The key to the perfect summer wardrobe comes down to three things:
The right breathable fabrics
Lighter and brighter colors
An airy, relaxed fit.
Best summer fabrics for men
Many guys don’t realize every season has its own seasonally appropriate fabrics and fabric weights!
Ever make the mistake of wearing clothes you picked up in November and find your body dripping in sweat come lunchtime? That’s because it was designed to trap body heat and keep you warm in the winter!
Summer weight fabrics will be lighter, with looser weaves allowing heat to escape and keep you cool.
While there are probably hundreds of different types of fabrics, blends, and weaves, I want to simplify it for you.
Here are the more common summer fabrics you should look out for.
Cotton
The King of summer fabrics.
The majority of your summer pieces will be 100% cotton or cotton blends, like cotton/linen and cotton/silk.
Why this is a great summer fabric: Cotton is extremely breathable and versatile. Thanks to the tighter weave, it wrinkles less than looser weave fabrics like linen.
My favorite uses for cotton:
Shirtings, such as button-downs, camp collar shirts, polos and t-shirts
Chambray
Pants such as chinos, shorts, and jeans
Summer Sports coats and Suits
Linen
If cotton is King, Linen is the Queen.
Linen is made from the flax plant and is a common summer alternative of cotton. That means anywhere you’ll find cotton (button-up shirts, tees, shorts, even suits) you’ll find a linen variation.
Why this is a great summer fabric: Linen fabrics have a more open weave, allowing more heat to escape and air to pass through. This breathability is the lifesaver in hot, humid months.
Linen often gets shit because it wrinkles easily. This is due to the lighter open weave. (The more open the weave, the more it will wrinkle.) To get around this, you’ll often find blends like cotton/linen so you can take advantage of linen’s breathability, but cotton’s structure.
Personally, I see wrinkly linen as a pro, adding to the more relaxed nature of summer style.
In fact, linen that wrinkles more is a sign of a better quality linen. Cheaper linens tend to be stiffer and crease rather than drape and wrinkle. So if you got a nice, drapey, wrinkly linen piece this summer, embrace it!
My favorite uses for linen:
Shirtings, such as button-downs, camp collar shirts, polos and t-shirts
Chambray
Pants such as chinos, shorts, and jeans
Summer Sports coats and Suits
Lightweight, Tropical Wools
My private clients are sometimes confused at first when I pick a wool trouser for their summer wardrobes.
Like cotton, there are lightweight wools designed to be worn in the summer. Tropical wools are great for suiting when you want to look polished. Their tighter weaves mean they wrinkle less than linen counterparts.
Why this is a great summer fabric: For those that need to wear a suit or sports coat to the office, or just love the look for formal clothes, tropical wools are your friend.
My favorite uses for tropical wools:
Hopsack sports coats and suit
Tropical wool tailored trousers
Synthetic & Blends
Synthetics often get a bad rap.
Fabric technology has vastly improved since the rayon days of your Dad. Today, synthetics are made of natural byproducts, making them more sustainable and pleasurable to wear. My favorite is lyocell/Tencel, a silk substitute made from wood pulp.
Why synthetic fibers are great for summer: You’ll often find Tencel blended other fabrics like cotton, giving it a softer, silkier feel. It also adds things like wrinkle resistance and a cooling (temperature-wise) touch.
One of my favorite shorts is a Tencel blend. And on really gross summer days, I love throwing it in the freezer to make it extra cool.
My favorite uses for synthetic fibers like Tencel:
Blended with cotton for button-down shirts, t-shirts, and polos
Blended with linen for airy, relaxed shorts and pants
What colors should I wear in the summer?
Summer is all about colors and patterns.
Even if you aren’t one that normally wears a lot of colors, you can easily “Summerize” your outfits using my “Lighter and Brighter” trick.
Like settings on your t.v., turn up the brightness of your essential core colors. You don’t need to wear yellow and pink if you want to look Summery. Go for a lighter shade of core neutrals like blue, lighter olives, lighter browns, lighter greys.
This simple switch will be your summer base colors.
Then throw some brighter colors and patterns on top of that if you want!
More tips: Not sure how to pull off colors and patterns? Check out my post, “How to wear more prints and patterns.”
How should my clothes fit in the summer?
Ok men, brace yourself.
After spending the last decade drilling that “Getting the right fit will solve 90% of your style problems.” I have something to tell you…
Summer is one of the few times where it’s OK to loosen up your fit a bit.
Yes, you can literally relax about getting the “perfect” fit.
Go for roomier cuts. Give your skin some room to breathe – get a relaxed cut t-shirt and button-downs. Don’t be afraid to try straight or fuller cut pants and shorts.
Think about how men in hot Middle Eastern countries dress: It’s usually loose, flowing clothes and robes in breathable, light fabrics.
The key is to look for pieces that are labeled “relaxed cut”, which is different from sizing up.
Relaxed cuts will give you a bit more breathing room but fit properly in the important areas, like length of the body and sleeve.
When you size up, the garment size increases equally in all areas. This can lead to shirts or pants that are too long for you.
If there’s no relaxed cut option, sizing up on a few pieces is ok as a last resort.
Part 2: The Starter Summer Capsule Wardrobe
A reader asks:
“Is it OK to just wear a long sleeve shirt I wore in fall/winter but roll it up because of the heat?” – Carlos
Great question, Carlos.
The short answer is no! I don’t recommend it.
Remember the previous section on summer fabrics. There’s a good chance your fall clothes, whether wool or cotton, are textured or heavier. They’re designed to trap in heat to keep you warm. If you wear them now you’ll be a swampy, miserable mess by the end of the day.
I recommend you create a Spring/Summer weight capsule wardrobe and box up your fall gear til September.
I know. Shopping for another wardrobe sounds overwhelming. But you’ve been doing it before without even realizing it.
What you need is a plan. And I got your back!
Below is a collection of summer wardrobe tips I used with my private styling clients through the years.
Tips on Putting Together The Perfect Summer Wardrobe
Lightweight Jackets (Recommended: 1-2)
I like to have a couple of lightweight, unlined jackets even in the summer. They’re great for air-conditioned buildings, as well as the occasional summer date night when I need to dress up.
For business casual wardrobes An unlined, unstructured sports coat is a great versatile piece. You can wear in and out of the office. Look for one in tropical wools or a linen-blend. (You can go full linen if your workplace is a bit more casual.)
For something a bit more casual A chore jacket is my favorite casual alternative to a sport coat/blazer. The signature large patch pockets are ultra-functional and perfect for holding a few beer bottles.
Options:
Sports jackets: Suitsupply, Bonobos, and Drakes
Chore jacket: Everlane, J.crew, and Todd Snyder
T-shirts & Polos (Recommended: A mix of 5-10)
T-shirts are a summer staple, but don’t sleep on Polos. Polos are a great middle-ground between a t-shirt and a button-down shirt. They’re great for business casual work outfits when you want to look professional but want to feel relaxed.
Tips when shopping:
When shopping for t-shirts, look for ones made from Pima or Supima cotton. Pima/Supima cotton is made from long strand cotton, which is softer to the touch. Colorwise, I recommend a mix of white and light greys, then a few muted summer colors of your choice.
For polos, I avoid pique cotton. That’s the heavier, “grainy” feeling knit fabric you think of when you think polos. Look for polos made from thinner t-shirt style fabrics like Supima cotton or linen blends. They’re a lot more comfortable to wear.
When it comes to colors for polos, white is too blindingly bright in my opinion. My default polo colors are light grey and cream, which will easily mix and match with any pant color.
For some summery colors, I’d also recommend choosing light, muted colors. I personally love a muted olive green.