the jacket on its own with maybe a pair of royal blue
pants or even Nantucket reds, so it's a very versatile summer garment, and it's even appropriate
in the office, particularly in the Southern US.
For casual Fridays, it would also make a good outfit in other parts of US.If you're outside
the US, I suggest you only wear it in a casual setting because people aren't used to it,
and they may be considered to be very flamboyant and out of place.
It can also make a great outfit for horse races, garden parties, or even weddings.
Most seersucker jackets that come off the rack have flap pockets, but I think it looks
better with patch pockets, even for chest pockets, simply because it underlines that
summery, airy, nonchalant character of the garment.
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