# Summer suit



## bengee (Aug 21, 2003)

I'm looking for a good, though not extravagantly expensive, summer suit...........if in cotton or cotton/poly, that it's tailored so that it looks tradtional and tasteful. Got a suit from Men's Wearhouse that's ok, but looks too casual. Have conisdered light wool, but fear it might be too warm.....though i would guess it would look better, esp. in an olive suit............any ideas? Many thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

Poplin! That's the summer suit material of choice...or linen, or seersucker. Check out Lands End's offerings, they will likely be reasonably priced. Also Joseph A Bank would be priced reasonably.


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## Mad Hatter (Jul 13, 2008)

I guess what you got was a cotton (blend?) poplin suit? There's always linen or linen blends. High-twist weaves or tropical-weight wools. Based on what you wrote, I think seersucker is too casual for your taste. If you're concerned about how warm something will wear don't simply look at suiting; look at the lining, also.


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

I personally like 1/4 lined tropical wool a bit better than cotton for summer suits, but if you're going for cotton then O'Connells has 100% cotton suits in olive, navy, tan, pincord, and oyster - $450 (or blends for $395)

https://shop.oconnellsclothing.com/suits.php


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## Penang Lawyer (May 27, 2008)

If you can go with a light weight wool suit. The others wrinkle too much.


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## Titus_A (Jun 23, 2010)

Tropical wool can be very nice, although cotton is much cheaper. The O'Connell's number is highly recommended. BB has a really great looking all-cotton khaki, as well as a line of linens. JAB's are all poly-blends, which are anathema. The lining is an important consideration: a cotton suit fully lined in bemberg will be a little cooler, but not nearly as cool as it could be.


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## maximar (Jan 11, 2010)

A few weeks ago, BB had Brookscool suits on their clearance. It's probably at the outlets now. If you are looking for a khaki suit, some Marshalls and Burlington CF carry Haspel. Just scored one for $69. They are darted but the fit is as classic as a sack. JCP has a few summer weight suits in various fits for $125-$200. J. Ferrar and American Living has very nice shoulders on their jackets. Much better than J.Press (yes we are still much at war, not with Press, but with the shoulders only.)


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## tlocke (Jan 9, 2010)

+1 for the O'Connell's tan 100% cotton suit. Just received mine last week and can't wait to wear it.


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## Grenadier (Dec 24, 2008)

Brooks Brothers has about 30 varieties of summer suits on offer this year.


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## JakeLA (Oct 30, 2006)

maximar said:


> A few weeks ago, BB had Brookscool suits on their clearance. It's probably at the outlets now. If you are looking for a khaki suit, some Marshalls and Burlington CF carry Haspel. Just scored one for $69. They are darted but the fit is as classic as a sack. JCP has a few summer weight suits in various fits for $125-$200. J. Ferrar and American Living has very nice shoulders on their jackets. Much better than J.Press (yes we are still much at war, not with Press, but with the shoulders only.)


FWIW, I have the O'Connell's poplin suit pictured above and the shoulders have the same amount of padding as the most-padded Press jacket I own.


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## mjo_1 (Oct 2, 2007)

^Well that makes me feel better. I started a thread a while back about whether to go with a Cable Car or O'Connell's poplin. I ended up going with the 100% cotton Cable Car. It came in the other day and had more padding than one would expect. I thought the construction looked familiar, so I pulled out my too-padded Press blazer, and sure enough, they're both made by the same company (Cohen). I'm just glad I got a good deal on it instead of paying the obscenely high retail that CCC charges. 

So basically it appears that CCC offers the exact same poplin suit sold at Press - If considering a poplin, therefore, I'd look to Brooks for both shoulder and price reasons (if you're lucky enough to find your size at all) since others seem to fail in one or both of those areas.


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## mjo_1 (Oct 2, 2007)

PS - I've never owned a poplin suit before, but the material on mine seems awfully thin/fine. Is that normal? In the pictures the Brooks one looks a little thicker and more casual. I'm hoping mine, when I have it on, will look casual-ish like that....I'm semi afraid that from a distance it may appear to be a wool suit that is excessively wrinkled rather than a purposely casual cotton suit.


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## Bandit44 (Oct 1, 2010)

At some point in the future, I'm going to try one of the Hardwick poplin suits. I believe they are similar to Haspel, but still made in USA.


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## fishertw (Jan 27, 2006)

Bandit44 said:


> At some point in the future, I'm going to try one of the Hardwick poplin suits. I believe they are similar to Haspel, but still made in USA.


Bandit,
I bought the Haspel navy poplin last spring and wore it all summer. I'm very pleased with the suit. It's cool and seems to hold it's shape well and does not wrinkle as bad as either the BB or JAB poplins that I also have.
Just my $.02
Tom


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## maximar (Jan 11, 2010)

Does Hardwick make 3b sacks?


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## TheGreatTwizz (Oct 27, 2010)

Can anyone offer a source for Hardwick? I'm finding some places online in the $199 range, just want to be sure I'm buying them from the right place.


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## Montague (Apr 9, 2011)

I recently bought a Hardwick soft coat in 100% cotton from www.americansuitstore.com, has a natural shoulder, 2btn and open patch pockets. Paid $195, the list price was $265 I think. All they carry is Hardwick, the coat was shipped directly from the factory and I had it in 3 days for Easter brunch.


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## rl1856 (Jun 7, 2005)

The Hardwick Soft Coat looks like a 2b Sack. Dartless, natural shoulder and just a slight waist suppression. Patch pockets without flaps look odd though.

Looks like the American Suit Store is the online portal for factor direct sales. I suspect that Hardwick does some private label work for local stores and maybe some department stores in the SE.

Best,

Ross


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## frosejr (Mar 27, 2010)

I bought a tuxedo from Hardwick through 

and was very pleased.


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## JakeLA (Oct 30, 2006)

Hardwick seems to be the place to go if you need a burgundy 100% polyester blazer. 

I guess their main business is uniform clothes -- theater ushers and the like.

Still, they somehow manage to make a jacket in the US with Loro Piana fabric and sell it for $250 -- presumably for a profit.

I'm sure it fits like the proverbial potato sack, but still... There is potential here for somebody.


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## Bandit44 (Oct 1, 2010)

I don't think any of the Hardwick suits/jacket come in a 3 button sack, but they have the other features I like in a reasonably priced summer suit. Here's another place to find 'em. https://menssuitseparates.com/

I'm in the process of dropping some weight, so I'm holding off on buying any more clothes until I hit my target. But I'm definitely going to pick up either a jacket or a suit from them this year.


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## maximar (Jan 11, 2010)

I contacted Hardwick and they told me that they can do a 3b sack for $300-$400. I think that is a very decent price for a special order. All I need now is to try on an actual suit from them to see what size fits me. I wonder if anyone here ordered the sack Max model. Can someone share pics of even their regular darted suits? Are they generously cut?


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## Montague (Apr 9, 2011)

I didn't get the impression that American Suit Store is the online factory direct store for Hardwick, the package came from the Hardwick factory in Tennessee but American Suit is located in Kansas..... one of the reasons why I chose them over others because I'm in Kansas and figured if there was a problem it would be easier to correct. Also, I though the website was more professional than others, just a little reassurance for me while buying over the internet. As for the open patch pockets, I like the casualness, IMO it goes with the soft silhouette.


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## Bandit44 (Oct 1, 2010)

maximar said:


> I contacted Hardwick and they told me that they can do a 3b sack for $300-$400. I think that is a very decent price for a special order. All I need now is to try on an actual suit from them to see what size fits me. I wonder if anyone here ordered the sack Max model. Can someone share pics of even their regular darted suits? Are they generously cut?


This is getting interesting.


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## TheGreatTwizz (Oct 27, 2010)

Montague said:


> I didn't get the impression that American Suit Store is the online factory direct store for Hardwick, the package came from the Hardwick factory in Tennessee but American Suit is located in Kansas..... one of the reasons why I chose them over others because I'm in Kansas and figured if there was a problem it would be easier to correct. Also, I though the website was more professional than others, just a little reassurance for me while buying over the internet. As for the open patch pockets, I like the casualness, IMO it goes with the soft silhouette.


Based on what I read on the website, and my contact with Hardwick (I asked for a reference to a local retailer); they DO NOT sell direct to consumers. However, the factory stocks THOUSANDS of items, which makes it so retailers can drop-ship; which your guy in KS seems to do.

MTO for $300-400......so help my credit card bill should I find these to fit well.....


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## Cowtown (Aug 10, 2006)

JakeLA said:


> FWIW, I have the O'Connell's poplin suit pictured above and the shoulders have the same amount of padding as the most-padded Press jacket I own.


Jake do you have the 100% all cotton version or the older cotton/poly blend? I had the latter and agree about the shoulders, but was more hopeful that the all cotton version would actually have natural shoulders as billed.


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## JakeLA (Oct 30, 2006)

Cowtown said:


> Jake do you have the 100% all cotton version or the older cotton/poly blend? I had the latter and agree about the shoulders, but was more hopeful that the all cotton version would actually have natural shoulders as billed.


I have the all-cotton. It's not that the pads are huge, but they're definitely there and noticeable. But judging by some of my older, thrifted jackets that have essentially no padding at all, it's a long way from the trad ideal


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## DCLawyer68 (Jun 1, 2009)

Brooks Brothers has some very nice linen suits this summer for a change of pace from the usual poplin / blend routine.


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## Cowtown (Aug 10, 2006)

JakeLA said:


> I have the all-cotton. It's not that the pads are huge, but they're definitely there and noticeable. But judging by some of my older, thrifted jackets that have essentially no padding at all, it's a long way from the trad ideal


Thanks. That was my problem with the cotton/poly poplin as well. The pads were not large but the construction was such that the shoulders jutted out and were anything but natural. I will avoid.


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## GrumF14 (Aug 25, 2008)

A question born in ignorance, but... do the BB (or any company's) summer suits really make a difference from a "year-round" suit with regard to comfort against the heat in the summer?


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## Joe Beamish (Mar 21, 2008)

GrumF14 said:


> A question born in ignorance, but... do the BB (or any company's) summer suits really make a difference from a "year-round" suit with regard to comfort against the heat in the summer?


This is a good question which may engender disagreement. In my experience, NO. When it's hot, it's hot; and wearing a poplin suit in the heat and humidity is just as uncomfortable to me as wearing a standard wool suit. However, a summer suit (pincord, seersucker, etc.) has more style for many summer occasions and settings.


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## andcounting (Apr 7, 2009)

Joe Beamish said:


> This is a good question which may engender disagreement. In my experience, NO. When it's hot, it's hot; and wearing a poplin suit in the heat and humidity is just as uncomfortable to me as wearing a standard wool suit. However, a summer suit (pincord, seersucker, etc.) has more style for many summer occasions and settings.


And it's all about style isn't it?

I think humidity is the key factor in whether or not a suit is "cool". If you're in the balmy south, you're going to be hot. But I will say that when I lived in FL, when I walked around in my seersucker suit, I bet I was cooler than the half naked tourist because my suit was actually reflecting and air was indeed flowing - the were just exposing their virgin skin to the brutal sun... man the sunburns were funny. You never see half naked people in the desert regions of the world.


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## Luckycharmboi2 (May 30, 2009)

WIll the suit solve the whole problem of it being sweltering hot, no. But, it does make a big difference when one is wearing a seersucker or poplin, as opposed to a wool suit (especially a dark one). Also, the mere comfort of the lightweight suit tends to make dealing with the heat more bearable, just in terms of comfort. 

I spend almost the enttre summer wearing seersucker, pincord, or poplin suits. Unlike my wool suits (which I will work through on a longer rotation), the strategy with summer suits is pick about 2-3 of them, wear them a lot until they are too wrinkled to steam/salvage, and ship them all to the cleaners. Start with a new 2-3, and work among those until they need the cleaners. Typically, I find I can wear a summer suit twice (maybe 3 times but pushing it) giving them a steaming in between wearings.


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

Brooks still has the poplin sack in the BrooksCool fabric. 

I own three of these. Whatever the Space Age addition to the fabric is, it works. I remember covering a NIMBY event in July — about 88 degrees, blazing sun, standing in fields watching people on tractors drive around aimlessly to demonstrate their disapproval of someone who wanted to build some townhouses for the over-55 crowd, which would have brought in lots of revenue for this particular town's school, which spends about $17,000 per pupil. But noooo.

Wait, where was I?

Oh yeah. 

It was my first gig at the new job so I went in full armor. I won't say I was sweat-free, but I was comfortable, apart from getting some authentic farm product in my cuff.

The nice thing about these suits is a brush and a steam and you're good to go again. It wrinkles, yes, but not to the point of looking like an extra in a courtroom scene set in Louisiana in 1940.

Bad thing is you really have to go try them on to get a fit, guessing online is dubious. I find they run a little big in the shoulders, and a little more structured than you might think. Not JAB style, but definitely there.

Your other option is to watch on eBay or our thrift thread for old Brooks wash and wear poplin sacks. These are cotton/poly blends, and not today's spiffy technofabrics either. 

That said, these suits are astonishingly hardy — I've got one of my father's which he must have bought in the mid 60s — and they are entirely wearable in the warm weather.

And the old ones have almost no shoulder at all, so if you like that look you'll love these. You could put the jackets on wire hangers, almost, and no harm done.


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## GrumF14 (Aug 25, 2008)

Thank you, Patrick. Your post (and the others before it) was extremely helpful. Sorry about the "authentic farm product", though. And you're right, I'll have to keep on watching the sales forum and ebay, or at least get to my local BB after the Memorial Day traffic has dissipated so that I can try them on.


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## cecil47 (Oct 25, 2009)

Julien68, you appear to be spamming for Custom Men in all your posts to date.

edit: Thanks Andy & moderators.


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