Haspel’s Summertime Blues
Summer looks featuring Haspel seersucker.
Haspel, founded in New Orleans in 1909 and later credited with making seersucker popular in America, is newly compelling right now as young men take a new interest in sartorial tradition—and as temperatures are rising.
The brand made waves when founder Joseph Haspel, Sr. wore his seersucker into the ocean during a trade show. Now Joseph’s great-granddaughter Laurie Haspel steers the ship, maintaining the born-in-America tradition and lineage. Haspel still makes no-nonsense clothing for the modern gentleman.
NM: Haspel has been credited with defining an icon of American style, the seersucker suit. When the brand first started, what was the aesthetic?
Laurie Haspel: The aesthetics were much what we stand for today – fresh-looking clothing which takes on the attitude of its subject. Seersucker was originally made for laborer’s clothes, out of necessity—cool fabrics for hot temperatures. But my great-grandfather turned it into an iconic, classic, first-of-its-kind cool fabric. Haspel suits immediately became the must-have look for the well-dressed man of all ages.
NM: Today it’s apparent that younger men are dressing up and taking fashion and the art of getting dressed more seriously. How has Haspel evolved to appeal to this generation?
LH: Haspel has taken its core fabrics for spring (seersucker, linen, poplin) in non-traditional pairings, such as sports coats with jeans or shorts, and mixed trousers with casual knits and cotton shirts. Younger men must know that it’s OK not to dress in the same fashion as their fathers did.
Haspel madras patchwork jacket.
NM: Haspel is often associated with the notion of “wash-and-wear.” How did it come about?
The most defining moment came in the mid 1940′s when my great-grandfather wore his Haspel suit into the Atlantic Ocean during a trade show conference. He then walked up onto the beach, took off his clothes (wearing his boxers, thank goodness), and hung up his suit to dry. Later that evening, he took that same suit, put it on again, and wore it to the evening’s party. Needless to say, he made his point.
NM: What tips do you have today for the modern man rocking a seersucker suit?
LH: DO wear seersucker as your climate allows for it. DON’T wear seersucker to your company holiday party. DO mix and match seersucker with other fabrics such as knits, cotton tee’s, or denim. DON’T try to be too match-oriented with accessories. DO rock your seersucker shorts on the beach. DON’T walk out into the ocean like my grandfather did. He was the ultimate in cool—the originator, not an imitator.
