Relaxed linen suit for July wedding
Going to a friend's wedding in Washington DC in the last week of July. Was thinking a linen suit might be the best way to go.
Looking for
- something I can get off the rack
- budget ideally under 400.. but flexible
- a looser/relaxed fit in both pieces, I like a (moderately) wide fit/straight cut in the pant especially.
Any thoughts? I saw that Alex Mill has an option (https://www.alexmill.com/collections/the-linen-suit) but I wasn't crazy about the pants, which are slimmer and tapered.
What do you all think? Thanks!
3 Replies
How about this from percival? Might cost you a little extra to get it to the US though.
https://www.percivalclo.com/products/linen-blazer-navy
https://www.percivalclo.com/products/straight-leg-tailored-linen-trousers-navy
Percival Menswear
Linen Tailored Blazer | Navy
Summer, we all love it. A chance to (hopefully) get away. While away, feel free to adapt a persona, maybe the talented Mr. Ripley but just the swish style, not the rest of it, please. And embrace Italy, it is good for you as this Blazer and matching trousers will be.
Our Linen Collection is now live, 100% linen in a range of colours, feel free t...
Percival Menswear
Straight Leg Linen Trousers | Navy
Be notified first by clicking your size aboveSlightly wider than our linen tailored trouser, these as you may have guessed are straight leg fit.
Perfectly paired with one of our summer linen blazers, summer suiting, suits you. Shirt grip, welt pockets at back, belt loops, all the hits.
Perfect for summer weddings, dinners, or smart casual meet t...
DC in July is going to be HOT and HUMID. You're going to need the absolute lightest-weight most breathable linen suit to not want to just straight up die of heat, if you spend any significant time outside. Now if the entire wedding is inside, ceremony and reception, that will make things easier, but you still need to consider your plan to get to the venue and indoors without being sweat-soaked. And bring an umbrella too.
Now, from there, I'd bifurcate my advice. Advice 1 is all-indoor. DC is a fairly formal place, one of the most formal in the US, and I'd recommend the simplest strategy: navy suit, white or ice blue shirt, black oxfords. Tie you can go for more party than formal if you like, depending on the vibes, but the standard formal options will never offend anyone - dark colors with visible or actual texture, possibly small repeating pattern on the diagonal. Or of course a wedding tie. White pocket square is standard. Boom done.
Advice 2 is on how to deal with the heat. The answer is almost always either linen, or a tropical / light weight wool, or a wool blend (wool-silk, wool-linen, w-s-l.) Personally if I wanted to spend any time outdoors in DC in a suit I'd go for an unstructured jacket, canvassed shoulders sure but not on the chest, and I'd go for minimal lining (shoulders only, let the back breathe free.) One or the other, or both of those things. Possibly linen or cotton voile shirt. As a plus side, an unstructured jacket tends to be cheaper than a structured jacket, and it also avoids the whole annoyance of lower-end brands doing fused construction (even with decent fabric), ie, it opens up the world a bit on the lower-end side of the budget, which is really where you're trying to shop.
You can blend the two a bit by doing a navy suit in linen instead of wool, or in very lightweight wool, etc. The vibe of the place should inform your decision on at minimum color, but possibly material as well (in a sense, a lightweight worsted is 'safer' than a linen.)
For the price range, there are not a lot of suits that are worth buying that have any sort of structure. Spier & Mackay is your best bet, since they make just about the cheapest suit that's not crap. Suitsupply is $500 entry level. Charles Tyrwhitt may work. Most others are there or more. If you go for unstructured you may have more options. Downside of S&M is they are online-only (except a Toronto store?) so you need to know your size well before ordering. Their stock changes regularly but they should have lightweight stuff right now. Their cut is generally flattering and modern-happy unless you've got a large belly, in which case, maybe less so.
At a somewhat higher price point, you also have non-entry-level models from the above companies, plus mainstays like brooks brothers, ralph lauren, canali, and many others. But a lot of these are in the $700-900 price point. There are also sales on stuff occasionally, various burberry, samuelsohn, etc etc suits can fall within the price range.
I hope this helps a bit. The budget is really quite restraining, and it doesn't account for shoes, shirt, tie, and optional square.
@gimp Thank you for such a thorough response! Very helpful