It’s Raining Flexibility

“Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring,” said Lilly Pulitzer. She eloped in 1950 with Herbert (Peter) Pulitzer, a bon vivant, raconteur and aesthete, particularly within the social elite dominions of Palm Beach. Despite already being a well-marked heir and heiress, in sync with their innate free-spirited, bohemian and laid-back demeanours, together they curated a vision, through Peter’s founded business which supplied prime oranges to Tropicana, and Lilly’s spilt-juice-inspired Palm Beach-made floral and vibrant dresses, that refreshingly unearthed and represented the abundance of cheerful growth that spring brings.

On March 20th the vernal equinox arrived, signalling the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. You might visit Hyde Park in London or the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris; when you walk your beloved dog – not Lilly’s pet rhesus monkey – direct your gaze towards the budding daffodils, tulips, cherry blossoms and bluebells. Even for a moment, it banishes any woes from winter, and each time your dog is let loose in the green pastures, life’s optimism generally grows as summer gets closer.

However, before you decamp and reconvene with old chums at your dependable French Riviera haunts, wearing your chosen summer casual attire, including superfine cotton pique short-sleeve polo shirts, linen Riviera Bermuda shorts and espadrilles, one has to be prepared and well-equipped with costumes to abate those abrupt downpours in April. Scientists believe that April’s shifting weather patterns are a result of the jet stream moving northwards, which accelerates earth’s warmth while not synchronising with the UK’s lowest sea temperature. Because of this coercive meeting, shower clouds develop preferentially over warm land, causing sudden April showers to catch pedestrians out.

Unpredictability is often a byword for chaos. Unless you thrive on the disordered rows of life, it is wise to select and store a diverse assortment of clothing and accoutrements.  But if upper echelon design and craftsmanship in the realm of sartorial menswear is a necessity, it is best to refer to renowned brands that uphold the authentic merits of classic menswear, yet evince the designers’ forward-thinking outlook on style and craft.

First adopted by British soldiers to defy the atrocious elements on the Western Front, the trench coat, aptly named after the trenches, would arguably become the most culturally ubiquitous piece of apparel, one that encircled Hollywood with panache, then imparted an aura of both authority and mystery to artists, journalists, detectives, spies, mods, and gangsters. And the classic trench coat, which is cool, comfortable, and reliable, has earned its place in the pantheon of everyday life, a rather special attribute.

Every now and again, there’s a fresh interpretation of the coat that, if you forensically analyse it, captures your sartorial senses because each of its key components is modified with a tasteful allure, but they unite sublimely to produce inviting renditions. Made in an artisanal workshop in Puglia, Italy, the AK MC navy cotton trench coat is deliberately cut with a shorter and slender profile, thus allowing one’s figure and accompaniments to be nicely exposed – an advantage if your well-made à la mode trousers accentuate your body, thus only being enhanced by your handmade Belgian loafers being in full view rather than the below-the-knee-length version. However, the AK MC model is esteemed by menswear cognoscenti because, despite its sleeker fit, it perfectly accommodates a suit, blazer, and chunky roll neck. And it is not short of stylistic details; with its working martingale belt, epaulettes, and slanted flap pockets, the model is treated with a repellent light coating, thus ensuring you stay dry in even the most unexpected thunderstorms.

Blending demurely with the kaleidoscopic tweed jackets, britches, and hat hues, it is in the realm of horse racing – more than any other sport – that you will find royals, aristocrats, and many revered elite horse owners sporting classic quilted jackets. Not suitable in the formal environs of Royal Ascot or Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, it, like the late Queen and her cherished racing manager, the 7th Earl of Carnarvon, otherwise known to the Queen as “Porchie”, would be on a brisk and damp April morning – either at Highclere Stud, when inspecting her superior fleet of thoroughbreds, or on the gallops at West Islay, Newbury, the then-owned estate by the Queen, where she would be educated and guided by Porchie on every detail of her horses. It was the queen’s most enjoyable pastime – a hobby largely undertaken without prying eyes – and she, even when mounted herself on occasion, could wear her trademark headscarf, usually from Hermès, a tartan skirt or jodhpurs, and last but not least, her quilted jacket, which was an outfit that propelled relaxation, thus conserving her undimmed satisfaction from equine pursuits.

Now, today, a classic-made quilted jacket, which ultimately differentiates itself from other versions with its diamond-quilted construction, isn’t confined to country sports such as horse racing, hunting, and fishing, and definitely not the Sloane rangers who traipse around in ill-fitted shirts and jeans and thick, unsightly sneakers. Inspired by the Neapolitan tailoring school with its soft, light, and shorter construction yet exceeding sartorial details like its renowned bespoke tailoring houses, which is deliberately imbued by the several layers of specialised performance material that is then carefully padded and stitched for that delectable feel and appearance. Personally selected, the suede elbow patches and leather undercollar exude superior quality, while perhaps its most valuable attribute is its water-repellent yet supremely breathable performance fabric that keeps you dry during downpours.

Despite the continent and even the UK being blessed with an advection of hot and dry air so far this April, it’s inevitably going to change – even with much cooler climes arriving, so please don’t permanently jettison your wool overcoat or duffle coat just yet.