The last time corduroy achieved fandom, it was in the 60s and 70s when the likes of Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman were sporting knockout corduroy jackets and suits in films such as All The President's Men and The Graduate - only to enter the 80s as everyone's favourite fashion scapegoat. Librarians and geography teachers - obviously an underrated bunch back then - seemed to somehow tarnish corduroy with a reputation for being boring and staid, which is not wholly unbelievable given that the 80s was the decade of Spandex and the New Romantics.
How Corduroy Regained Its Cool
Thankfully the menswear world has returned to its collective senses, not only letting said librarians and geography teachers off the hook, but also embracing corduroy for what it is - a tremendously textural fabric literally channelling character and fun through those wales. For too long, corduroy - the origins of which are French (the etymology of the word is believed to come from late 18th century France, from the term 'corde du roi' meaning 'cloth of the King') - has been seen as a casual cloth, being traditionally made from heavy and rugged cotton yarns, but at Favourbrook we've always seen its appeal through a more sartorial and luxury lens.
Its most unique feature are the raised ribs that run parallel to the selvedge of the cloth. The ribs are formed by cutting the threads in one direction, resulting in the rows, or what are better known as 'wales' in the fabric. The higher the number of wales, the smoother or less textural the cloth will be. Fewer wales give a far more obvious striation in the cloth and generally makes it more lightweight. Classic corduroy typically has about 14 wales per inch, whereas needle cord has much finer ribs and is typically around 18 cords per inch. This season we have crafted our perennial Newport suit is three tones of needle corduroy (very fine wales) that we think make for both perfect daywear and eveningwear for the beginning of the autumn season. Whether you're attending a cocktail party, birthday gig, or just want to elevate your casual sartorial wardrobe, these corduroy suits pack fun and sartorial finesse in equal measure.
Available in brown, navy, dusty pink, and olive green, these tactile suits can be dressed down with an open shirt or even a fine gauge roll-neck sweater on cooler days, but where we think they really pack a punch is for smarter engagements when you can dress them formally with a tie or bow tie, and a waistcoat for example. The tones are extremely versatile, allowing you to pair with contrasting tones (our pale blue pleated front dress shirt, for example, is an excellent choice with all three). As a more relaxed alternative to velvet, there's no better fabric this season.
If a corduroy suit is altogether too much corduroy for you, you may want to consider investing in a corduroy shirt, which is excellent for introducing the fabric into both your tailored and casual outfits. We create our corduroy shirts using a very fine wale, which makes for a very soft hand feel and a lovely texture on the skin. More subtle than the larger wales of the suit fabric, it nonetheless adds a great deal of depth to your looks.
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