Fashion Brief
I like suede. I suspect that this is not a widely held fondness. I know it’s a bit 70s, but I don’t care. It feels good; it looks good; it’s regular leather’s classier cousin. However, it is a bastard to look after. Even more high maintenance than cashmere, which is saying something. Suede looks awful when it gets spotted with rain. It stains in seconds. It grazes – if that’s the right word – easily. That protective spray you can get always seems to change the colour, or make it blotchy. It’s bloody annoying.
All of these considerations mean that the window for wearing suede is narrow. You need to know when you step out of your front door that the weather is going to stay dry. Clearly that’s a rarity in the UK. And you don’t want to wear suede in hot weather because you will be a sweaty mess. So the corridor of opportunity is located in late spring. To be extra careful, maybe take a brolly everywhere with you, or one of those enormous transparent ponchos you buy for a tenner at festivals.
The only garment that should never be touched by suede is the trousers. I mean, come on. You will look like a berk in suede trousers. Anyone will look like a berk. But suede shoes? Great. Suede elbow or shoulder patches on a jumper? Yes please. I even have a sweatshirt with suede sleeves. You read that right. Suede sleeves, and they get a lot of compliments. There are also quite a few suede overshirts on the market at the moment and they look fantastic. And almost everyone is making a suede bomber this year. The choice is wide. It’s a good, if expensive, time for suede lovers like me.
One of the best things about suede is that it looks good in brighter colours. You can push the boat out, palette-wise. Leather looks better in muted autumnal shades, but suede can handle a bit more zing. Which is exactly what you (I) want at this time of year. If you’re wearing suede, you’re already making a bit of a statement. Embrace that with some colour. Our Legacy used to do a terracotta (basically, very orange) shirt-jacket-hybrid that is unfortunately no longer availbale but they are doing a similar, zipped one in “sand” which I might splurge on. Oliver Sweeney, best known for shoes, have upped their clothing game and made a beautiful jacket. It’s available in navy for the cautious and a bold tan for the gamblers. Speaking of gamblers, you won’t find a gamble much bigger than the patterned Tod’s I’ve been ogling. Very spicy.
A word of warning: don’t wear too much suede at once. One suede piece per outfit. Or people will start calling you Suede Man. Or Virginia Suede. Or Suedrian Chiles. Or… you get the picture.
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