Advice needed on sportcoat&slacks casual fridays

[Caustic Man]

Thanks. I actually recently saw an hopsack blazer I think by boglioli on mr.porter recently and it seemed spectacular, never seen one in person tough. I assumed that it had to be considered somewhat informal as I thought a traditional blazer had to be worsted and that's actually the reason why I didn't like the idea in the first place (I wear worsted suits 4 days a week as I said).
Having never seen one I would aks you if an hopsack blazerwould differentiate itself enough from both the flannel and cotton navy sportcoats I already have. I assume it's versatile in terms of seasonality, am I right? Thanks again.

Hopsack is very different from both flannel and cotton, so yes. It will certainly be cooler than flannel in the summer although it is generally robust. Hopsack is a rustic fabric whose texture pairs nicely with a lot of other casual fabric that you might wear as trousers such as flannel, fresco, or even denim. Worsted generally looks discordant with more rustic trousers. Can you imagine wearing a worsted blazer with flannel trousers? I, for one, cannot. I would also be hesitant to rely too much on what the older companies are offering today. Brooks Brothers and J. Press in particular have fallen from grace far and hard. This isn't to say that at one time they weren't quite good, however they, like many others, are often pandering to the RTW, super slim fit, crowd. The fact that you recognize that wearing worsted blazers is a bit of an anathema to the casual vibe that blazers are supposed to give is good. You are seeing, by instinct, the reasons why most people here shy away from worsteds for blazers.

 

[Agatha Crusty]

"Hopsack is very different from both flannel and cotton..."

What is this supposed to mean? Hopsack is really a sort of burlap. but the weave using worsted yarns is used to refer to a sort of plain or basket-weave cloth. Flannel or worsted or hopsack is not something different from "cotton". You can have cotton flannel or plain-weave cotton or gabardine. You're confusing yarns with weaves.

 

[TheSilentType]



Hopsack is very different from both flannel and cotton, so yes. It will certainly be cooler than flannel in the summer although it is generally robust. Hopsack is a rustic fabric whose texture pairs nicely with a lot of other casual fabric that you might wear as trousers such as flannel, fresco, or even denim. Worsted generally looks discordant with more rustic trousers. Can you imagine wearing a worsted blazer with flannel trousers? I, for one, cannot. I would also be hesitant to rely too much on what the older companies are offering today. Brooks Brothers and J. Press in particular have fallen from grace far and hard. This isn't to say that at one time they weren't quite good, however they, like many others, are often pandering to the RTW, super slim fit, crowd. The fact that you recognize that wearing worsted blazers is a bit of an anathema to the casual vibe that blazers are supposed to give is good. You are seeing, by instinct, the reasons why most people here shy away from worsteds for blazers.

Thanks, I'm flattered.
I definitely agree about the fact that flannel trousers and a worsted jacket feels wrong. I'll also happily exclude worsted trousers from my horizons in this context at this point.
And I'll grab the chance and shamelessy exploit your availability to ask two more questions: the first is how to do grey trousers in the summer. Grey cotton and linen both feel wrong but I'm not sure about that. I am leaning towards fresco but I fear that 1) it would still be hot and 2) it wouln't go well with cotton sportcoats. May I ask your opinion?
Second, shirts fabric. Am I right in assuming poplin is not optimal with "casual" sportcoats and trousers? Should I stick to OCBDs or there is some "middle groud" shirt fabric which would work better?
Thanks again, like, a lot.

 

[TheSilentType]



"Hopsack is very different from both flannel and cotton..."

What is this supposed to mean? Hopsack is really a sort of burlap. but the weave using worsted yarns is used to refer to a sort of plain or basket-weave cloth. Flannel or worsted or hopsack is not something different from "cotton". You can have cotton flannel or plain-weave cotton or gabardine. You're confusing yarns with weaves.

Wow, this is... confusing. The existence of cotton flannel undermines my few "certanties" quite a lot.

 

[Caustic Man]

And I'll grab the chance and shamelessy exploit your availability to ask two more questions: the first is how to do grey trousers in the summer. Grey cotton and linen both feel wrong but I'm not sure about that. I am leaning towards fresco but I fear that 1) it would still be hot and 2) it wouln't go well with cotton sportcoats. May I ask your opinion?
Second, shirts fabric. Am I right in assuming poplin is not optimal with "casual" sportcoats and trousers? Should I stick to OCBDs or there is some "middle groud" shirt fabric which would work better?
Thanks again, like, a lot.

1. Linen works fine in gray if you are in a casual enough context. I wouldn't wear it to work, although your situation might allow it. Other than than, fresco. I've mentioned it a few times, it's a great summer fabric for trousers and jackets as well. Some go for hopsack trousers but that might get a bit robust for summer. Go and check out the actual fabric because many frescos are quite light and airy. Cotton trousers are ok for very casual environs but I don't like them with jackets made of anything other than cotton. Some will disagree with this, but I find it's best to separate the two.

2. I personally like OCBD. Again, the fabric goes nicely with other rustic materials. Poplin I would stay away from for the reasons I believe you already know.

 

[apack]



Second, shirts fabric. Am I right in assuming poplin is not optimal with "casual" sportcoats and trousers? Should I stick to OCBDs or there is some "middle groud" shirt fabric which would work better?

I like lightweight Italian cotton, linen, and cotton/linen blends for summer.

 

[TheSilentType]



I like lightweight Italian cotton, linen, and cotton/linen blends for summer.

Thanks, I do have some linen shirts I am planning to use for these purposes in the next summer. Another thing I've been wondering is collar types in this context. Currently all my dress shirts are semi spread and all my casual shirts, including oxfords and linens, are BD. I find that when going tieless with a sportcoat I still prefer BDs as I always have, but to incorporate casual ties (wool, knits.. things I never used for lack of opportunity) I feel spread collars would be preferable (as maybe you inferred from my english, I'm not American and while I love OCBDs they don't feel right with ties).
So, what do you guys do? Thanks again.

 

[Caustic Man]

I like lightweight Italian cotton, linen, and cotton/linen blends for summer.

True. This is a good choice if you don't quite like how easily linen wrinkles. It does add a bit of weight to the fabric, though.