By Bill Haltom | Nautilus Publishing | $24.95 | 208 pages | 2016

On a hot summer day in the early 20th century Joseph Haspel, a New Orleans clothier and master tailor, was attending the trade show in Boca Raton, Florida. He dove into the ocean wearing his favorite suit and, after splashing fully clothed in the waves for several minutes, emerged on the shore and calmly began to march back to his hotel as
a large crowd of sunbathers stared in amazement. He stopped briefly to make an announcement: This suit will be dry in 15 minutes and be ready to wear again without cleaning or pressing. That evening, looking dapper, Haspel wore the suit to the trade show dinner. It was a one-of-a-kind suit Haspel had invented. Made of seersucker … and thus was the origin of the seersucker suit and the beginning of Milk and Sugar: The Complete Book of Seersucker.

In this delightful and fun book, Bill Haltom chronicles the history of seersucker from its inception through today. As a self-professed seersucker afficionado, I am now constrained to confess that by comparison I am a seersucker novice. Haltom goes into painstaking detail relative to the proper season for seersucker as well as appropriate accessories. He informs us of the use of seersucker in fun and fund raisers. He details an event known as the Seersucker Flash Mob at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, as well as the historical significance of seersucker in raising funds for St. Jude Hospital through the FedEx Golf Classic. There is the annual Seersucker Social in Washington, D.C., and an event known as Seersucker and Sombreros in Jackson, Mississippi, which is a major fundraiser for The Mississippi Boys and Girls Club. Additionally, an event known as Sippin’ in Seersucker is an annual fundraiser for the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans.

Haltom makes clear in the book that there is gender sensitivity to seersucker. Both ladies and gentlemen alike look good and can enjoy the comfort of seersucker. In an interesting twist, Haltom relates the last balanced budget passed by the United States Congress is due to the collegiality inspired by seersucker in Congress. Senator Trent Lott promoted seersucker in a bipartisan fashion call in order to promote civility. He came up with a solution to facing deadlock and congressional problems and promoted Seersucker Thursday to urge colleagues to prove that the Senate was not just a bunch of dowdy folks wearing dark suits and a red or blue tie. He was joined by Senator Diane Feinstein, and by the year 2000 the federal budget had been balanced. As Haltom said, you could call this a coincidence, or you could also call it a bipartisan seersucker solution to America’s problems. Congressional Seersucker Thursday did not last, but later in 2014 Congress actually restarted the tradition by designating a National Seersucker Day.

Haltom’s book is a fun read and is a must read for even casual seersucker fans. I completed reading the book in my seersucker suit feeling casual, carefree and positive. Even if I had not felt positive, I would have hesitated to express any negative thoughts on Haltom’s book or seersucker in general. I would prefer that Haltom not be able to label me in his expression borrowed from the late Spiro T. Agnew as a nattering nabob of negativity.

C. CREED MCGINLEY has been a Circuit Judge in the 24th judicial district for more than 28 years. He is past president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference and past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. He has previously served on the Board of Governors of the Tennessee Bar Association.