Summer clothing. wool, linen?

[darksmokepuncher]

I cannot find a vendor who supplies linen blends. No matter.

In my search, I've come as far as Express Pinstripe Suit Pants in cotton/polyester/spandex blend for $100 and in Wool/Lyrca for $150. Unfortunately, both are dry clean only; and I like the lighter Chalk color better than the darker Gray offered in wool blend.

I've heard wool is good for summer, a notion I'm uncertain of; and I've tended to avoid polyester. I'm more a Business Casual type, preferring Lands' End unpleated chinos and pocket-less interlock polo shirts. I may consider a tieless suit option with a button shirt and jacket, but absolutely no vests--I am not in that type of profession.

Any suggestions for light pants and shirts for the summer? Should I switch to button shirts, or wear the same cotton polo with a Zensah compression shirt in favor of a cotton undershirt? Are the better options in 106F weather going to be dry clean only? And how long can I re-wear these? A day or two, or a month between dry cleanings as a former coworker had? I've seen brushing and dry ironing recommended for trousers, with dry cleaning once per season.

 

[Doc4]

Wool is good for summer, if it's "done right". That is, a "high twist yarn", woven loosely, so that the air flows between them. If you choose to go custom made, you can ask your tailor for "fresco" fabric.

You can also get this sort of wool off the rack and ready to wear, and it should be in stores now. It'll be DCO (dry clean only), though. Washable wool is darned hard to find, and pretty coarse and thick if you DO find it.

Linen can be washed, not DCO, but it has a "rumpled" or "wrinkled" look to it that may displease.

 

[Edcculus]

I try to avoid fabrics cut with polyester.

If its wool slacks you want for summer wearing, look for a Tropical wool. Very lightweight, and not as tightly woven to allow good airflow. Cotton and linen are also good summer fabrics, especially if you are in a profession where wearing a suit every day is not necessary. Any wool will be dry clean only, but you can wear them a lot before needing to clean.

You could consider adding some button down shirts to your wardrobe. Chambray and Gingham fabrics can both be lightweight and great for summer. Also, those cotton interlock shirts you have are going to be heavier than other knit fabric types. Interlock is a very heavy fabric.

I tend not to wear undershirts because I'm skinny and they just add bulk, come untucked and are usually just uncomfortable.

Are you going to be sweating up a storm? My wardrobe is VERY simple. I have enough shirts to rotate for about a week and a half. Closer to 2 weeks in the winter because I can add in sweaters etc. Unless I get very sweaty, my shirts will go in the wash about every 2-3 wears. Make sure to hang them up right when you get home from work, and don't wear them around the house. I have less pairs of slacks. Most are cotton (I don't have anything TOO nice because it has the potential to get dirty if I need to work on a press). They get washed when there are obvious stains or start to smell, otherwise maybe every 2 weeks. Be sure to hang them too, and have enough in rotation to give each pair a day off. If you are in a VERY hot area, finding the right undershirt may be a great option as it will save you having to wash your dress shirts after every wear because of sweat.

You'd be surprised that your clothes need to be washed a lot less than you would normally think. Except underwear. Always wash your underwear after every wear!

 

[professorchaos]

In my experience, wool and cotton of a similar weight and weave don't differ too much. Summer weight clothing is all about the weave. For instance, gabardine is a tight weave and wears relatively warm. Conversely, a tropical or fresco weave will wear much more coolly. It seems easier to find wool in open weaves than cotton.

 

[Grumpy_Bottom]

Never underestimate the goodness of seersucker in hot weather. Linen slacks from cubavera are often linen/cotton blends which can be cold water washed and ironed but much like "shrink to fit" jeans you might want to order a waist size or two higher, and a couple inches longer. I have a few of these for weekend wear and like them very much, but wouldn't really think of them as office casual.

 

[darksmokepuncher]

I wear pants and shirts two days. Summers hit 106F here in Baltimore--it's already 91F and humid--and I'm considering switching to sports base layers. My favored brand outperforms Under Armour HeatGear by leaps and bounds--no difficult feat, since UA feels like I'm wrapped in a hot, sweaty rubber balloon--but costs almost exactly twice as much. I did look for a linen undershirt option, to no avail.

I may be stuck with synthetic cuts at my current range. I'm not a suit guy--preferring a sharp business casual look--so I don't keep slacks and button downs around. I also hate the way vests look, but expect jackets to be sweltering in the summer.

I'm below $70k salary; I'd take custom-cut clothing over Jos., but I'm purchasing $100 pants and $40 shirts. I'd otherwise seek a flax-wool or flax-cotton-wool blend; flax-hemp-wool could be interesting, but doesn't exist. I'll likely have my clothes tailored regardless, at least until I figure out how to get reliably good results from the serger.

 

[graysonhenryrussell]

I like linen but it wrinkles like hell so I try to avoid & go with a light weight wool.

 

[Edcculus]

If you are already spending $100 on pants, just wait for the next Chinos from Gustin to start funding.

https://www.weargustin.com/store

You can scroll down to see past styles. I think they've done 2 or 3 chinos so far.

 

[darksmokepuncher]

If you are already spending $100 on pants, just wait for the next Chinos from Gustin to start funding.

https://www.weargustin.com/store

You can scroll down to see past styles. I think they've done 2 or 3 chinos so far.

Nice.

I typically spend around $24 for Lands' End chinos by grabbing $70 Chinos or Twill pants out of the Sale (Overstock) section, then applying 40% or $40-off-$100 discounts. My clothes shopping habits are strategic: I buy in batches, making multiple orders and combining discounts, as sales come by. I have misgivings about the JC Penny model, but I'll take advantage when I see something I like.

I got a $40-off-$100 and a $75-off-$200 deal from Express, so can get those $100 pants for $60, and the $200 jacket for $125. They're $98 and $198 for a reason; but a $10 pair of socks gets you close to discount saturation. Still, that compares to $15 shirts and $25 pants.

Nice find on Gustin. I like their business model; it's creative. I'm still bewildered at how the modern hem has become a chain stitch--the type they suggest for hemming--when an overlock hem appears blind on the outside and prevents uraveling. The shirt I'm now wearing has all hems sewn as an overlock with double chain; the fabric degrades before the hem gives out.

 

[Edcculus]

All garmets you buy that are made overseas will be finished, or fully constructed on an overlock machine, also known as a serger. These machines make that overlock stitch, while trimming the seam allowance off at the same time. Makes for faster construction.

Gustin seems to be going for a more traditional look. I don't own any of their clothes yet, but I'm guessing they aren't using sergers to construct their clothes. I'd have to ask my wife to look at the pictures here, but they are probably using french seams, or flat felling the seams. This fully encases the raw edges inside of the seam.

Overlock edges are the fast and easy way of doing it. Fully encased and even lined (in the case of pants) is the sign of a better constructed garment.

 

[darksmokepuncher]

Overlock edges are the fast and easy way of doing it. Fully encased and even lined (in the case of pants) is the sign of a better constructed garment.

Overlocking is pretty damn good construction, though. Flatlock stitches accomplish similar, but in a flatter profile. For performance stuff (sports base layers), a flatlock avoids pressure points from thicker fabric and thus chaffing. For anything over a base layer (i.e. shirts worn atop an undergarment), an overlock is more than sufficient.

My pants are seamed with a blind stitch, basically a chain stitch through the two layers of fabric. The edges of the remaining fabric are overlocked separately: they're not sewn to anything, but there's a three-thread overlock to arrest any fabric unraveling. This seam is then pressed flat open inside the pant so you can't feel it.

I would imagine most lined garments use overlock under the lining, where appropriate. Flatlock would be rare unless it's a delicate garment with a very light lining, for example a silk night dress meant to wear directly against the skin. Even then, it'd probably be unlined and simply flatlock stitched. A free edge of fabric brushing against the lining will unravel as it's worn and washed; overlock prevents this.

You're probably right about the traditional look. Gustin seems like a denim shop, and denim traditionally went with chain stitches. Often edges are folded over and sewn by chain: my denim jacket had its cuffs made by two layers of denim folded over (four layers) and double-chained. With denim, the traditional scheme is white and blue weaving with gold or red stitching; it's desirable for the hem to show a very prominent chain stitch. The fold-over will resist fraying anyway, but is thicker than an overlock--three layers instead of two.

 

[Edcculus]

The pants I'm wearing have a blind hem and an overlock stitch to finish the edge as well. I have been making my own t-shirts and use a serger to finish all of the seams.

 

[darksmokepuncher]

The pants I'm wearing have a blind hem and an overlock stitch to finish the edge as well. I have been making my own t-shirts and use a serger to finish all of the seams.

I want to take up tailoring my own clothes. A coworker wants to make his own.

One day, I want to copy my old denim jacket, but with better construction. Polyester lining is cold; prefer fleece. Cotton batting... I would prefer wool; I've thought about knitting a loose net through wool batting to fully support the batting, then sewing that to the jacket to support the batting in the jacket. It took fifteen years to unravel everywhere, but it did eventually; I want to improve on that.