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What fabrics are the most comfortable for suits and shirts?

February 23rd, 2012 Leave a comment Go to comments

It’s hard to understand why men choose hot, sticky suits to wear in hot, sticky weather. Even those who wear pure wool in winter tend to select synthetic blends in summer. They don’t seem to realize how much better all-natural fibers feel and look. A feathery, lightweight 100 percent wool suit, known as tropical weight worsted (7- or 8-ounce fabric), is more comfortable than a blend. So are suits made of all cotton poplin or seersucker? Unlike polyesters that don’t breathe, natural fibers “wick away“ body moisture. And, yes, they do wrinkle.

Linen is beautiful, but it wrinkles – a lot. My well-dressed friend Matt, a world traveler who knows more than a thing or two about clothes, understands linen’s “regal wrinkles,“ but plenty of other less sophisticated dressers might think the wearer is just rumpled. Wearing linen requires a certain amount of self-assurance.

What fabrics wrinkle most? Linen is first; cotton, second; and tropical weight 100 percent wool, third. Adding a small percentage of synthetic (not more than 35 percent) to each of these helps a suit hold its crease, retains most of the beauty of the natural fiber, and only eliminates some of the comfort.

The word “blends“ does not always mean combinations with polyester. Fine fabric manufacturers may combine two or more natural fibers to achieve the comfort of all-natural fabric, plus a new kind of beauty. Like the happy synergy of the child who inherits one parent’s good looks and the other parent’s brains, some summer suiting combines the luster of linen, the luxury of silk, the comfort of cotton, and the strength and tailoring quality of wool. These elegant combinations should not be confused with synthetic blends. Read the labels.

As for the best shirts for warm climates: Look for lightweight, 100 percent cotton fabrics. Even if you succumb to the practicality of synthetic blends in the cooler months, I strongly urge you to choose the comfort of cotton in hot weather. The lighter the fabric and the smaller the percentage of synthetic, the more comfortable.

You might introduce the variety of a few cotton or cotton-and-linen neckties to your summer wardrobe, giving some of your favorite silk ties a brief recess.

A wrinkle or two in summer is not the worst thing. Not sloppy, you understand, but a few normal wrinkles are far better than plastic clothes that look as though they could stand up by themselves.

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