I’m increasingly convinced that texture makes everything better. I recently spotted this wool/ silk sport coat in Canali’s Kei range. The name Kei, which is pronounced like the letter k, is the company’s line of minimally structured and unlined sport coats. They’re designed to wear like sweaters (hence k for knitwear), and come in more contemporary fits (read: slimmer and shorter). The line is a nice option for the kind of men who like brands such as Boglioli.
The jacket perfectly illustrates what I was talking about last week. Textured fabrics can be hard to find in the spring/ summer months, but they’re wonderful things if you can track them down. This particular design has a navy base with a handsomely variegated crosshatching of white yarns, which give it a more casual sensibility than something in a plainer wool. And much like your prickly tweeds and flecked Donegals in the fall/ winter months, the texture here allows you to add a bit of visual interest to whatever you’re wearing without making things too busy. Pair it with either patterned or solid-colored shirts and ties. It would go wonderfully with either without forcing you to worry about pattern coordination.
I recently put together a couple of custom fabric runs for readers who get their clothes from bespoke tailors. If you’re shopping ready-to-wear, however, pay attention to some of the Italian lines. I find they do a better job of making spring/ summer jackets than most – not just because of the softer and more comfortable constructions, but also because of fabric designs such as this one.
