Winter Essential Fabrics: Corduroy

 

As outlined in the first part of our autumn/winter essential fabrics series, if you want to survive a full year in the UK as a stylish gent, you should begin to dress seasonally.
Not only do seasonal pieces ensure comfort – keeping you warm in the winter and cool in the summer – they also add versatility, durability and excitement to an otherwise repetitive four-season wardrobe.
We’ve already covered tweed and why every man should own an item (or two) in this superb heritage fabric, so now it’s time to move on to something a little different: corduroy.

Corduroy

Corduroy is created by twisting fibres of cotton so that, when woven, they lie parallel to one another. This process forms the material’s distinctive pattern of ribbed cord. The width of the cord is often referred to as the size of the ‘wale’ (or the number of ridges per inch): the lower the wale count, the thicker the width of the wale.
Wale count is extremely important when it comes to making a decision on what type of corduroy you purchase. What some people refer to as modern corduroy (we use that term loosely), ‘needlecord’ or ‘pincord’ (16+) has a finer amount of wales, meaning the cord count is higher, less distinctive and closer together on the fabric. This type of corduroy looks and feels a lot like velvet, giving it a slightly more contemporary aesthetic.
Wider wales make the fabric feel a lot thicker and heavier, with the typical cord count coming in around the ten to twelve mark. Garments made from wider wales can be viewed as more traditional due to the pieces being closely linked to a time when dressing for warmth and practicality trumped slim-fits and being on-trend.
Both wide and thin wale corduroy can be found just about anywhere on the high street these days, so the type you choose is going to come down to personal preference and the sort of look you’re after.

Corduroy Lookbook

Corduroy Key Pieces

Here are some corduroy pieces that every style-conscious gent should consider adding to his collection:

The Cord Suit

The corduroy suit is one of the most underrated pieces of tailoring that a modern man can own, especially in the winter.
Admittedly, if you get it wrong there can be all kinds of ‘aged professor’ comments being thrown around, but if you stick to a pincord slim-fitting suit in an autumnal colour such as beige, tan, burgundy or olive this shouldn’t be a problem.
You’ll get plenty of compliments and it will effortlessly separate you from the sea of navy, grey and black. Wear it with classic business pieces like solid semi-spread broadcloth shirts, grenadine ties and black/brown brogues for the ultimate country wedding or business-casual look.
The trousers and blazer also work extremely well as separates too.