3367Q. I would like to buy a lighter suit for the summer. Are those alternating light blue-and-white striped suits appropriate for work? I am the one lawyer in a small blue-collar company. Usually I wear traditional suits (not pinstripes, just solid gray or blue), but I don’t often need my jacket.
A. You are referring to a seersucker suit. A welcome addition to a man’s closet filled with dark year-round suits, it can be a fine purchase for warm-weather wear. A striped seersucker in the most common blue-and-white version (or the less typical gray-and-white or beige-and-white) is a refreshing alternative.
In answer to whether it is appropriate for work, it depends very much on the formality and overall tone of your office. In a sedate setting, it might be too casual. But, in the type of office you describe where you don’t often need to wear a jacket, it would be fine.
Still, I should mention one small note of warning. Even though it is informal and relatively inexpensive, a seersucker suit is a bit of an elitist, upper-class sort of garment. You mentioned that yours is a blue-collar company. I might suggest that a seersucker suit and even a seersucker sport jacket might be a bit too Ivy League, too country club for your colleagues’ comfort level.
On the other hand, if you really like the style, you could buy one and wear it for social occasions. Then, once you do own it, you could try wearing it to work on a horribly hot day (especially if there is nothing very formal -- like a big meeting with an important client -- expected to happen that day at the office). See how your office mates respond. They may go out and buy one themselves!
Another factor to consider: How long have you worked in your office? If you are well established, it could be easier to break tradition. If you are new, you should be more cautious (always good advice).
To help you locate seersucker in the overall hierarchy of men’s attire, the range goes something like this:
DRESSY BUSINESS SUITS
Dark blue or gray wool pinstripes: Most formal, very boardroom correct. Ideal for staid traditional business settings.
Dark solid-color in navy or charcoal: Still rather formal, but not quite as dressy as pinstripes.
Medium-dark solid or softly patterned: Subtle glen plaids, tick-weaves, herringbones, and quiet windowpanes are less dressy than darker solids. Perfect for less formal meetings and social wear.
MEDIUM DRESSY BUSINESS SUITS
Khaki and olive suits: The most casual of all solid-color suits.
LEAST DRESSY/MOST CASUAL SUITS
Cotton striped seersucker suits: A great change-of-pace, they are the least formal of all suits, perfect for a summer party. They may be fine, but may very well not be appropriate in a traditional business setting.
LESS FORMAL THAN MATCHED SUITS
Separate sport coats or blazers worn with unmatched dress pants.
Shirtsleeves (that is, a long-sleeved shirt without a jacket) and slacks.
Some advantages of seersucker: It is the coolest fabric you can find for summer; its light color adds tremendous variety to a dark business wardrobe; its casual air fits dressed-down offices; it is less expensive than wool; the jacket can be worn alone as a sport jacket; and it doesn’t wrinkle. One of the fabric’s strongest points is that it is tastefully different, but not flauntingly different.
While a seersucker suit is not considered formal enough for a courtroom, Matlock never lost a case while dressed in his.
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