Seersucker

The weather was bloody hot.

Seersucker is a cotton fabric that we periodically find in shop windows in the warm seasons. Appropriate for summer garments, it is mainly used for dresses, sports jackets, shirts, trousers and Bermuda shorts. It was originally developed in India, but the term derives from the Urdu language still spoken in some regions, legally recognized by the 7th Constitution of India. Urdu has Persian influences, hence the term shiroshakar which means "milk and sugar".

The definition was probably coined based on the similarity of its smooth and rough stripes; associating the smooth texture of milk, the rough and irregular texture with sugar. This pleasant cool cotton canvas has a distinctive crinkled surface. It comes in stripes, sticks or squares. Initially it was made by alternating silk warps with cotton ones. Consequently, it was enough to wet it to make the cotton shrink and the silk not, creating the characteristic crumpling.

Today, polyester or a skilful alternation of tight and loose threads are used instead of silk. This particular texture allows the skin to breathe, since it does not rest completely.

The seersucker was brought to Europe by the English India Company in the 18th century. Limited in England perhaps due to the unsuitable climate, it was used by the upper social classes during their travels to Italy, during safaris in Kenya or during long holidays in the English colonies of North America.

Precisely in the famous thirteen English colonies it took hold. Initially used as a fabric for work clothes, it was worn by laborers in the railroad and oil industries.

The workers wore overalls, jackets and caps made from a heavy dark blue version of seersucker fabric also called pucker. Because of its durable and airy nature, it was appreciated by men who had to work alongside hot locomotives, engines, and ovens.

The main manufacturer of seersucker work suits is the “Haspel Brothers” of New Orleans. Ignored by the middle and upper classes, it began to take hold when Joseph Haspel created the first wash-and-wear suit in seersucker fabric in 1909.

It is said that one afternoon Haspel dived into the sea with the suit, thus showing his friends that the suit can be washed and worn already dry for dinner time.
It soon becomes a must for southern gentlemen in the United States. So much so that Senator Jospeh Guernery Cannon, visiting President Roosevelt, shows up in a seersuker suit; thus breaking the official protocol that imposed the classic black frock coat.
When asked what he made him break the dress code rules, he exclaimed:
"the weather was bloody hot!"

Snubbed and still little used, it took hold in 1920 among Princeton students. Later famous Hollywood stars start wearing seersucker suits, so Life magazine dedicates an article clarifying that it is considered acceptable to wear seersucker in the northern part of the United States. He was later seen in posh resorts in California and the Bahamas, helping to promote his hot-weather-ready suit pedigree.

Over the years, this breathable, light-colored fabric with vertical stripes conquers the virtuous Duke of Windsor. Edward VIII usually wears it for his trips to the Bahamas or the Riviera. Its poor origin is transformed into panache and elegance. Gentlemen took pride in wearing their dress on hot days or on the beaches of the Hamptons. Journalist Damon Runyon writes in an article: "finally the particularly sought-after men have found their go-to summer suit" attesting that: wearing a seersucker is a badge of well-being.

It didn't take long to see him pop up in Hollywood films. Gregory Peck wore a Haspel suit in “The Darkness Beyond the Hedge” (1962); Cary Grant in "Charade" (1963). Robert Redford's infamous pink seersucker in "The Great de Gatsby" (1974).

The elegant double-breasted seersucker suit worn by Leonardo Di Caprio in the subsequent depiction of the Great Gatsby proves that the style is here to stay.

In 1996, former Senator Trent Lott came up with the idea of establishing National Seersucker Day, better known as Seersucker Thursday. The intent was to bring some Southern charm and tradition to Capitol Hill, to remember how senators dressed before the advent of air conditioning and to honor this American fashion icon. The event was temporarily suspended in 2012, restarting in 2014.

In Europe it is not ideal to wear a seersucker suit to work, it is easier to wear it for cocktails, an aperitif or an informal dinner, preferring the classic blue or brown.

If you are new to wearing this fabric, I find it a great place to start with this classic combination: blue seersucker striped jacket, white buttondown shirt, navy blue trousers and loafers; always remember to wear the belt of the same color.