ost double-breasted jackets are half of a suit. This one was made to stand alone — a double-breasted jacket worn with trousers of a different cloth. That changes almost every decision. A suit jacket can afford to be quiet because the trousers finish the sentence; a jacket worn on its own has to carry texture, pattern and a little personality by itself.

The cloth is from Loro Piana’s Silk Air book, woven in Italy. Up close it has an open, slubbed surface in which navy, cobalt and a grey-green are mixed yarn by yarn. Over that sits a large check in blue, crossed by a fine rust overcheck. From across a room it reads as dark navy; within arm’s length the colour opens up. The name tells you what the mill intended: the dry, lively hand of silk in a weave open enough to let air through.

A large check is the least forgiving pattern to put on a double-breasted front. The overlap folds one panel across the other, the lapels turn the pattern on the bias, and patch pockets sit directly on top of the cloth, so every line is exposed. The check has to be planned before it is cut, with the lines running level across the chest and the pockets set into the pattern rather than dropped onto it.

It is cut as a six-by-two, fastening on the middle row, with a broad peak lapel that climbs towards the shoulder. The formality ends there. At the hips are rounded patch pockets, the detail that tells you this is a jacket and not a suit, and the breast carries a plain welt pocket so the chest stays clean under the lapel.

Underneath, full canvas, with the lapels padded by hand so they roll softly over the top row of buttons. It is fully lined in navy with piped facings, and the Loro Piana cloth label sits inside the jacket. The buttons are a warm horn-brown, and the sleeves finish with three buttons at the cuff.