First corduroy suit, would brown or green be a better choice?

[Sirguywhosmiles]

Hi all,
I asked this in Menswear advice but only got two replies, let us see what you think.
i am considering getting a corduroy suit to wear both as a suit and separates for the coming autumn, and i am torn between getting a mid-to-dark brown one or a mid-to-dark green. I have an idea that a green corduroy suit will look a little slicker or more modern, especially at night, but a brown jacket would look better when worn without the matching pants. (Wearing a sport coat with jeans has been the subject of long debate, but it can have no better answer in my view than a brown cord jacket).

What do you all think?

 

[Jan-Mikael]

All except mid green sound nice to me.

 

[krudsma]

I got one a few years ago in a sort of cool, mushroomy brown that I love. Personally I think that would be more versatile than green.
See if you can get one with either touch of cashmere or elasticene, like 1 or 2%. Corduroy wears super stiff.

 

[comrade]

I would get both! A mid brown that kind of looks cognac, i. e. with a
reddish cast . Dark bottle green. I have a pair of bottle green cord slacks
that look great with tweed jackets. BTW, in my opinion corduroy does not
look "slick". Rather it's a more rustic or professorial image- that's a
contradiction. Nevertheless, both adjectives seem to apply.

 

[gimpwiz]

I vote brown.

 

[JFWR]

A dark green would look fantastic, but brown would probably be more versatile. I have both brown and green sports coats in corduroy and they work really nice, but I would say the brown just has more options as green strongly clashes with blue which is a menswear staple.

 

[Andy57]

I vote not getting a corduroy suit at all. A jacket, sure. Corduroy trousers, yes. But a suit? No. And I'm not all that sure about a jacket, frankly.

 

[Despos]

Put the trousers you would wear with each jacket color and see which combinations work to achieve your expectations. Think it will be obvious which color to get.

 

[JFWR]

I vote not getting a corduroy suit at all. A jacket, sure. Corduroy trousers, yes. But a suit? No. And I'm not all that sure about a jacket, frankly.

The jacket is actually quite a great look for an academic or country/rustic look. Or just because it looks really good.

Peter O'Toole agrees:

And Arnold Schwarzenegger:

The biggest concern I have here is only that the green is often out of place in many men's wardrobes due to the dominance of blue in menswear. "Green and blue should never be seen without a colour between" is the minimum amount of isolation, and honestly, if green is in the outfit then blue shouldn't and vice versa - except in specified cases (and Black Watch Tartan looks like pajamas, fight me). This is especially troublesome as you cannot pair green with blue shirts, which means you're stuck with white, pale yellow, pale pink, etc.

Brown doesn't pair well with black, but besides that, it's quite versatile.

 

[breakaway01]

Bear in mind that all cotton, including corduroy, will wear and fade faster than wool. IMO I like the idea but wouldn’t spend a lot of money on a corduroy suit and I would choose a silhouette that will look better with age. Not too trim/sleek. Something more relaxed. I wouldn’t use corduroy for a “slick” or “modern” evening look (as you’re suggesting in your original post) as it won’t look good for that purpose for very many wears.

 

[DorianGreen]

I would get both! A mid brown that kind of looks cognac, i. e. with a
reddish cast . Dark bottle green. I have a pair of bottle green cord slacks
that look great with tweed jackets. BTW, in my opinion corduroy does not
look "slick". Rather it's a more rustic or professorial image- that's a
contradiction. Nevertheless, both adjectives seem to apply.

Bear in mind that all cotton, including corduroy, will wear and fade faster than wool. IMO I like the idea but wouldn’t spend a lot of money on a corduroy suit and I would choose a silhouette that will look better with age. Not too trim/sleek. Something more relaxed. I wouldn’t use corduroy for a “slick” or “modern” evening look (as you’re suggesting in your original post) as it won’t look good for that purpose for very many wears.

Yes, totally agreed about that: corduroy has that relaxed, rustic look that goes so well with tweeds.

I'm not so fond of a suit either: I would certainly wear cord trousers and jackets, but always as separates.

 

[Sirguywhosmiles]

I would get both! A mid brown that kind of looks cognac, i. e. with a
reddish cast . Dark bottle green. I have a pair of bottle green cord slacks
that look great with tweed jackets. BTW, in my opinion corduroy does not
look "slick". Rather it's a more rustic or professorial image- that's a
contradiction. Nevertheless, both adjectives seem to apply.

I think I would have no problems finding jackets or knitwear to wear woth the green trousers, it is trousers (other than gray) to wear woth the green jacket that's the problem.

 

[Sirguywhosmiles]

I would get both! A mid brown that kind of looks cognac, i. e. with a
reddish cast . Dark bottle green. I have a pair of bottle green cord slacks
that look great with tweed jackets. BTW, in my opinion corduroy does not
look "slick". Rather it's a more rustic or professorial image- that's a
contradiction. Nevertheless, both adjectives seem to apply.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Sirguywhosmiles]

BTW, in my opinion corduroy does not
look "slick". Rather it's a more rustic or professorial image- that's a
contradiction. Nevertheless, both adjectives seem to apply.

. I wouldn’t use corduroy for a “slick” or “modern” evening look (as you’re suggesting in your original post) as it won’t look good for that purpose for very many wears.

Maybe "slick" and "modern "were the wrong words to use! I just though maybe a dark green corduroy would look better at night time. I recently saw Jarvis Cocker perform in a navy corduroy suit and it didn't look rustic at all. (Perhaps a little professorial). While I think I would save navy for worsted in my own, much smaller, wardrobe, I thougjt the right shade of dark green might be a good compromise between navy and the full-country look of brown.

 

[Sirguywhosmiles]

Bear in mind that all cotton, including corduroy, will wear and fade faster than wool. IMO I like the idea but wouldn’t spend a lot of money on a corduroy suit and I would choose a silhouette that will look better with age. Not too trim/sleek. Something more relaxed.....it won’t look good for that purpose for very many wears.

I was only ever going to get this RTW. Ithink a brown would stand up to wear better; when the knees go just wear the jacket, when the elbows go slap on the leather patches. These are a few I was looking at, most out if stock now since it's July:

This RL comes in both colours, and is sort of along the lines of what I'm thinking of, if it comes back in:

Polo Soft Corduroy Suit Jacket​

Ralph Lauren

www.ralphlauren.com

https://editorialist.com/p/polo-soft-corduroy-suit-jacket-ralph-lauren/?color=snuff

There's also this cavour one which has matching pants, again if they restock:

Luxury Italian Cord Jacket​

This soft Cavour Model 2 Jacket in a luxurious brown wale cord from Pontoglio features a soft shoulder, also known as a Spalla Camicia in Italian. Three roll two buttoning with rounded patch pockets and a wide lapel. The high armholes allow for good range of motion, and when you put on the...

cavour.co

Then this is a slightly cheaper version. Even more than the other green suits it looks like it would be great at night time but not so good as separates. It also looks like it has sligjtly structured shoulders, which would be less than ideal.

Tailored Fit Shakespeare Hunter Green Corduroy Suit

Tailored fit. 98% cotton, 2% elastane. 413g. 21 wale. Garment washed. Machine washable.

www.brooktaverner.co.uk