Armoury co-founder Mark Cho gives his recommendations for a well rounded Spring/Summer Sport Coat wardrobe with highlights from our new collection.
In the fall and winter months, navigating through the various materials available for sport coats can feel like almost second-nature. Many men are familiar with the virtues of tweed, flannel, and corduroy. But once the weather turns warm, things aren’t so clear. What’s the springtime equivalent of Thornproof or Donegal? Is linen right for sport coats or only suits?
With spring around the corner, we sat down with our co-founder Mark Cho to talk about what he thinks should be in a warm-weather sport coat wardrobe. For men who find themselves more in casual environments, having a few seasonal sport coats means being able to be dress for different situations. Mark discusses how to expand past the basics, as well as choose fabrics for a custom order this coming season.
A solid navy sport coat is the workhorse in your wardrobe. It’s something you can wear to business-casual offices, to special dinners, and even for travel. In the spring and summer months, however, you want something lightweight, airy, and breathable. “The problem with lightweight cloths is that sometimes they can get too thin and flat,” Mark explains. “This season, we found a deep navy twill that has a bit of texture, which will look more interesting in outfits, but still work for the warmer weather.” Our navy sport coats come in two designs: a flapped pocket version that’s a bit dressier, and then a patched pocket design that’s a bit more casual.
If you already have a summer navy sport coat, consider a dark blue jacket with a subtle pattern. Patterned sport coats are a bit less formal than their solid-colored counterparts, but this monochromatic glen plaid is smart enough for most offices. For men who don’t wear a tie often, a patterned jacket can also visually substitute for the bit of silk at your neck.
After navy, earth tones are always next. Mark recommends starting with the lighter shades of oatmeal. “I tend to think of light brown as being a perfect summer color, whereas dark brown is for winter.” Since a solid-colored, light brown summer sport coat can look plain, however, we went with two patterned options. The first is what’s colloquially known as a worsted tweed or “faux tweed.” The term refers to how the pattern mimics the district checks found on traditional tweeds but rendered in a hard finished, worsted yarn. “Faux tweeds” are the city version of country cloth. They’re rustic but airy, light, and comfortable to wear on hot, humid days.
Our second light brown sport coat is a glen plaid with a sage green overcheck. Made from a lustrous silk fabric, Mark thinks it makes for the perfect spring/summer jacketing. “The silk content lends a bit of sheen, and I tend to think that patterned sport coats in the summer benefit from a touch of sheen,” he explains. “Whereas, when you think of fall and winter fabrics, they tend to be very matte.” Silk has a reputation for wearing warm, but it’s also an exceptionally strong fiber. Weavers use it in summer fabrics because the fiber is strong enough to make an open-weave, breathable fabric that’s both lightweight and durable.
Once you have a couple of sport coats in primary colors such as dark blue and light brown, it’s worth skipping over into the slightly more adventurous section of earth tones. Pale greens with a low tint, such as olive and sage, can be worn with trousers in tan, cream, and grey. We have a patterned sage green sport coat this season with a saddle brown overcheck, which will pick up the color in your watch strap and shoes.
For our solid-colored, olive sport coat, Mark added some detailing to give the jacket some visual punch. “The pockets are flapped and have a gusset, which gives the coat a sporty look.” Pair that jacket with a chambray shirt and some jeans for the weekend.
A cotton suit isn’t a sport coat, but it can be worn as one. You can pair the jacket with chinos, jeans, or casual tailored trousers. With matching pants, you have an in-between suit that’s dressier than a sport coat but less formal than a worsted two-piece. We like cotton suits simply because they’re fun to wear. “In the dead of summer, a cotton suit will feel a bit hot,” Mark admits. “But it’s perfect for spring and fall.” Our cotton suit this season comes in a bright blue that’s perfect for holidays, brunch, and casual springtime gatherings.
Once you have the basics covered, the rest of your wardrobe should be about personal expression. Madras is an unabashedly colorful, plain-weave fabric that first came into the United States by way of Madras, a city in India that’s now known as Chennai. By tradition, the madras is made with vegetable dyes, which is why it’s been known to bleed, giving it a distinctive blurred look with wash and wear (modern madras is now colorfast). Following the First World War, madras found favor with American men, particularly of college-age, who liked wearing it as summertime sport coats, trousers, and sport shirts. Today, it’s a staple of classic American style. “I like wearing madras sport coats with blue jeans,” says Mark. “It’s an old Ivy look for me.”
Seersucker is the other prep staple. “We went with a wool seersucker, which wears cooler than your typical wool,” Mark explains. “In wool, the stripe doesn’t look so well-defined. It’s a bit softer and thus easier to wear. There’s always the danger of seersucker looking like pajamas. But this feels fun and casual, while at the same time looking special and dressy. Seersucker is traditionally worn as a suit, but we also like it as a jacket. You can wear it with dark grey trousers or white jeans.”
For the unabashedly preppy, we also have a boating blazer this season made from a Fox Brothers cloth. ”I actually really like rowing blazers,” Mark beams. “We kept it very conservative. Ours is two colors. This isn’t something you can wear all the time, but it’s fun you’re able to break it out.”
Gray sport coats are sometimes contentious because they can look too much like orphaned suit jackets. But this season, we found a grey fabric that has a large scale herringbone that reminded us of grey Harris tweeds. Mark recommends wearing this one with pale grey trousers, white jeans, or cream chinos.
Finally, Mark has some special recommendations for customers looking to order a custom springtime sport coat. He likes Marling and Evans for their crisp hand and subdued designs, then Fox Brothers for their colors and patterns. For that perfect navy summer sport coat, Mark recommends Drapers’ hopsack and mesh materials. “I also like linen sport coats. Years ago, Liverano made me a linen suit, but I wear the jacket as a sport coat more than anything else,” he says. “Funny enough, I find linen sport coats are easier to wear in cream than other colors. The color is already a bit odd by itself, which makes me feel less concerned about the matching between a rumpled jacket and pressed trousers. Whereas, I would be more concerned if it were a navy linen sport coat and grey trousers.” As for where to find that perfect cream linen cloth for this season? Mark suggests digging through our Spence Bryson swatches.
