The Common Thread
When spring is upon us, and the bougainvillea is blooming, and the Dodgers aren’t hitting, and you can actually see the San Gabriels, it’s appropriate to ask: Where is your cotton suit?
If you’re ahead of the game, it’s in your closet, ready for the first available Westside late-afternoon patio wedding reception with string trio and chicken satay.
Let’s face it. Those trendy blend suits are so yesterday. Sure, silk is a great option, if you are an underworld boss with a sapphire pinkie ring, or a sultan’s son, or an unrepentant dandy. Linen is undeniably comfortable in the warmer months. But you had better pack a solar-powered iron in your breast pocket, because you’ll somehow become wrinkled to the point of deformity between the front door and the curb. And let’s not forget the most utilitarian of suit fabrics, polyester. It’s affordable and safe and will hold up longer than a trusty Toyota pickup.
And then there’s cotton, comfortable in warm climes, stylish without being fussy, just uncommon enough to make an impression in esteemed company. To many men, cotton suits carry an image of slightly outdated elegance. I picture a Southern gentleman eating forkfuls of pecan pie at a fundraiser for a Democratic lawmaker, or laying $50 on a longshot at the Kentucky Derby because he knows the breeder.
But there is a new brand of cotton, or of cotton aficionado. Younger men are beginning to understand the value of this home-grown fabric (10% to 14% of the nation’s cotton comes from California, mostly from the San Joaquin Valley). Designers such as John Varvatos are taking a modern approach to cotton suits. “The cotton suits we offer show sophistication that make them better for the office or an evening out, instead of the country club look found in past years,” Varvatos says. For the Spring/Summer 2004 collection, offerings include a dapper chocolate and cream pinstripe cotton suit with a peak lapel.
Jos. A. Banks, Ralph Lauren, Zegna and the venerable Brooks Brothers have expanded their cotton suit offerings in recent years or months. They do cotton in a variety of weaves, too, from the glitz of sateen to the rumpled dash of chic-again seersucker to the upright virtue of poplin to good old gabardine.
The common thread, if you will, is an airy versatility that makes the cotton suit a necessity for every self-respecting, mojito-sipping Angeleno man. Don a tie and present it as business casual. Lose the tie on the weekend and go clubbing or pool-partying. A lot of cotton suits can even be broken down and worn as separates--try doing that with your polyester coat.
It may have fallen out of fashion for a while. But cotton is back--alive, well and still breathing.
