Sunbeam Summer

Hot Enough for June

We've had three days of continually pleasant weather, with actual breaks in the cloud and only a smattering of rain. The British summer has arrived. At least it has in the area out to the Mendips I can see from the turret at Tweed Towers — my fortress of inactivity. The weather has sweetened the idle hours spent looking out at the crows nesting in a nearby tree. They seem content to perch for hours on end, completely inanimate; and I expect they draw similar conclusions about me.

The crows are stuck with their unseasonal black feathers, but for us it's time to put away the heavy woollens and weatherproofs and display some brighter, lighter plumage — duds expressing summer suitability in fabrics like fresco and mohair.

And hopsack. Look at wide-openness of the hopsack weave on this vintage Maurice Sedwell jacket (which put in a brief appearance with Bond & Knight's Origami Wallet  —still going strong). If you can get past the incredible hand work that produced it — the turned-back cuffs, the lining stitched in by hand, the hand-stitched buttonholes, the dimples of the hand-sewn canvas behind the lapel.

(Our good friend Davide Taub used to be cutter at Sedwells.)

The jacket fits as well as a jacket made for someone else can. Actually, that's underselling it somewhat — it's a great fit. I'm lucky someone else was unfortunate enough to have a peculiar body shape like mine. As is usual, I saw the jacket and could not bear the idea that a piece made with such craftsmanship would fall into the hands of someone who would not appreciate it. Even if I never wore it. Though I do. And it works well with the Santamaria shirt.

The hopsack is not the lightest cloth, but its loose and open weave draws in the lightest of breezes and makes it suitable for all but the sultriest of summer days. Hopsack is a bit too floppy for trousers, but its durability makes it a great choice for a travel blazer.

Do you know? I can't swear it, but the hopsack used on the jacket might be from the classic Sunbeam range of Harrisons. Sunbeam is a hopsack made from 80% super 100s wool and 20% silk.  The cloth from the jacket certainly looks very similar in colour to Sunbeam 28655 (below). For the purposes of this post anyway.