three seersucker shirts

from niche NYC brands started by cool people I know

The other night, I tried on this seersucker shirt from Bana New York. This is a Medium, the size I usually go for first. I could have tried a small, but idk, the medium hit. It’s cropped and boxy in a way so few shirts ever hit on me. It’s a brown-based microcheck with some very interesting colors up close—I couldn’t quite tell what colors in the lighting, but that’s part of the charm, huh?

Seersucker is a special fabric, marred by strong association with stuffy old southern gentlemen. The traditional two-piece suit in a blue and white striped cotton has its charm, but I don’t love those associations. I also don’t love wearing a cotton suit in the summer; I’ll sweat into it more, and have to dry clean it more often than I do wool.

But a seersucker button up avoids both of these issues. That’s probably why they’ve been growing in popularity. I’m not exactly about to forsake linen, but I can enjoy some seersucker too. I’d go so far as to say that Seersucker is more breathable, all things equal, I just prefer the hand and subtle rolls of a good linen over the crisp feel of a seersucker.

Not much later in the same night, I decided to try on this bad boy from Vito’s New York in a black gingham. I went down to an S on this one, and yet again, it hit. I’d naturally roll up the sleeves (long sleeve shirts can perform just fine through most of summer, focus on the fabric and the fit first). But looking in the mirror a day later, I was reminded of old Apparel Arts illustrations from the 40s or 50s, with the men wearing long sleeve camp collars in funny checks.

The last shirt is one I got a couple of years ago from Will over at SLOU. Will, like Victor, is tall, and his brand, like Vito’s, is built accordingly. That said, his seersucker shirt is a popover. A popover requires a relaxed fit, or else you’ll feel like an idiot struggling to get it onto your body. Given that information, plus the knowledge that cotton shrinks, I decided to size up. This is a large. I could probably have the body and sleeves shortened, but I’m not going to. This length is its own vibe.