Ben Wolff
Clothing Stylist
I'M ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT for the newest and best stuff to recommend to my clients and other business professionals like yourselves, but sometimes instead of needing to look outside I get a phone call. A good client of mine from Pearson Publications gave me a call yesterday to ask me to help him pick out an outfit to wear to an important business meeting. Simple enough. With all the details he gave me about the meeting and the way he wanted to present himself came the most interesting question of all, “Can I wear a Fall/Winter suit in the Summer?” What a great question. I call this “Clothing Cross-Pollination” and it's is one of the pillars of the 're-dress Every day' system. So my answer to him was a resounding yes!Let's talk a little, “Clothing Cross-Pollination.”
Both men and women perceive Fall/Winter clothing to be heavy in terms of weight and dark in color. Conventional wisdom says this is the case. You don't necessarily want to wear a Mohair jacket for example in hot and humid weather. The trick is what I call, “Clothing Cross-Pollination”. This easily learned skill has more to do with reading than anything else. By simply reading the label instead of looking at the color or the garment you can determine if you could wear the piece during the hot Summer months. Men take a look and the inside the jacket of your suit, blazer, sports coat or the label of your trouser. What is the TC (Thread Count) or Blend? If it's a wool it will either be a Blend of some sort like a poly/wool or one of the Super's; 100, 110, 120, etc. The reason I bring this up is it's these numbers that will help lead the way through your “What to wear” decision process. Just remember the higher the TC the lighter the feel. A Super 130 is going to feel more comfortable than a Super 110 which will feel more comfortable than a Blend and on and on. You get the idea.
Ladies, the most important aspect of “Clothing Cross-Pollination” for you is label reading as well. You are very fortunate that you have a lot more latitude when it comes to dressing than men. You can more easily mix and match to create your style for the office, meeting or whatever. You don't have to necessarily stick to the “Season” of dress that the rest of the world may be in in order to look contemporary and fashionable. Lucky you. With that in mind I need to you to go to your closets straight away and start reading! Read all the labels regardless of what you think is an appropriate Seasonal choice. Look for Cotton, Linen, Silk, Wool, Hemp, Ramie and Jute. Natural fibers. These are all very wearable fabrics for the Summer months regardless of color. Just because your cute little blazer is Navy doesn't mean you cannot wear it in August if it's the right fabric. What you should take out of your closets and business wardrobes immediately is any piece that's 100% Synthetic. Yikes! Rayon, Polyester, Acrylic and Acetate are not your friends. These are a no no of the first order and here's why: Synthetic fabrics don't breathe. End of story. When the days get hotter your body tries to cool itself off through perspiration. Synthetics don't allow this natural process to happen. The sweat with not be able to evaporate away from your body and all that heat that's trying to escape will be trapped creating more heat. This cycle will continue until something happens to relieve the pressure. Either you take something off or you pass out. Whichever comes first and the latter being potentially hazardous and embarrassing.
Now Ladies and Gentlemen go back to your closet and have a good look because with this important bit of knowledge you've just tripled your outfit possibilities. It's almost like being given thousands of dollars for a shopping spree but instead you get to Shop Your Own Closet.
Thanks and remember put a little 're-dress Every day' in your day.
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