Men's Black Crimson Trim Jinbei 'Kurobeni'

Black crinkle gauze edged in crimson, the sharpest jinbei in the range

Black with a crimson line is the sharpest combination a jinbei can wear, and this set wears it plainly. The piping is a narrow crimson tape sewn along the collar band, down both fronts and round each cuff. The rest is a black crinkled cotton gauze, a wrap top with one patch pocket, sleeves to the elbow, and loose trousers in the same cloth. From across a room the red line draws the shape of the top on the dark, like a drawing on a blackboard.

It is the jinbei for the evening, the one that will go to a restaurant and look like it was meant to, and the one for the person who wears black anyway and wants a summer version.

The name, Kurobeni, means black-crimson, the two colours it is made of, and it is also the old name for the darkest red the safflower dyers could reach, a red that reads black until the light hits it.

The piping is a flat woven tape, sewn on, not printed, so it stays crisp against the puckered gauze and holds the collar's line. The gauze is cotton, crinkled in the finish rather than by ironing, so it never needs pressing and goes back to its texture after every wash. Black gauze holds its colour well, because the crinkle hides the slow fade every black cloth has.

Wear the top crossed left over right and knot the tie at the hip; the trousers sit at the waist on a soft band. At home it is the set for after dark. Out, with black sandals, it is a summer outfit that reads decided, and with a white T-shirt underneath the red line picks it up.

Up close the piping shows its clean edge against the crinkle and the black shows its depth. From across a street it is a black two-piece with a red outline, and it is the one jinbei in the range that people will ask about.

It goes with black, white, red and bare feet. If the plain black is the quiet evening set, this is the loud one, and loud here means one line.

The trousers are plain black, loose through the leg with a soft band at the waist, and they pass for trousers in the street. Wash cold, hang, and the red keeps its edge.

Sizes run from M to XL. It is cut to Asian sizing and runs small, so take one size up from your usual. Between two sizes, take the larger.