Seersucker Thursday

Seersucker Thursday is annual tradition in the United States Congress in which Senators don lightweight, summer-friendly fabric, in the spirit of traditional Southern clothes, on usually the second or third Thursday of June. [http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/SeersuckerThursday.htm]

The tradition was started by Republican Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi in 1996 who wanted to "bring a little southern charm to the Capitol" [http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2007/6/13/suckers-for-seersucker.html] to remind the Senate of how Senators dressed before the advent of air conditioning in the 1950s. The thin fabric that usually has blue-and-white stripes is a signature look in the American South, because of its lightweight feel, making it ideal for the oppressive Southern heat. [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3302753&page=1]

History of the Seersucker suit

One legend on the beginnings of the suit point to satirist W.O. Saunders who once walked down New York's Fifth Avenue wearing pajamas in a publicity stunt. [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3302753&page=1] However, the more accepted version of the story says the suit was invented by a New Orleans clothier in 1907 by designing a light-weight suit in pale blue and white striped rumpled cotton fabric. He named the suit "seersucker" after the Persian words for "milk and sugar". [http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/SeersuckerThursday.htm]

References

External links

*http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/SeersuckerThursday.htm
*http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3302753&page=1
*http://www.mgwashington.com/index.php/2008ElectionBlog/article/seersucker-thursday/1267/
*http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2007/6/13/suckers-for-seersucker.html
*http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/06/hot-fun-in-the-.html
*http://www.popcorngallery.net/2008/06/seersucker-thursday-in-us-senate.html
*http://www.southernproper.com/news/2008/06/seersucker-thursday.html
*http://blog.thehill.com/2006/06/15/when-senators-wear-seersucker-suits/