A guide to Autumnal waistcoats
Whether you're getting married this season, attending a winter wedding or are simply looking to polish up your tailoring options, the waistcoat provides endless styling opportunities. While the Spring/Summer season is typically the time to opt for pastel tones and lightweight linen fabrics, the autumn/winter season on the other hand offers a host of deep rich tones and heavier fabrics to incorporate into your sartorial wardrobe, and in our mind at least is actually more fun and creative.
Autumnal tones such as burgundy, burnt orange, the gamut of greens, navy and brown, all provide a very rich palette with which you can contrast with brighter tones such as yellow, orange, red and cream in your ties and accessories. Where summer restricts us to cotton, silk and linen, the colder months bring into play wool gabardine and velvet options too, both of which add a tremendous textural and tactile element to your sartorial look. The double-breasted waistcoat also comes into play that bit more in the winter, given the warming functionality of its wrap.
So in terms of tones, the aforementioned green tones are an excellent starting point; being somewhat muted and safe, they work very well with all manner of charcoal and navy suiting, be it a lounge suit or a morning suit. The more matte in tone also provide a great canvas to contrast a vibrant yellow tie for example.
![]() FOREST GREEN PLAIN WOOL |
OLIVE WOOL DOUBLE |
GREEN PENTON CORD COTTON |
The spectrum of orange, red and burgundy hues are also a brilliant option for seasonal waistcoats, offering the full gamut of expression from dark and moody to bright and bold. Similarly to the greens, they pair well with all but the lightest of charcoal tones, and are great ways to complement black and navy.
![]() RED BEES SILK |
RED WINNINGTON |
RUST IKAT SILK |
Yellow is often associated with the summer, but in fact we only have to look outside right now to see that it's also a dominant colour in the autumn months. All the gradients of yellow work well with black and charcoal but especially well with navy and blue, providing a bright and uplifting contrast.
![]() YELLOW GABARDINE WOOL |
YELLOW GABARDINE |
BUTTERSCOTCH WOOL |
If you prefer more decorative waistcoat styles, then this season is also perfect for darker floral patterns which are eye-catching without ever being garish or ridiculously flamboyant. Moreover, given that they contain multiple colours, you therefore have a larger selection of tones to complement with your tie and pocket square choices.
![]() OLIVE CHATSWORTH SILK |
MIDNIGHT DAVENPORT |
NAVY WINNINGTON |