For the uninitiated, seersucker dates back to late 1800-s but it took a New Orleans tailor in 1907, to create the famous suit. The name is taken from the mangling of the Hindi words “shir shakkar,” meaning “milk and
sugar,” a perfect description of the fabric’s smooth and rippled
textures.
The suits were so popular that they were adopted by Northerners, very popular with Princeton students in the 20’s and 30’s. These suits were necessary and useful in the days before air conditioning, since they could withstand numerous washings.
The gentleman pictured is none other than the famous Georgia Trial
Lawyer Bobby Lee Cook, sporting the traditional blue and white
seersucker suit. Cook has represented moonshiners and money launderers, bootleggers and
bank fraud schemers. The Rockefellers and Carnegies have been his
clients. I realize that CL honored someone else for his
classic southern style, deservedly so, but forgot to mention that he
joins a long and distinguished parade of spiffy seersucker suited
southern gentleman.
Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mocking Bird, Andy Griffith as Matlock, who some say was based on Bobby Lee Cook.
In 1996 then Senator Trent Lott revived the Congressional tradition of Seersucker Thursdays, beginning either the second or third week of June. Senator Lott famously wore his with bright pink socks , pink tie and the traditional white suede bucks. My personal favorite is the blue and red striped tie. But many colors work well-heck lavender would look great too.
In 2004, California Senator Dianne Feinstein
decided to encourage participation by the growing cadre of the Senate’s
women members. “I would watch the men preening in the Senate,” she
said, “and I figured we should give them a little bit of a horse race.”
The following year, 11 of the 14 women senators appeared on Seersucker
Thursday in outfits received as gifts from Senator Feinstein. Heck then Senator Clinton joined them, she wasn’t letting any good ol’boys get the better of her!
June is coming, wedding and graduation season is upon us, what better fabric and style to set yourself apart from the scary khaki pant and blue blazer crowd! I prefer the blue and white combination, but have seen plenty of tan and white done well.
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