When spring comes male wardrobes let lightweight fabrics in, softer colours, blazers and different suits. Formal suits and deep colours give way to the season ones.
One of the textiles most appropriate to this period is certainly the Solaro, a mid-weight fabric, once made of cotton and nowadays of pure wool, whose range is not very wide. However this is not a limit, but a feature. Its defining quality is, in fact, having specific weight, colour and purpose.
Recognisable at first sight, Solaro has just four varieties of weaves: traditional twill-woven gabardine, wide and narrow herringbone and rice stitch. Regarding the colour, it remains the traditional shade that made the textile unique: woven with brick red yarns on the underside and beige or green on the outside.
The difference between warp and weft creates a kind of iridescent two-tone effect that catching the changing glare of light returns shifting shades of colour. It is a fabric perfect for spring and autumn and particularly suitable for spring mornings.
It is usually used for two pieces suits. Despite the iridescent effect that could appear rather eccentric, it is actually considered a quite strict outfit.
This ‘strictness’ is due to its military origin, environment from which many male fashion musts come.
Solaro fabric is difficult to match, therefore the best way to wear it is as a full suit.
It can be considered a classic that should not be missing in a man’s wardrobe. Although it is still not very used by male fashion, a suit made of Solaro fabric expresses the right balance between informality and elegance.
