Cool, light and smart - is this possible?
The look is supposed to be cool, crisp and effortlessly elegant. With most men's summer suits, though, the reality is very different. As temperatures rise, the slightly creased pale cotton jacket and trousers get dragged off the hanger at the back of the wardrobe, while fingers are crossed that nothing gets spilt down them during the day.
Choosing a suit that will look good but still be comfortable in the heat of summer is way down the to-do list for most men. Yet finding the right one is easier than ever these days because of the growing range of natural tailoring fabrics that work well in high temperatures.
"Most men immediately think of linen suits as cool but almost always creased and therefore not smart enough for the office, so they feel uncomfortable wearing them," says Lee Hamilton, men's formal wear buyer at John Lewis. "But we have a Daniel Hechter suit in linen and silk, which keeps its shape a bit more. It's been very popular."
Similarly, Ermenegildo Zegna, a house known forits fabric innovation, has blended wool and silk as well as wool and mohair, and twisted the yarn in the finishing process in order to create a highly flexible and elastic fabric that is both light and crease-resistant.
And while many men still assume that finding a thin fabric is the key to staying cool in a suit, this is not the case. "It's not just about a cloth being light - the finish is also very important," says Chris Modoo, head of buying at Ede & Ravenscroft. "Flannel can be lightweight but it can also be clingy, which is very uncomfortable on hot summer days." Likewise, a very light 7oz cloth ought to feel cooler than something weighing 9oz per square yard, he argues, but in reality, the lighter cloth can feel too thin and, as a result, less comfortable than something slightly heavier in worsted wool, that is also less likely to crease.
As an alternative, Ede & Ravenscroft has recently developed a cloth that mixes wool, cashmere and sea island cotton. "It has the elegance of wool with the coolness of cotton," says Modoo. "The best fabrics for hot weather should feel cool and smooth to the touch." The way to achieve this is with skilful finishing, in this case burning off the top layer of fibres and then pressing the resulting cloth heavily.
Jamie Benton, a City-based property agent, was surprised when Modoo suggested wool, not linen, for his summer suit. "Wool sounded like the last thing I wanted," he says. "But this mixture, with its smooth surface, is very cool and light and doesn't stick to your skin."
Anna Zegna, global creative director for Ermenegildo Zegna, points out that following the growth of the business travel market and the need for suits that can spring back into shape without creases, designers and manufacturers now have a greater range of fabrics that maintain their freshness - and that of the wearer - in warm, humid weather.
"We have a range of natural high- performance fabrics such as wool blended with mohair that are breathable, lightweight and stain-resistant," she says. "When they are unlined, they are even lighter than linen."
Yann Debelle de Montby, director of image and press relations at Dunhill, prefers linen mixed with cotton, arguing that this imaginative blending of fabrics dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Dunhill is also combining linen, wool and silk in its summer suits. "The French term for it is metis and it gives you so much more potential - the best of all worlds," Debelle de Montby says. But he adds that choosing the right lining is also important. "I have a suit lined with Alpaca that is marvellous for summer - it's light and it helps prevent creasing."
"I've always hated linen jackets because they look such a mess," says Ollie Gould, an accountant. "But a friend's tailor recommended mixing linen with cotton and lining the jacket. I got it last month and it's cool and light - but smart."
羊毛夏装最凉爽？
谁
都希望夏天的装束看上去清爽利落，自然端庄。不过，就大多数男式夏装而言，情况却并不理想。随着气温升高，人们把略有褶皱的发白棉质夹克和长裤从衣柜后头的衣架上拿了下来，双手合十，祈祷穿的时候别出现什么意外。
对大多数男士而言，在炎炎夏日选择一件看起来不错，且仍很舒适的衣服，已经列入了记事表。不过，如今寻找一件合适的衣服，要比以往任何时候都容易，因为适合高温天气穿着的天然成衣面料的选择范围越来越大。
“许多男性一下子就想到了亚麻服装，它们穿起来确实凉爽，但几乎总是皱巴巴的，在办公室穿不够得体，令他们感到别扭。”约翰?刘伊斯(John Lewis)男式正装采购人员李?汉密尔顿(Lee Hamilton)表示，“但我们有一款亚麻与丝混纺的丹尼爱特(Daniel Hechter)套装，形状保持的时间略长一些。这款服装一直颇受欢迎。”
无独有偶，以面料创新闻名的男装品牌杰尼亚(Ermenegildo Zegna)，将羊毛与丝、以及羊毛与马海毛混织，并在最后一道工序中混入纱线，从而制成一种柔韧性和弹性都非常好的面料，既轻柔、又抗皱。
很多男性仍以为衣服保持凉爽的关键在于轻薄的面料，事实并非如此。“这不仅关系到面料是否轻柔，最后的加工程序也非常重要。”埃德和拉芬斯克洛夫(Ede & Ravenscroft)采购负责人克里斯?莫杜(Chris Modoo)表示，“法兰绒的分量就很轻，但它可能会很贴身，炎热夏季穿着很不舒服。”同样，他辩称，每码7盎司的超轻衣料，应该比9盎司重的衣料感觉更凉快吧？但实际上，更轻的衣料可能感觉太薄了，所以舒适度反而不及稍厚一点的精纺羊毛衣料，后者还更不易起褶。
作为代替产品，埃德和拉芬斯克洛夫最近开发了一种混合了羊毛、开司米和海岛棉的面料。“它既有羊毛织品的雅致，又有棉织品的凉爽。”莫杜表示，“最适合炎热天气的面料，应该是穿起来凉爽，摸起来光滑的那种。”这可以通过精巧的加工方式实现――先烧掉面料表层纤维，然后用力压平面料。
当莫杜建议杰米?本顿(Jamie Benton)用羊毛而不是亚麻来制作他的夏装时，这位城市地产代理商感到十分惊讶。“羊毛听起来像是我最后的一个选择，”他表示，“但这种表面光滑的混织面料，非常凉爽轻便，而且不粘身。”
杰尼亚全球创意总监安娜?杰尼亚(Anna Zegna)指出，随着商务旅行市场的发展，以及人们对能恢复原状而不起褶的套装的需求，设计师和制造商现在有更多的面料，可以在炎热潮湿的天气状况下保持清新透气――同时使穿衣人感到清爽舒适。
“我们有一系列高性能的天然面料，比如羊毛与马海毛的混纺面料，它透气、轻盈而且防污，”她表示，“如果不加衬里，它们甚至比亚麻还轻。”
登喜路(Dunhill)形象及媒体关系总监扬?德贝莱?德蒙巴尔(Yann Debelle de Montby)喜欢棉麻混织的面料，他辩称，这种富有想像力的混织方法可以追溯到18、19世纪。登喜路的夏装还将亚麻、羊毛和丝混合使用。德贝莱?德蒙巴尔表示：“在法语中，它叫‘混血儿’(metis)，能激发你更多的潜能――令设计十全十美。”但他补充称，选择正确的衬里也同样重要。“我有一件用羊驼呢作衬里的套装，这种衬里非常适合夏季――它既轻便，又有助于防皱。”
“我一向痛恨亚麻夹克，因为它看起来很糟，”会计师奥利?古尔德(Ollie Gould)表示，“但一位朋友的裁缝推荐使用亚麻和棉混纺的面料，并为夹克加衬里。我上个月拿到了成衣，它凉爽轻便，也很潇洒。”
夏装贴士：
1．关键词：蓝色
浅色可能看起来与夏季很般配，但对于一套好的夏装而言，它们并非必须。埃德和拉芬斯克洛夫发现，海军蓝越来越流行，扬?德贝莱?德蒙巴尔也发现了这一点。他表示：“穿一件浅蓝色衬衫，看起来漂亮极了。”
2．穿短袖衬衫时不要系领带
克里斯?莫杜建议限制服装的颜色数量，因为这样会产生一种心理作用，让你感觉很酷，同时无拘无束。但穿短袖衬衫的时候千万别打领带。他说：“穿一件长袖衬衫，并把袖口儿挽起来。”
3．不要穿凉鞋
李?汉密尔顿坚称：“不要穿凉鞋。”而德贝莱?德蒙巴尔表示：“我是Berluti鞋的忠实拥趸，即便在夏季，你也要穿海岛棉等凉爽面料织成的长袜。”安娜?泽尼亚则建议，穿马球衫或白色棉质衬衫，敞开领扣。
