Pros and cons of a midweight cotton suit?
I was thinking of dropping a good chunk of change on a custom suit and I've been really liking the look of non summer weight cotton suits lately, basically something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjalikDUWls. I like the casual vibe and being able to wear the two parts as separates. The only thing is that this will basically be my only real suit, the only other one I own being a not particularly well fitting one from Suit Supply some number of years ago.
I don't work in a formal office so the only occasions I'd see myself wearing a suit would be weddings and concert/symphony halls and stuff like that so I feel like I'd be able to get away with just owning one of these, but would love to hear some potential cons I might be missing.
The Armoury
YouTube
Q&A #69 - What's So Great About a Cotton Suit?
In this episode, we share some views on cotton suits, give some tips on how to choose fabrics and style them, recommend some mills and merchants that we like and point out some things to watch out for.
Check out our cotton suits here - https://www.thearmoury.com/search?q=cotton%20suit
20 Replies
If you wear the items seperately they will age differently and cotton ages noticeably more/faster than wool IME. For example the dye will fade at different rates.
Thanks, that's a great point. In that case I might have to just always wear them together. I actually really like the look of aged cotton, but I'm worried that it might end up a bit too worn/casual for weddings and stuff like that, wondering if you have any experience with that
Honestly I think wearing cotton suits casually is very easy. Easier than plain coloured wool at least. If my experience is of any value I'd say you are never underdressed in a full suit at any wedding. Doesn't matter if cotton, linen or wool.
The cotton suits I do like are seersucker and corduroy. But beyond that I feel like cotton is kind of the in-betweener that fits nowhere.
Often people want cotton to be less hot than wool, but if it's thin enough you may as well get linen or a blend and embrace the wrinkles, or get lightweight wool that will usually not wrinkle much or at least a lot less.
For heavier weight like you're looking at, I'd much rather have a heavyweight linen, or a wool in a more casual weave/texture/pattern/print etc. Unless, again, I am specifically going for corduroy etc.
In other words, if the goal is casualizing the suit, I'd prefer 100% linen, 100% wool, or blends of wool-linen, wool-linen-silk, wool-silk, or linen-silk, linen-cotton, maybe wool-cotton. (I am including all the other different wools as just wool.) If the goal is lightweight and breathable I turn to the same materials, just different expressions than if it's supposed to be a midweight or heavyweight.
As far as whether a midweight cotton wool is too casual for a wedding? Really depends on your social circles. Summer wedding at a country club in the northeast US? Yes definitely but you won't be asked to leave. Casual park wedding with your friends in california? You'll be amongst the most formally dressed most of the time. Barn wedding or backyard bbq in the midwest? You might be the only one in a suit. So big "depends on context" answer unfortunately. I suspect that you'd need to travel in a very specific crowd to be absolutely and embarrassingly underdressed in a full suit made of brown cotton at a wedding that isn't marked as black-tie or adjacent terms, so it would probably be okay if you aren't already certain it's not okay.
I have a navy cotton 'suit' I wear for weddings and parties. I like it a lot, but it's very much not a "classic menswear" suit and I'm not aiming for that either. It's very casual and slouchy and a bit workwear. I wouldn't wear it for an interview and it's definitely not my "one suit"/only real suit.
I guess in summary... if you really love the idea, go for it, no harm to anything but your wallet. It's not something I really love though.
IIRC this is cotton: https://www.permanentstyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/bespoke-corduroy-suit.jpg
ah okay well the URL says corduroy, so there you go.
I like it. I just don't want it for myself. :P
He wears it great though so tons of good inspo out there. You wouldn't be the first. It's just somewhat an unusual choice to do 100% cotton.
I know that @The Teenage Gentleman lol has experience with cotton suits, maybe he can help.
Thanks for the tips! I work in a super casual industry so luckily I'm not gonna ever need a suit for interviews. I live in Chicago and the vibe of the weddings I've been to is pretty formal (men are exclusively in suits) but, and maybe this is just my particular circles, the people aren't particularly sartorially inclined so I feel like I'd be able to "get away" with wearing a suit made of more casual materials, though that does feel like I'm tricking people in a weird way lol
If you have only one suit I probably would not recommend a cotton one for Chicago but again, there's nothing really wrong with it, you can rock it if you like.
i think everyone has said a lot of good stuff here.
i like cotton suits because they're casual, especally if they have the heavy seams and workwear ish ideas. think the drake's games suit or the recent j.crew work wear suit
a regualr cotton suit (aka no casual details) might be hard to wear
i have a few cotton suits and i wore the suit or the pants the most, never the jacket on its own
i think its a good suit for people who dont really want/need to wear suits
i dont think its too casual for a wedding because most people at weddings look like this:
at best they look like this
J.Crew
Garment-dyed suit jacket in Italian cotton drill
Shop for the Garment-dyed suit jacket in Italian cotton drill for men. Find the best selection of men mens-categories-clothing-blazers-casual-blazers available in-stores and on line.
this in with an ocbd and knit tie and dark brown shoes looks just fine
probably best to do it in navy or khaki though YMMV
IMO, i think you'll be able to get away with it
Thanks for that link! I really dig that suit, I'm actually gonna go head to a j crew to try it on lol. Really appreciate the tips, the heavy twill games suits they currently have at drakes was definitely another big reason why I wanted a cotton suit