Formal wear during the summer can be a tad bit stuffy, unless you choose the right fabrics that “air” you out, Sanchita Nambiar finds, on speaking with industry experts.
Summer is here and so is the heat. As the day progresses, stepping out of an air-conditioned room for even ten minutes can leave us feeling sweaty and uncomfortable. While it would be ideal to be in loose, airy, single-layered clothing, our corporate set-up hasn’t evolved to allow this yet. So, to save ourselves from this dripping misery, thankfully fabrics have evolved, thereby letting us “breathe” in a formal outfit that is made from material suited to hot climates.
Summer fabrics
When picking the right fabric, one must first understand which material is comfortable for you, of good quality such that it is durable, and finally, lends a good fit. Pratha Sinha, head designer at Louis Philippe and Luxure says, “Fabrics suitable for corporate wear depend on the kind of garments. For business formal shirts, cotton has been the most suitable fabric. A liquid ammonia finish on the same with a moisture cure treatment makes it a wrinkle-free product with the added comfort of moisture wicking.” He further says that while these have been popular materials, New Age cotton blends with lycra and tencel are preferred by millennials.
Cotton-lycra is breathable like cotton, and due to the use of lycra, it is mostly wrinkle-free and durable. Tencel is a material by itself that can be an alternative for cotton. It is just as soft and airy, with the added benefits of being less prone to wrinkles and having the ability to absorb moisture, thus leaving the fabric feeling dry. It is, however, much more expensive than cotton due to the technology used in regenerating it from wood cellulose.
Founder of Bombay Shirt Company, Akshay Narvekar lists three more materials: “Breathable fabrics like poplin, oxfords and Japanese linen are suitable choices for summer too, as they feel like your second skin and keep you dry.” A lightweight cotton, poplin has a textured surface. Oxford is a woven dress-shirt that has proved to be more durable than cotton.
Prem Dewan, the retail head at OSL Luxury Collections-Corneliani suggests cool wool. It is usually made from merino wool that is known to have insulating properties — keeping you warm in cold climate and cool in warm climate. They’re summery, weighing no more than 190 grams per square metre.
Editor of The Woolmark Company, Lisa Griplas describes cool wool as a “precious, luxurious and versatile fibre, ideal for all seasons and perfect for the spring/summer wardrobe”. She goes on to explain that collections made from this material, “fit perfectly with the global trend and increasing desire for natural fibres, luxury and quality, particularly among younger generations; and the markets of Asia Pacific and the Middle East, where the warm climate requires lightweight, breathable fabrics”.
Other breathable fabrics to try out this summer are chambray, fresco, and seersucker. Chambray is a type of cotton that is woven in a crisscross manner that makes it airier, and despite being a soft fabric, it is durable. Fresco is constructed from high-twisted wool, which makes it breezy. And the cotton-woven seersucker, being very thin, enables easy air circulation.
Suit materials
Good quality suits are expensive, and one must give good thought before investing in one. It is important to recognise the climate and occasion where you are most likely to slip into it.
Narvekar emphasises on this saying, “Buying a suit is an investment and one should go for a versatile and aesthetic suit made in tweed, corduroy or wool for the colder seasons and opt for seersucker or cotton for the summers.”
Nagesh. C, the senior VP of design and visual merchandising at Pantaloons, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail adds materials like terylene-rayon, poly-viscose and poly-wool to the list. He says, “Finishes like wrinkle-free, non-iron, stain- and water-resistant nanotechnology help formals perform better when on the move. Today, even CVC (chief value cotton) fabrics with a cotton-poly blend for men and poly-georgettes for women are proving good for formals.”
He suggests different materials for suits for different occasions. These however, are not restricted to hot climates. Super 150’s or 130’s wool (made from pure wool; numbers denote thickness of the fibre — higher the better) is preferred for formal business suits as the fall and fabric behaviour is important. However, for warm weather, Super 100s work better because they are airier. For business travel suits, Nagesh suggests wool-lycra or poly-wool as they don’t wrinkle easily. As the latter doesn’t reveal sweat patches, it may be a better choice, but doesn’t necessarily keep you feeling breezy. This would mean carrying the jacket to your meeting instead of wearing it en route, so you don’t sweat into it.
“A more formal look is achieved with suits made from wool-silk or terylene-rayon for the sheen, and linen for a casual suit,” adds Nagesh. Wool-silk is a rich, warm fabric with a satin finish, easy fall and is durable. Terylene-rayon is comfortable to wear in spring and autumn — it is glossy, woven or knitted and has elasticity.
Warm cloths
Winter needs a completely different set of fabrics to trap in the heat, especially when we need to leave the cosiness of a heater to head out for meetings. Saikat Mitra, the assistant vice president-design head at Van Heusen says, “For colder climates, traditionally wool has been the best solution be it in suits, knits and cotton-wool blends in shirts.”
Dewan further narrows the wool category down to worsted yarn, “a compact textile that is smooth and boasts a high durability”. It is one of the more favoured fabrics for suits because of its long fibre that look smooth when woven.
The other common winter materials are flannel and fleece. Flannel was commonly made from worsted yarn and has evolved to using wool, cotton or synthetic fibre too. Superior quality flannel makes cosy shirts and blouses that aren’t too thick. Fleece, like worsted wool and flannel also keeps you warm and dry. It looks casual though — a man-made material engineered in the 1970s, usually made from polyester, and occasionally from cotton or wool.
Mitra adds, “Man-made materials like polyester, acrylics, and nylons are the New Age alternatives as they are great at providing warmth without adding too much of weight. Polyfill (fluffy and made from polyester) stuffing is great to keep warm, but down (fine thermal insulator made from bird feathers) offers the best insulation. Investing in technical outerwear will add the extra layer when venturing out in the snow.”
Sanchita Nambiar
