Joseph Haspel Sr. was the first to recognize the power of the pucker. He founded his eponymous brand in 1909 with the goal of creating clothes that could stand up to his native New Orleans heat. He knew that the Brits used this strangely puckered cloth called seersucker in India and thought it could translate well from a laborer`s outfit to a hot-weather-ready suit.He was right, the world agreed and quickly Haspel became synonymous with summertime soigne and the  jazz hot, cayenne kick of the Crescent City style. Yankee prepsters at Princeton weren`t far behind, snapping up this ``It Suit`` and spreading it through the Ivy League as a signifier of a true gentlemen. Lawn parties ensued. Joseph Sr. was keeping it real down south. In one famed story, he dove into the ocean with his clothes on just to show his friends how good his wash-and-wear suit would still look at that evening`s cocktails. Joseph didn`t merely create a brand; he set a standard for making clothes that never get in the way of a good time.