Summer time clothing

[AntonAAK]

Trousers in a vintage cut are indeed difficult to find. I'm too big for vintage but would really like some white summer trousers cut like these.

Maybe one day I'll find them...

 

[Geesie]

Well if you are talking about the "original" chinos, starting as U.S. Army summer khaki cotton pants worn as civilian wear, and their civilian copies that quickly became popular post-WW2, there are a few guidelines. Early models sometimes had pleats, but this was rare. The general cut was high-waisted, fairly full in the legs, flat-front with cuffs. Later on into the post-war era the cut became trimmer, the cuffs often disappearing. The most "traditional" colors are the khaki/tan/beige shades that mimic the color of the original U.S. Army pants.

I've found that military-style khaki pants look a lot like work pants, i.e. Dickies.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I've found that military-style khaki pants look a lot like work pants, i.e. Dickies.

That makes sense, since that's originally what they were. Prior to their post-war popularity, the main use of cheap cotton trousers was as work pants, and such was largely also their use in the army. Their post-war boom was very much a university/Ivy League fashion at first. Over time due to the casual-izing of the modern wardrobe, they sort of ended up as the default "casual dress" pant mainly because they seem more like dress pants than jeans do at least. The modern fit of chinos/khakis is thus exactly the same as modern dress pants.

Personally, I love khakis and they are the foundation of my summer wardrobe. The light tan color has a cooling mentality to it and goes with almost any other item of clothing. If you are wearing proper khakis (Bill's khakis, JCP retro-chinos, mil-surp etc) you have a nice high-waisted, loose fit that's very comfortable and airy. Khakis also look BETTER the less pressed and more rumpled they are, thus are ideal for summer outdoor activities.

Bill's khakis, a lightweight cotton shirt with sleeves rolled up, casually-tied ascot, Weejuns and straw hat and I'm good to go.

 

[Lokar]

I'm really looking forward to Summer here..... I'm a big Winter person and I truly don't care for the sun, but it has been so cold for sol ong here now, that I'm gagging for a change, a change to go out again with a leather jacket slung over a shirt and tie, not swathed in a heavy overcoat. Heck, I'm even looking forward to getting to wear a trenchcoat again without freezing...

Yeah, I feel the same. I'm a Wiltshire lad, and Sweden has been great for me - the longer, colder winters have meant I've had great use of overcoats, but this winter has of course, been extreme. I live at the southernmost point of Sweden, and we have had snow for three months. That is, non-melting, constantly settled, several feet high of snow, for three months. Then for a month before that we had snow on and off, but it kept melting away.

A third of a year of snow, and it's still not going away. I'm going mad here..


I only own one true "summer" suit (as always, finding anything non-70s-90s in Sweden is difficult), but it's pure wool. The thinnest worsted wool I've ever handled, skeleton lining, very comfortable in summer here. Wouldn't like to wear it in the US, though..

I hope I'll manage to stumble upon a linen suit sometime soon.

 

[John in Covina]

How cold was it?!

fftopic: I spent a couple of winters in Plattsburgh, NY up by the Canadian border. For the rugged outdoor types this might not seem like much but coming from Long Island it was a bit tough, one year it did not get above zero farenheit in the daytime for about 6 weeks, and the temps went pretty low with those cold starry nights. We were tired of the cold and it was a blessing to have temps in the 20's and 30's after that.

 

[Hal]

I'm a big Winter person and I truly don't care for the sun...

Like you and Lokar, I very much enjoy the clothes of winter, but unlike you I don't look forward to summer temperatures at all! I wilt over 25C and would be delighted not to have to experience temperatures over 20C - the temperatures experienced and quoted by our transatlantic friends (and by our southern hemisphere friends concerning the summer just ending there) would be almost unbearable to me - as our summers of 2003 and 2006 here were.
But the long days of summer are wonderful - if only we could have June day-length with March or October temperatures!

 

[Edward]

Trousers in a vintage cut are indeed difficult to find. I'm too big for vintage but would really like some white summer trousers cut like these.

Maybe one day I'll find them...

At the minute, I have a pair of polycotton trousers, I believe designed for chefs. Sounds hideous, but really they look and feel like a good drill cotton, have a reasonably high waist, and - crucially, IMO, for whites - they are machine washable. More a fiftis cut than the full, thities leg though. My next aim is to look into a pair of Royal Navy dress white trousers, which are cotton and cut to a fairly traditional pattern. If I can find them unhemmed or at least in a much longer leg than I require, I'll have them cuffed.

Like you and Lokar, I very much enjoy the clothes of winter, but unlike you I don't look forward to summer temperatures at all! I wilt over 25C and would be delighted not to have to experience temperatures over 20C - the temperatures experienced and quoted by our transatlantic friends (and by our southern hemisphere friends concerning the summer just ending there) would be almost unbearable to me - as our summers of 2003 and 2006 here were.
But the long days of summer are wonderful - if only we could have June day-length with March or October temperatures!

Heh, Well, it depends what you meanby "Summer" temperatures.... to me, having grown up on the Northern end of Ireland, a sensible Summer temperature, at absolute July/ August peak, is about 24C.... I agree, much over 25, and my brain begins to shut down. High teens is comfortable. I'm really ready for a change now, though, it has been so cold for so long. I think this is the first year I have ever felt like this, too! Of course, come September, I'll be gagging for it to be cold enough to wear my B3 again...