Palm Beach: the Summer Fabric

Palm Beach was a famous brand that created a uniquely blended fabric for warm weather wear.  It was very popular during the Golden Era (before dying out in the 1950s) because it offered men one of the best and most stylish ways to stay cool in the heat while wearing a suit.

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What was Palm Beach fabric?  It was a warm weather blended fabric created in the late teens/early 1920s.  The blend was kept secret and is still up for debate, but general consensus is that it's a blend of linen, mohair, and, added in the mid-1950s, rayon and nylon.  One 1950s Palm Beach material tie is tagged with the following blend:

50% rayon

32% mohair

12%cotton

6% nylon

It should be noted that this is a later blend after Palm Beach was sold by Goodall in 1953.  The previous original blend did not contain rayon nor nylon.  While the Palm Beach fabric died in the 1950s, it should not be confused with the Palm Beach brand, which existed separate from the fabric from the 1950s up to at least the 1980s if not later.  After the 1950s the Palm Beach brand name was just that: a name.  Unimpressive wool and polyester Palm Beach brand suits and jackets litter thrift shops across the country; these later garments share no heritage to those made out of true Palm Beach fabric.

I was able to pick up a Palm Beach suit the other day.  Surprisingly it fits me pretty well.  It has stains throughout but I'm currently working on them.

The interesting thing about this suit is that the two pieces are not original to each other.  If you look at the photo of the jacket above you'll notice by the low button stance, highly padded shoulders, and very generous lapels that this jacket dates from the Bold Look, or the mid-1940s to the early 1950s.  It dates from before the Palm Beach name was sold by Goodall in 1953 because the brand tag still mentions Goodall.

The trousers, however, have a button fly as well as an NRA tag in them, dating them from 1933-1935.

Thankfully for me the material blend and weave didn't really change in the time between when these two pieces were manufactured so they match perfectly.

With so many stains throughout this suit it will be somewhat difficult to clean well.  Palm Beach fabric can easily develop dry rot if stored in a hot, dry area and can shred at any attempt to clean it.  Oxiclean has been known to also destroy the material as it's a fairly harsh cleaning method.  From a couple experts I've talked to, the best bet for cleaning vintage Palm Beach fabric is in soapy water with a mild soap.  However, if dry rot has occurred even a gentle hand-wash in soapy water can still shred Palm Beach.  Avoid dry cleaning.

Anyone lucky enough to find a good-condition garment made of Palm Beach fabric can attest to its usefulness in the warm summer months.  I've thankfully finally joined their ranks with this great suit that, with a little elbow grease, will serve me well.

And just in time for winter...

A Bold Look for the Summer

It's that time again: Summer.  Warm weather, outdoor activities, BBQing with friends and family, cruisin' around in cars with the windows rolled down.  It's a great time of the year.  But it can get really hot.

How did guys stay cool and stylish back in the 1940s?  The following images from a 1948 "Look" magazine (64 years ago, when the "Bold Look" officially began) answers that question.  And interestingly enough there was a bit of a debate about it.

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Cover:

Article Page 1:

Article Page 2:

Article Page 3:

Article Page 4:

Article Page 5, the "Aztec" inspired clothing is rather wild:

Article Page 6, I'll take one of everything, please:



Where do I stand in the debate about summer material?  Do I prefer loosely woven fabrics or light-weight tightly woven fabrics for warm weather? 

I like loosely woven materials, like linen.  I find that allowing air to flow through a garment makes it much cooler than a light-weight tightly woven material.  For example, I have a heavy-weight three-piece tweed suit that is super warm in the winter.  Even so, its tweed material is surprisingly loosely woven and at times will allow a gust of wind to cut through.

Your experience may differ along with your preference, but that has been my observation.



WIW: The '70s Weren't All Bad

After a couple weeks of unbearable heat, we've had several weeks of beautiful weather. A little drizzly today but very nice.

Today I broke out the early 1960s/late 1970s linen jacket I've had for a short time. I widened the button stance to improve the proportions and help it fit me better and the sleeves probably needed to be lengthened but it's not a big deal.

The 1970s are seared into our minds for being an awful era for style. Parts of it, however, were not so bad as this classically styled jacket can attest to. Not a lick of polyester is present in the 100% linen material.

The trousers are early 1950s gabardine Hollywood-waist trousers. They go very well with with the linen jacket.

Usually for a summer look I'll wear a blue jacket with cream trousers; today I switched the traditional color scheme, putting cream on top of the blue and creating a striking appearance.

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My cute photographer:

WIW: Spring Madras

Madras has recently come into fashion with younger folks but, unsurprisingly, it is a more traditional fabric pattern that your grandparents or great grandparents were putting to use long ago. Below are a few 1930s Esquire and Apparel Arts illustrations that put "Indian Madras", as they called it, to work.

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And while I'd never be caught dead in this suit, the shirt did give me a bit of inspiration last Sunday:



Here is my take on the Madras shirt/jacket combination.




Madras is a loud fabric pattern and therefore should be worn with restraint. However, when worn right it will add a dash of color to any warm weather outfit.

Intentionally Wrinkled

Having traveled a short distance to hang out with a friend this morning, it came to me that linen would make a very good travel fabric.

Here's why.

It wrinkles. It's supposed to wrinkle. A linen suit or jacket without wrinkles is like a car without wheels: they just have to be there for it to work. And since we sit for long periods of time when we travel, our clothes tend to wrinkle even if they aren't supposed to.

So next time you want to travel wearing a suit or jacket, be like Cary Grant and try linen. That way when you arrive wrinkled, it looks natural. It looks right.


Of course your suit or jacket can't just be wrinkled, but it has to be wrinkled in the right areas: arms, back of the jacket (from sitting), at the back of the knees, etc. You want wrinkles, but you don't want to look like you just pulled the suit out of an overstuffed closet. The wrinkles must be specific.


I took a cue from Mr. Grant today and went all linen, since it was absurdly hot outside. I paired a jacket and trousers of slightly different colors as well as different types of linen to help contrast the look. Throw in a pink 1930s "Fruit of the Loom" tie, spectators and a Stetson and we've got a great summer kit.

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The jacket is made of smooth, finely woven linen while the trousers are a little more course and loosely woven. Both are lightweight and drape very well.


Give linen a try if you're travelling this summer.

WIW: Lounging

Yesterday was beautiful. I was a bit under the weather but not enough to enjoy the weather. It was warm and sunny with big puffy clouds in the sunny sky. Isolated rainstorms rolled through the area and every so often we'd get a light rain for 5 or 10 minutes while it was still sunny outside.

There's nothing like the smell of a cool rain on the hot, dusty concrete.





The light-weight cotton shirt and linen trousers kept me cool while the hat and boat shoes added some color.

WIW

Finally broke the Macy's linen jacket out of the closet after waiting for 2 weeks. The weather has been fairly cool here but warm enough for a linen jacket with linen trousers.

I think this is a fairly good late 1930s to mid-1940s summer look.

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As wrinkled as your little ol' grandma!

Last Gasp of Summer

And what a nice one it has been weather-wise. Cool, dry, relatively sunny. At least in my area.

As summer slowly draws to a close the warm weather inventory rapidly goes on sale at every clothing store across the country in an attempt to make room for the incoming winter wear. It's a good time for us cheapskates.

Enter Macy's. Like any good business, they're trying to get rid of their old items. Items like this sports coat fromTasso Elba. Oddly enough, while I purchased mine online for $38 a week or two ago the same jacket is now $50 (originally $195, so still a good deal).

So, why this sports coat? Because of its vintage-inspired style.
It's 100% linen and is therefore guaranteed to wrinkle like any good summer piece should. And not just wrinkle in a chaotic manner but rather in a way that tells the wearer and observer alike that the jacket has been lovingly lived in, so it has the character of a well-trusted old dog: it's concrete, classic, comforting.

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The patch pockets are a classic summery touch to any jacket. You'll note that my jacket is different from the one found at the link I provided above in that my lacks pocket flaps. I assure you it did have them at one time, at least until I removed them. I thought the flaps gave it more of a '70s feel than a '30s one. Now the gusseted patch pockets can be fully seen in all of their glory.

But it is not the front of the jacket that is special. Plenty of other humdrum jackets look like this one from the front. It is the back that is special, catches the eye. Not even the wonderful lapel roll can match the back of the jacket.

Yes, that's a belted back with a center gusset. In a modern jacket. Mind you, it's not perfect. The armholes are, as expected, incredibly low and the belt is about 1/2" too low (no big deal, though). Not perfect indeed, but much further from hopeless than it is from perfect. Actually, this is about as close to a real vintage belted back, center gusseted, patch pocketed linen sports coat that most of us can get at that price. Unless you're a leprican carrying a rabbit's foot while chewing on a four-leaf-clover, but I digress...

Probably the best part about this jacket is the center gusset itself. At rest with arms down at your side the gusset is flat and closed as shown in the photo above. But raise your arms and a whole new world reveals itself as the gusset opens up, allowing for a greater range of movement:

The center gusset along with the belted back, bi-swing back, pleated back, knife back, etc. were all fairly common features found on suit jackets and sports coats of the mid- to late 1930s.

There are three colors to choose from though the 'natural' color is the most vintage for a summer sports coat. Great texture and subtle color variations in the linen, too.

Hopefully if you order one of these jackets there'll be enough warm weather for you to wear it as summer takes its last gasp.

The Summer Suits

Spring reared it lovely head for the first time this week, reminding us that summer is soon to arrive.

While winter is the apogee of the style year (with heavy-weight fabrics like tweed, sharp looking overcoats and snappy felt fedoras to keep our heads warm), summer is another time of the year when weather extremes force us to innovate and try things unknown or, in our case, long forgotten.

Enter the summer suit.
During the Golden Era men who were dressing not only to stay cool but also look cool would go with wool, gabardine, linen, seersucker or the famous Palm Beach fabric (a secret mix of rayon, linen and mohair). While these were thicker than most standard fabrics of today they were still rather light by yesteryear's standards and actually quite breathable.

How can wool be more breathable than, say, a 100% cotton fabric of the same weight? Wool is not as tightly woven, wicking away any sweat from the skin and allowing it to evaporate, thereby letting our natural air-conditioning to work. Tightly woven cotton does not allow our sweat to evaporate as easily. It also keeps air from circulating around the body.

Another way vintage suits keep wearers cool is color. While black and dark colors absorb sunlight, white and lighter colors reflect a large majority of it. Unlike today, white was a popular summer suit color in the Golden Era, though suits were usually more of an off-white or cream color rather than pure white. The different shades of white added some depth to the suit.

It's a shame more men don't wear white suits today (or even just more suits) but the usual excuse is that white is too difficult to keep clean and too hard to get stains out of. And while it is true that white can be difficult to keep clean, it is definitely worth the effort. Nothing draws the eye like a man sharply wearing a white suit. They knew it back then, we should know it today.

Of course there is more to the summer suit than just being white.

What about seersucker?
Most people today think of a certain style of suit when they hear "seersucker", preferable one with thin blue and white stripes. However, seersucker originally described a type of fabric that 'puckers' and warps as a result of the weave. Seersucker fabric was largely available pre-1960s but then it began to disappear and is now quite expensive.

And while not a seersucker, the 1970s summer suit below looks very much like one and does the trick.

And, of course, we cannot forget the ubiquitous sports coat combination. I wrote about it several months ago but I want to point out another aspect of this look. Wearing khaki trousers with a navy blue sports coat is a very nice conservative touch if you are in a more formal setting such as an interview. However, if no rules are holding you back you can be inspired by the Golden Era and replace those plain khaki trousers with ones that are white.

A double-breasted sport coat paired with white trousers, spectator shoes and a Panama hat looks quite dapper. I can't wait to try it.