The London Lounge

Evening, fellow Loungers. Another attempt to solicit advice or opinions from your goodly selves.

I picked up a second-hand pair of wool trousers with a fair measure of silk in them. They are charcoal grey with a birdseye pattern in them (which is not really discernable from a distance, and therefore of little consequence). They are really comfortable to wear compared to most woollen trousers, because of the smoothness the silk gives, so I have been wearing them with a black jacket and cream waistcoat as part of a black lounge / stroller ensemble on a casual basis (I am going to a friend's wedding in a month, and will be donning instead the standard cashmere stripes, despite the fact that they itch to buggery).

The only drawback to the silk trousers as I see it, is that they can be very shiny. Personally, I can't stand the really shiny suits I see a lot of my peers wearing, they look awful, and hope that my trousers do not create the same effect.

Anyway, I was wondering what the opinions were of the Loungers on this matter: Are silk trousers just a complete no-no because of the shininess? Maybe some of you have lots of good experience with them, I don't know.

Thanks.

Decades ago, just before I went off to college, my father got me a three-piece ensemble from a Hong Kong tailor as a high school graduation present--a beautiful wool glen plaid sport coat, and two complementary pairs of trousers, one in wool and one in silk. I really didn't even want the silk pair, but the tailor was pushing for an "up sell" and my father said okay (to this day, I'm not sure why, since he never wore silk pants). I always thought that they made me look like an escapee from some '60s Rat Pack movie, and I never, ever wore them. So yes, you can infer from this that I detest silk trousers, precisely because of the shine you mention. Here's my advice:

If you lived in 18th century France, they'd fit in quite well at a reception at Versailles. But since you live in the 21st century and are feeling a little queasy about them, trust your judgment, chalk it up to experience and give them away. As a second-hand purchase, you probably wasted way less money than my family did, giving me a sartorial nightmare from which I haven't fully awakened all these years later.

salsatron wrote: I was wondering what the opinions were of the Loungers on this matter: Are silk trousers just a complete no-no because of the shininess? Maybe some of you have lots of good experience with them, I don't know.

Pure silk woven well is a wonderful cloth.
Here you can see Prince Charles wearing his DB dupioni silk suit. A magnificent garment. Do you think that he is worried because it might shine in the dark?

Thanks for the opinions. I think I am going to have to get my friend to have a look at me wearing them in a couple different lights, the shininess depends a lot on the angle you view this particular fabric blend (like with velvet), it's not really possible to tell looking down at them when you're wearing them. Thanks again.