Any seasonal fabric advice, Fabbers?

Nicole D

Looking for some guidance.
I recently asked about linen for year round wear, and this week I purchased these culottes which are a "summerweight" wool blend and I would like to wear them into fall, maybe even year round. I have another pair of cropped trousers from J Crew that are a similar weight that I wore pretty much all year too....am I in danger of getting a textile police citation?
Basically, I would wear the following all year round:
-lightweight suiting
-linen shirting
- denim
- ponte
-cashmere
-silk, cotton, polyester, etc according to weather and interior climate control temperatures.
But would probably draw the line at linen pants or sweaters in late fall/winter and no wool bottoms in late spring/summer
Any thoughts?

11 years ago

Dressing

13 replies

Latest reply was from Suz

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I don't like cotton bottoms and jackets in winter (aside from jeans): the fabrication just feels wrong to me.

11 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Linen is a hot weather fabric. Nothing more than that.

Cotton and Linen are fine in "Winter" in places like Singapore - where there is no Winter.

11 years ago

Nicole D

Veteran

I agree with you about the cotton pants. I would still wear a cotton button up shirt though. Or cotton tee short (appropriately layered).

11 years ago

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Right Angie, I also mean winter as cold weather. I would wear linen and cotton year round in the tropics!
Nicole, I also wear cotton shirts in winter layered under sweaters or jackets. No tees for me

11 years ago

Nicole D

Veteran

OK, well, I guess I have been told...no linen in winter. I do live in a place with winter. Significant, long, grey winter. Sigh. But what about the lightweight wool bottoms?

11 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I wear lightweight wool bottoms year round. My blue culotte-shorts are made of all season wool. Super lightweight and very drapey - and I wear them in Summer only. They do not look seasonally confused. Tweed shorts in Summer, on the other hand, would.

11 years ago

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

It is not called tropical wool for nothing, is it? If it is not too hot wear it!

11 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I AM the textile police.

And I live in a very similar climate to yours. (You get more snow and possibly hotter summers. I get more freezing rain. FEH!! But also milder breezier summers, I think.)

Here are my thoughts for what they are worth:

TOPS:

I wear cotton (in some weights); silk (in some weights); chambray; and some poly jersey knits (in air conditioning or in evening) all year round.

I wear linen pretty much in summer only for tops. I might wear it into warm fall. Or start wearing it in late spring. In a white, heavy weight top like the one you pictured the other day, I can imagine wearing it all year round with the proper pieces.

KNITS:

The only knits I wear in summer (no air conditioning) are cotton or linen. If I worked or lived in air conditioning I would probably include silk blend knits. As it is, in a "normal" or typical summer I would probably not wear a lot of knits, period. This year has been cooler so I have worn a lot of them.

In spring/ early fall, I wear lightweight merino and silk/cotton blends as well as some man-made blends. Layered over a shirt or on their own. Plus poly jersey knits. Or modal.

I reserve my thicker merino wools, my cashmere, and what I consider all "true sweaters" (i.e. knits of a heavier weight or with turtlenecks) for cold autumn, winter, and cold spring (i.e. later March/ April in our climate.)

BOTTOMS:

Denim I wear year round, but rarely as full length jeans in summer. Just too hot. This year is an exception. 100% cotton jeans work better, even so.

I also separate my jeans into "warmer weather" preferred jeans, and those that I wear exclusively in winter. I have a couple that just don't seem right in warmer temps. and others that don't feel right in cooler temps.

I have the same lightweight wool shorts Angie described from Club Monaco. Those for me are a late spring/ summer/ early autumn item. Not winter. No way. Not warm enough.

My VC jersey knit skirts are a summer/ warm fall- weight item for me.

My Halogen seamed ponte skirts (lined) are a spring/ fall/ winter but not summer item.

I wear lightweight wool and heavier weight wool trousers all year -- but will not wear the lightest weight ones on super cold days. No way. I think I might do this in Vancouver, but not in my current climate.

Linen pants: Summer only. Maybe early fall for a true trouser style. Anything drawstring or beachy looking stays in summer.

JACKETS:

I don't like cotton jackets in winter. Even my denim jackets mostly get laid aside then, except for the one with leather sleeves. And I don't wear my leather jackets in the summer. Just too warm for them.

11 years ago

Sal

Veteran

In winter I would not wear linen or cotton trousers. In summer I would not wear a thicker woolen or merino sweater. Aside from items that are obviously seasonal (ie warm coat or sleeveless dress) most other fabrics could be worn all year here with appropriate layering or de-layering. However some patterns and stylings mean the item is more suited to a particular season- for example I have a cobalt and black patterned silky tee; while it could be worn in summer it looks too dark and rich...so I mostly wear it in autumn, winter and early spring.

I only own five pairs of jeans and two do not get worn in summer (too hot for skinnies and dark coated denim looks wrong in my mind). All get worn in winter.

11 years ago

unfrumped

Veteran

The fabric texture makes a difference, as Angie noted re: tweeds.
Will suiting fabrics are often closely woven, smooth& drapey so you cannot tell a fine tropical wool from cotton or rayon blends. Men wear the same gray or navy suits year- round.
I think linen knits have more season- spanning life, but " linen" typically refers to woven linen which also gives itself away with the wrinkle factor, which seems more acceptable in summer.

11 years ago

crutcher

Veteran

Nicole D...Interesting post...I am about to transition my summer wardrobe into early fall...The linen shirts that I have had so much fun wearing over the "hot" months are going into the seasonal closet...I don't wear linen in fall or winter even under a sweater...My cotton pieces aside from button shirts are also going into the closet...white denim crops will join the cotton and linen...Regular white jeans will make the transition to my fall closet...a first as I am going to try wearing them year round...
The climate in the upper midwest is Indian summer into cooler before cold in the fall...I am glad for the excuse to look at my feelings about seasonal fabrics..Hope this helps...

11 years ago

Veteran

Have you shown us some fall/winter linen shirting looks? I mean, for hundreds of years, Europeans wore linen underlayers + a wool outerlayer in their cold winters. Granted, they didn't have much choice in the matter, but I can imagine some lovely cold weather looks with linen shirts.

I'm not terribly fussy about seasonal fabrics, but I won't wear things like white eyelet or swiss dot outside of spring/summer and corduroy is strictly fall/winter for me (even though both of these are usually made from cotton: so for me it's the fabric rather than the fiber that dictates season). Velvet is a fall/winter fabrics in my head too, much to my sadness as I love it and would wear it all of the time otherwise. My climate, which is heavy on the heat, mainly dictates what fiber I'm wearing other than that. Because I love four seasons and live in a place that has at least 6 months of summer, I've taken to marking the seasons with different colours/prints/colour combinations in the same fibers.

Some wools, both knits and wovens, don't always look wooly, so I can see how those could be year round too, as long as they work with your climate. I wouldn't wear English country estate type woolens in July, though, unless I couldn't figure out any other way to stay warm. hehe A fine gauge, plainly knit merino or cashmere sweater though seems to transcend seasons, as does tropical wool on the woven front.

All of those ramblings are my way of saying, I think it depends as much on how the fabric looks as it does on what its fiber is, especially if it's a question of the textile police (lol) vs staying comfortable in the weather.

11 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

This textile cop agrees -- it is the look of the thing (texture and weight) more than the actual fabric content. I get all funny about the "wrong" weights of fabrics being paired. Like cotton lawn with heavy wool or something. Whereas oxford cloth or denim with wool is another thing altogether.

11 years ago

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