Monday Outlook: Suede

Construction and fabric are two key elements when it starts to warm up this time of year, where it's less survival by layers and more survival by simplicity. But even with it warming up, it's still not quite summer yet, so the occasional cold spell can slip through and throw your whole wardrobe for a loop.

One of the hottest items this spring spring is leather, and to be more specific, suede. Now suede is just the back side of the normal full grain leather that is probably on every other pair of shoes you already own, but it possesses a rough texture or nap that gives it much more depth than its counterpart. Similar to the way corduroy makes colors pop while subduing their harshness in the winter, suede does in the spring and summer. Not that it is much lighter than regular leather, it is a much lighter and more readily available option as less damage is done to the suede side of a hide.

Two main pieces that you should be looking for right now are some suede shoes and a suede jacket of some sort. Now the jacket is the tough part, as it has to be light enough to not be unbearable when worn, but a high-quality, lightweight piece will be hard to come by for an economical price; weigh the options between long-term investment and short-term trend piece, although suede isn't going anywhere so I tend towards the former. This jacket can be anything from a simple shirt jacket to a zippered out moto jacket, which ties back to how much you're willing to spend, so the higher the dollar, the more classic the jacket. When it comes to suede shoes, brown tassel loafers or white bucks, but if you already own them, then blue suede trainers would be a nice complement.

Check in tomorrow for some exciting new tech and next Monday for further fashion trend insight for the coming months!