Fresco Suit Battle: "Tobacco" Brown vs. "Wheat" Tan

I'm considering getting a suit made up in Minnis fresco.

For the sake of this poll, which color do prefer, the famous @Slewfoot tobacco brown or the wheat tan?

(I present this as a hypothetical because the Slewfoot brown fabric run is long over)









Photo credits to @NewYorkIslander and Voxsartoria

The dark brown is very nice and can be worn year round. I think of the lighter as a spring/summer color. Although in a fresco that isn't as relevant (depending on where you live, I suppose).

Bottom line is you need both

I feel like the tan suit would be easier to wear. Khaki is a very accepted color today. Brown is worn much less.

That particular shade is very bold too. (It almost had a reddish undertone)

I prefer the brown because it's bolder while still being unshowy - and brown isn't worn enough as a suit colour these days. We need to bring it back. I also think that NYI's suit is at least the equal of, if not better than, Vox's here.

^ Heh, I guess I just like to be boring

Neither. Fresco is best suited for more city colors. Reserve tans and browns for linen and cotton.



mafoofan said:

Neither. Fresco is best suited for more city colors. Reserve tans and browns for linen and cotton.

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linen and cotton. I don't want to have "live" with the wrinkles. Can't do it. Exception is seersucker. The twistiness is more wrinkle resistant.

Also, cotton stinks. Literally. Wool is much more hygenic.

mafoofan said:

Neither. Fresco is best suited for more city colors. Reserve tans and browns for linen and cotton.

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Browns were once pretty much a standard in wool suiting, along with blues and greys (and actually greens were more common too) in the UK and USA. Look at the old Apparel Arts illsutrations for a start. Brown and tan wool suiting is still not uncommon in continantal Europe - I have a very nice dark brown Pal Zileri lightweight wool suit. There were only really certain time periods, largely from the late 50s to 60s that brown became de trop in business suits, and then largely in Eastern metropolitan USA and the UK, and really only in the financial services industry. It's never been frowned upon in academia, for example. And even then you get brown suiting still throughout the 70s. It's arrant nonsense to suggest that these whole ranges of colours should be reserved for linen or cotton, much as like brown linen and cord too.



FlyingMonkey said:

Browns were once pretty much a standard in wool suiting, along with blues and greys (and actually greens were more common too) in the UK and USA. Look at the old Apparel Arts illsutrations for a start. Brown and tan wool suiting is still not uncommon in continantal Europe - I have a very nice dark brown Pal Zileri lightweight wool suit. There were only really certain time periods, largely from the late 50s to 60s that brown became de trop in business suits, and then largely in Eastern metropolitan USA and the UK, and really only in the financial services industry. It's never been frowned upon in academia, for example. And even then you get brown suiting still throughout the 70s. It's arrant nonsense to suggest that these whole ranges of colours should be reserved for linen or cotton, much as like brown linen and cord too.

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Thank you for that useless and off-point history lesson.

The issue is not whether brown is appropriate for suiting. It's that amongst summer-appropriate cloth, fresco is really second only to tropical wool in formality and a warm weather proxy for regular worsted suitings, so browns and tans are better left to linens and cottons. Afterall, regardless of history and specific contexts, brown and tan today are firmly and broadly known as more casual colors. To argue otherwise is akin to arguing that double-breasted suits are more casual than single-breasted for similarly accurate but ultimately irrelevant historical reasons.

In short, brown is fine for suitings, but brown suitings are more casual suitings. Hence, more casual types of cloth are more appropriate for brown suitings.

mafoofan said:

Thank you for that useless and off-point history lesson.

The issue is not whether brown is appropriate for suiting. It's that amongst summer-appropriate cloth, fresco is really second only to tropical wool in formality and a warm weather proxy for regular worsted suitings, so browns and tans are better left to linens and cottons. Afterall, regardless of history and specific contexts, brown and tan today are firmly and broadly known as more casual colors. To argue otherwise is akin to arguing that double-breasted suits are more casual than single-breasted for similarly accurate but ultimately irrelevant historical reasons.

In short, brown is fine for suitings, but brown suitings are more casual suitings. Hence, more casual types of cloth are more appropriate for brown suitings.

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So fresco cloth is made in brown and tan colours for what reason? I would say that it is because there is still a market for them especially, as I said, in Europe, as well as amongst our fellow non-European iGents, who are in general anachronistic and unusual in the context of the wider population. BTW, if you search the archives of this forum, both Vox and Manton can be found in possession of brown or tan fresco and on record approving of it (although admittedly in Manton's case, not his first choice). I'm glad you think that my style history was accurate, though... I'd hate to have to stop teaching on the subject.

The tan as a summer cloth.

I've been saying linen this whole time. If you're going to get tan, might as well go all the way. If the wrinkles really kill you, check out linen-wool blends. Kerry Knoll has a good book with some beautiful blends.

Funnily enough I have a tan suit, and not a brown, but I'd much prefer a brown one.

Tan is of limited use in a formal environment; I certainly couldn't stroll into the office in tan because it has too much of a vacation vibe. The brown would get a few odd looks, but ultimately its more conservative [read darker] look means I'd put more mileage on it. As it stands my tan is very much for summer garden parties and formal dining when on holiday.

Blackhood said:

Funnily enough I have a tan suit, and not a brown, but I'd much prefer a brown one.

Tan is of limited use in a formal environment; I certainly couldn't stroll into the office in tan because it has too much of a vacation vibe. The brown would get a few odd looks, but ultimately its more conservative [read darker] look means I'd put more mileage on it. As it stands my tan is very much for summer garden parties and formal dining when on holiday.

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Whenever I've had a tan, beige or tan suit in the past, I've always found myself wishing I had a darker brown version instead - or as well - whatever the fabric (pace Foo).



Blackhood said:

Funnily enough I have a tan suit, and not a brown, but I'd much prefer a brown one.

Tan is of limited use in a formal environment; I certainly couldn't stroll into the office in tan because it has too much of a vacation vibe. The brown would get a few odd looks, but ultimately its more conservative [read darker] look means I'd put more mileage on it. As it stands my tan is very much for summer garden parties and formal dining when on holiday.

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I can't imagine where I'd wear the brown. It's not a business suit but it's too, well, brown for a stylish casual suit. I would have a strong negative reaction to that being worn in a business environment, esp. if client-facing.

Brown is for farmer.