A seersucker suit would be out of place as workwear in many traditional offices; workplaces in the South have more wiggle room, depending on office culture. They’re generally not a good choice when you’re trying to make a serious and professional impression; a regular, wool suit will give you a more structured, put together look. Instead, the seersucker suit is right at home anywhere that has a looser, more casual feel — a spring/summer outdoor wedding, the Kentucky Derby, and dressier parties near the beach.
Haspel, maker of the original suit, is still around, but has largely moved to turning their signature fabric into trendier menswear. Their traditional seersucker suit is available through Nordstrom at a hefty price ($700) and in seemingly only a few sizes.
Brooks Brothers, who introduced the suits that became so popular with college students of the 20s, still makes a classic seersucker suit as well. It’s a little more moderately priced at $500.
Not wanting to spend very much for my first go-round with seersucker, I picked one up from JoS. A. Bank. The suit certainly has its limitations, as I’ll mention below. But, it was on sale for only $118. I wear a suit to church every Sunday, and I plan on wearing it most weeks this summer, so it will get plenty of use. I figure if my experiment with sporting seersucker is a success, I can always upgrade later to a more quality model.
Because of the fabric’s lack of inherent structure, some seersucker jackets (including the one from JoS. A. Bank) come with shoulder pads to artificially add some in. A natural shoulder, however, is preferable.
The pants can be a little baggier that you might normally wear — seersucker doesn’t lend itself to the super slim fit currently in fashion — but shouldn’t balloon into clown territory.
- Shoes. White bucks are the most traditional. Spectators are a good choice that you’ll get more mileage out of. And this is the only suit where you can get away with wearing a penny loafer.
- Socks. According to the “rules,” you’re supposed to match the color of your sock to either color stripe in the suit. So on a traditional white/blue seersucker suit, a white or blue sock would be in order. But because of the casualness of the suit, you have more wiggle room for some “sock game.” Feel free to bust out your brightly colored patterned socks when you don your seersucker suit. Just don’t go sockless; you may be wearing an all-cotton suit, but it’s still a suit.
- Belt. Surcingle and ribbon belts, usually far too casual for suits, are acceptable with seersucker.
- Suspenders. Wear them if your pants don’t come with belt loops. Red is the most traditional color.
- Tie. A bow tie will give you the traditional Southern look. A necktie is more subdued; choose knit or linen for the material.