Seersucker: Getting Ready for Spring Style

When spring rolls around, it’s time to put the wool back in the closet and bring out the cotton fabrics. And there may be no better harbinger of spring than the prevalence of seersucker—specifically, seersucker shorts.

Seersucker is a thin, lightweight, 100%-cotton fabric that is usually striped in some way or at least chequed. Once you know what it looks like, you’ll be able to recognize it just about everywhere you see it – it’s that easy to discern from other fabrics.

Seersucker is an ideal fabric for spring and summer because of its lightness, but also because the fabric’s design has practically become synonymous with warm and brisk weather. If you want to be ahead of the curve in time for spring, it’s time that you get yourself some seersucker as well.

The Fabric: Warm-Weather Ready

Why is seersucker so suitable to warm-weather, and specifically warm-weather climates like the American south? It started in the British colonial period, when seersucker first rose to popularity thanks to its ability to handle intense heat without robbing anyone of their desired dressiness. It’s still popular today for many of the same reasons.

The advantage in 2015 is that you can wear seersucker just about everywhere, including in your shorts. Specifically, the Vintage Seersucker Short in Navy features a classic striped summer style that will go well with just about any summer top you can think of—from T-shirts to polo shirts to light-fabric button downs. It’s about as beach-friendly as any kind of short you can find short of swim trunks, but versatile enough to suit you in more professional and dressy environments as well.

And because seersucker is made of 100% cotton, there’s one more thing you can rely on here: comfort. Cotton is perhaps the most comfortable of all the fabrics. Wool is incredible at durability and insulation for cooler months, but cotton edges it out in the comfort department, which means cotton is ideally suited for when the mercury starts rising again.

Making the Most of your Seersucker Shorts

Seersucker shorts come with some added-in benefits that many people enjoy. Sure, the texture is far different than the usual cotton weaving patterns, but there’s more to the story here: seersucker often has a wrinkled appearance that keeps it off of your skin, even in sticky heat. That means that seersucker isn’t only ideally suited for humid southern climates, but doesn’t require regular pressing, either. In other words, it’s about as low-maintenance a fabric as you’re likely to encounter in spring and summer—this year or any other year.

Why add seersucker shorts to your own wardrobe? Aside from the obvious sartorial advantages and versatility, seersucker is something of a southern tradition. You might even call it an institution. And there’s a reason for that: it’s incredibly cool and comfortable, it stays off the skin, and it’s low-maintenance enough to justify its appearance in even the most casual of wardrobes.