Overgrown, healthy and thick foliage in the large part, smatters the UK landscape in early summer. Dry spells accompanied by these blistering heatwaves then turns the shrubbery to a faint toast. At the bottom of Greenwich Park which is one of the Royal Parks of London is the remains of the Palace of Placentia (the Queen’s house). It was built by renowned architect Inigo Jones in the early part of the 17th century. Two weeks ago, due to the latest heatwave the park was blanketed in parched, dead grass. This blast of solar radiation unmistakably calls for trousers in lighter fabrics such as linen and cotton blends to be worn.
Around the corner though, is the sight of half-bare trees whose blend of pink, brown and green leaves either still exist on the stems or whirl around in the wind on the ground. This myriad of colours illustrates that autumn has arrived, which means heavier cottons, lighter wools and flannels are going to be most appropriate choice of fabric. The transition from summer to autumn is that tricky part of the year where it’s still too warm for tweeds, cashmere and heavy wools and you’ve already jettisoned away your linens, which doesn’t give you a tremendous amount of choice. Here on The Rake we have you fully covered for this change in season. Our selection of astutely tailored trousers in a variety of styles in these autumnal fabrics will calm any trouser conundrums you might have been experiencing.
Single-Pleats
Single-pleated trousers might have been your grandfather’s pants-du-jour back in the day, but don’t let memories of the old boy’s dress code put you off. The tide has changed in recent years, where even the younger crowd are shunning skinny trousers in favour of elegantly tailored pantaloons with neat details such as a single-pleat. One way to style them is by channelling your inner Neapolitan and opting for rear-facing pleats. These boast a looser shape because the extra cloth is taken from outside of the hips and casts less of a shadow in comparison to forward-facing pleats. A classic example are the lightweight grey reverse-pleated trousers by the famed Neapolitan tailoring house De Petrillo. While these create room on the waist, the gently tapered leg allows you to wear a more discreet and supple loafer such as Baudoin and Lange’s taupe deerskin Sagan classic Ginkgo loafer. The autumn is also a signal for you to adopt a little more texture and pattern in your trousers. Caruso’s dark brown wool houndstooth trousers are a beautiful autumn option, comprising of a subtle blend of brown, green and purple – all the hues you would associate with the upcoming season. Made in Italy, they consist of very refined reverse-pleats, creating a touch more volume around the waist.
