Summer's around the corner...

It's nearing the end of January already and that means only one thing: only a few more months (and then a few) until it's time to ditch the tweeds and hide the leather gloves and get your hands on the all time favorite summer wear: linen suits, seersucker jackets, polo shirts, etc. Another sure sign of this is that everyone's already got their spring and summer catalogs prepared and available. So in short, time to start checking out what to get and then start pestering the tailor again to have things adjusted.



This time around I think that the first thing to get is a decent seersucker jacket, which is unfortunately missing from my wardrobe. And because it's a very preppy thing to do, obviously the right choice is to turn to Brooks Brothers for the quintessential American attitude and cut. Some people who follow this blog will obviously be completely at a loss as to why I'm all of a sudden interested in Americans once again. And to be honest, I have no idea. At first I was going to say that it must be because the only real way to spend a summer is to be at the Hamptons, but, well... That's not exactly true. In Europe we have the Italians who have the brilliant ability to dress well for summer.

To add to the confusion, I'm turning into a serious mess now that I've been turning to Italian clothing in the immediate past (a couple of coats by Zegna and a suit by Valentino Roma), which in itself is a mild change of direction from the British attitude. So I'm sorry, I don't have a coherent answer for this. It's just a thing that depends on the feeling, I guess. Some days you wake up and feel that New England is the way to go (yeah, yeah, I know that it's a horrible thing to say) and on other days there's nothing better than an aggressive Italian cut and slicking your hair back and waving your hands around uncontrollably while elaborating issues like this to your friends over a cup of espresso.

But maybe, just maybe this is not a weakness but a strength of sorts. I know that it somewhat conflicts with the notion of having a clear and focused personal style and is borderline fashion/faddish, but it need not be. While writing all this, it's starting to become more clear. Maybe the following rough outlines will help to clarify the stylistic positions that I hold at this moment:

• The British attitude in general and the cut of their suits in specific are a sure choice for the office. Conservative, boring, and fitting into the masses and the classes around.
• Weekends are somewhat more difficult, but blazers and knitwear and a right balance between the Brits and the Italians may be a good idea here. And during the nights out on town, nothing can come close to the Italian flamboyance.
• The winter is the time for heavier cloths and as the weather gets tougher, the clothes need to be able to withstand more as well. The British climate, at least in some respects, is closer to the Finnish climate than what the Neapolitan crowd is accustomed to.
• In general the American sack mentality is entirely horrid, but may be acceptable in casual circumstances, making it an ideal competitor for the Italian summer look. Balancing between the two may require tons of effort, but can potentially be an interesting path. Let's face it: the New England crowd and the Italian crowd are both into sailing, so they can't be entirely incompatible...

And now that I briefly re-read this entry, I'm no longer at all certain whether or not I'm saying anything in a consistent manner. But oh well, I'm still getting myself that seersucker from Brooks Brothers...