Skimping on style just because it’s hot outside? Perish the thought.
Summer is a time to get out of town, kick back, and embrace your casual self. That doesn’t, however, mean skimping on luxury. This season, menswear’s finer purveyors have you covered in comfortable clothes perfectly suited for the warmer months ahead. From a Neapolitan take on the classic safari jacket to an English riff on the quintessential summer fabric (seersucker, naturally), here’s how to get dressed when your style expectations are just as high as the mercury in the thermometer.
A Shot of Color
If there’s a viable version of the peacoat for cooler summer days, it’s undoubtedly this dense-knit, double-face cardigan in canary-yellow cotton. What’s double face? Well, it means the knit is identical inside and out—a bit of knitting wizardry from the fabric specialist—meaning it needs no lining, making it comfortable and perfectly adequate for breezy evenings. Accessorize with a gin and tonic.
Made in the Suede
When it comes to leather, Italian suede is the most luxurious and most casual option. But sometimes a bomber won’t cut it. A double-breasted jacket in butter-soft suede is one of those rare garments that neatly straddle both the formal and casual worlds.
Give Seersucker a Chance
Seersucker derives its Americanized name from shir-o-shakar, Persian for “milk and sugar,” for its alternating smooth (milk) and rippled (sugar) stripes. Despite being a favorite for summer suits in the States, it’s derived from a centuries-old cloth first created in India in the 1600s. Functional rather than decorative, the ripples help to keep the cloth away from the skin, allowing the fresh air to circulate between you and it.
An Upgraded Polo
The polo shirt may be summer’s most ubiquitous top. Consider upgrading it with a version in cotton and cashmere knit rather than the usual piqué. Slipping it on is the perfect way to comfort your weary skin after a little sunburn.
A Little Luster
Silk has been a prized cloth for more than 5,000 years for its lightness, unique natural luster, and comfort on the body. It was so coveted in the past that it was prohibited for men to wear it in ancient Rome to avert moral decay and banned in England in medieval times to protect the domestic textile industry. In China, exporting silkworms once carried the death penalty. So it must be good, right? Zegna’s flowing, open-neck shirt in a simple mattress stripe is the easiest way to wear it—loose and casual. And that shimmer definitely takes things up a notch or two.
String Theory
Drawstring pants still have no place in the boardroom, but they’re perfect for your vacation, especially in a natural pajama-stripe linen like this. They’ll look perfectly at home in a harborside restaurant, on the beach, or on the deck of your yacht.
Built-In AC
You may think crochet is something more suited to clothe your grandma, but it’s also a great knit with built-in air-conditioning for summer. Canali’s cotton crochet here is a zip bomber that thinks it’s a cardigan, or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, it’s a versatile way to elevate your evening game while keeping cool.
Pajamas, Perfected
The word pajama derives from India, where it originated as the Urdu word pay-jama, for loose-fitting cotton trousers that were eminently suitable for sweltering climates. When the Brits added a matching shirt, the pajama, as we call it, passed into the bedroom. Today, even when you feel like letting it all hang out, you know that beyond the bedroom, there is still a right place for pajamas. The airplane is not it, but Saint Laurent’s knit silk combo pajamas—think of them as an upgraded sweatsuit—are a great way to be not quite dressed when no one is looking. Accessorize with a swimming pool (not a public one) and a good book.
Simply Red
Convention says that the safari jacket is at its most authentic in cotton in khaki or jungle green. Not so, says Neapolitan brand Isaia, whose version in burgundy linen has all the semiformal functionality of its military forbears but with an added touch of Mediterranean color.
Suited to Summer
On those occasions—like a summer wedding—when putting on a suit is mandatory, always go for the lighter colors and the finest wools you can find, like the silky feel of this Super 180’s worsted-wool cloth. Its fineness makes it a hard cloth to work with during production, which makes it the natural preserve of tailoring experts like Kiton. Casualize it with a washed-out cotton chambray shirt. And forget the tie; the suit is clearly enough.
A Go-Anywhere Jacket
The low-key chore jacket has been a go-anywhere travel essential in the male wardrobe for 15 years. Upgrading to suede adds a ton of luxury and comfort without sacrificing any of the functionality, which makes it especially suitable when go-anywhere ideally means the front of the plane.
