The temperature in Manhattan was in the mid 90s, and many of the lines we saw were just as hot as a manhole cover in mid-afternoon. If there is still trepidation on the manufacturing front as to the economic future, it was not evident in their offerings for Spring 2011. The short story overall is about relaxed, washed, traditional, and colorful sportswear and trimmer fitting, classic and sophisticated tailored clothing.
To begin with, for those of you who still like wearing pleated trousers, you better hang on to the ones you have, because pleats are going to be harder and harder to find. And, for those who think flat fronts aren’t as comfortable or as flattering, you could be half right. However, flat fronts cut with the gentleman in mind are very comfortable, and we’re convinced, after seeing them on all body types, that the proper cut is more flattering on most everyone. That’s not to say that a middle aged man wearing a low rise, flat front trouser cut for a skinny hipster doesn’t look he got sent through a shrink-wrap machine. And, we saw plenty of that at market being worn by pot-bellied, pseudo-hip fashionistas who float about on every wind of change that blows their way. But, don’t let those people discourage you from venturing from pleats to a comfortable flat front. You’ll like it.
However, in pants, the big story to which we’re sticking from last fall is still five-pocket (jeans) styles. We saw (and will buy) all kinds of fabric variations from light weight twill to canvas, light weight denim, and cotton/linen blends in traditional khaki and stone shades and citrus colors. Hiltl, Bills Khakis, Peter Millar and the slightly hipper Gardeur all had great offerings. All of our resources are offering new, innovative fabrics in trousers, but the Sanibel Twill (cotton/linen) and the Hamilton Stripe (the non seersucker seersucker), along with new colors of summer red and marine in the Nassau Twill stood out at Bills. Peter Millar’s new Chino Lino will be attractive at a lower price point than its counterparts at Hiltl and Incotex fabrics, and they are going to make it in both a pant and a five pocket style. It should be a big winner. Hiltl, as always had more cool things than a popsicle vendor, and more than we can possibly buy.
The 5 Pocket Style reigns over Hiltl's Spring 2011 collection whereas Peter Millar's Chino Lino, offered in a kaleidescope of colors, will be a big hit
Fantastic colorations abounded in sport shirts, with raspberry and pink, lavender and purple, and orange being the standouts. If you don’t have any gingham shirts, you’ll have a lot of opportunity to buy them next spring in all sizes and colorations. They were in almost everyone’s lines in abundance. Gitman Brothers and Peter Millar had some in interesting textured fabrics, though, giving gingham a fresher look. But, to iterate, the most interesting shirts were washed and relaxed looking, especially in linen. The coolest washed linen we saw was from Gianetto Portofino, a garment washed dobby in incredible spring colors. And the standout new sport shirt line we saw was from the former sportswear designer for Zegna, Kim Herring, who has gone out on his own to create the appropriately named Kim Herring line. Kim has obviously leveraged his relationship with mills and manufacturers in coming up with a truly wearable upscale line for the over 40 accomplished crowd. Totally unique, and we think it will fly off the shelves.
What can we say? Italians just know how to do color the right way. Here's a smattering of styles from Giannetto Portofino we've considered for the upcoming Spring season
Zegna's former sportswear designer Kim Herring strikes out on his own with an impressive collection for Spring 2011
Look for knitwear to continue to be strong next spring, with trimmer fits and washed looks prevailing as the predominant theme here, as well. Peter Millar, Vineyard Vines and Southern Tide continue to add to their offerings. And, though we’re not big on logos, Vineyard Vines’ Collegiate Polo which they introduced this spring is the softest all cotton knit pique we’ve found. And the 6% Lycra in Southern Tide’s pique has drawn quite a following. In the non-logoed arena, Peter Millar’s Sun Washed Pique, with its shirt collar and open sleeve will continue to be a winner. But, our favorite new find is a sophisticated, more evolved pique we are buying from Breuer.
Southern Tide & Vineyard Vines still compete for top spot amongst young and old alike in the realm of logo'd polos
In tailored clothing, the talk of the market was Hickey Freeman. Almost every retailer we talked with said they thought it was the best looking line they saw at market. One of our friends from Birmingham was asked by another retailer after he saw the line if he was a Hickey account, to which he replied, “No. But I will be when I get back to Birmingham.” Having bought HartMarx out of bankruptcy last year, it is amazing how quickly the new owners have put together new models and a stellar piece goods line with the help of Samuelsohn’s former designer and former Oxxford president, Mike Cohen. The fit of their new A, B and C bodies was spot on and the B body, in our opinion is the perfect combination of a trimmed down silhouette and slightly higher armhole that still has comfort for the mature man. Jim and I both tried it on, and it even fit us.
Castangia, the new Italian line we are bringing in for this fall, and with which we’ve already had good success in made to measure, looked fantastic for spring, as much because of their fit and styling details as their piece goods. We love the light canvas and soft shoulder on both the full hand make and the semi hand make, and the seven inch drop model is modern and trim without being gimmicky and trendy. There was one particular linen and wool blue plaid sport coat which Chris and Paul had mannequinned up that was probably the best looking sport coat we saw for next spring the entire time we were at market.
This blue plaid sport coat from Castangia stopped us in our tracks
Peter Millar had their usual clubby look in some of their sport coats, but Chris Knott has done a great job of adding more accessible and conservative patterns. And their suit fabric offerings were traditional with just the right amount of interesting accent colors. H. Freeman has quietly come out with their new silhouette, the Charleston (which is such an improvement over their older models), and though they don’t have the name recognition that Hickey Freeman does, they are still one of the best values in the clothing industry for a full canvas garment. Oxxford’s still the best made suit in the world, and we expect to have continued success with their updated body styles. We wish they would improve their own piece goods selection and rely less on Holland and Sherry, but so far that hasn’t happened. And Polo Blue Label was very…Poloesque, which in our mind is great. No one does WASPy like Ralph. What stood out in his line were the vibrant navys. Very fresh and summery.
It’s going to be a great spring to buy clothes all the way around. So get ready. All you have to do is weather these dog days of this summer and whatever the winter holds in store.
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