Black And Mild

"I love the idea of a crisp cotton suit in beige or black with a solid cotton/linen shirt, solid tie and cordovan tassel loafers with no socks." - Michael Bastian as told to Prepidemic Magazine.

When I first saw the above quote from Mr. Bastian over at Prepdemic's Summer 2010: The Review I was a little surprised.  A black cotton suit?  Really?  Sounds like an interesting choice.  We've all seen the khaki, navy or even Nantucket red cotton suit/jacket get endorsed over and over again, but no one has ever stood up and recommended the darkest of the bunch as far as I can tell.  Most guys don't really go for the whole brooding look this time of year since S/S is typically about levity and despite agreeing with that sentiment for the most part I like how you can challenge conventions with something like a black cotton jacket.  Even if you completely discount wearing it during the day where you are likely to roast, it doesn't seem like a terrible option for your after hours shenanigans.  Admittedly, black is a color lots of guys shy away from due to its association with negative style buzzwords such as "fashion" and "chic" and I can see where they are coming from.  But let's also not pretend that you can't up your style quotient with something a little outside of the box.  I doubt many people reading this blog have any high profile galas penciled into their summer schedule, but to the few of you who do, you just might want to look into it.

-L.A.S