J.Crew hasn’t had the mojo in a long time now, but suddenly I’m looking at short-sleeve summer shirts there and picturing myself on a beach chair with a mojito in hand.
Next is this short-sleeve madras in candy colored orange, pink, soft green and blue. Madras is a hot-weather take on Scottish tartans born in the swelter of India, so bright colors feel natural, and I’m typically a bigger fan of the exploded plaids more than the smaller ones.
The rest of their sport shirts page is filled with guayabera’s in hand blocked prints; camp collar madras shirts in cool batik print; and madras patchwork indigo popover.
My favorite swim shorts are those made with a zipper and button-front. Abercrombie calls them the “resort short” and it comes in 5- and 7-inch inseams (Mine are 7 inch in navy; but the cream ones look super great). J.Crew has had similar shorts in the past—they call it the “pool short”—but this season I’m only seeing it in mid-blue and green on their factory site. I think the OG zippered swim trunk is by Orlebar Brown, but I have trouble imagining spending more than $100 on swim trunks.
I’d finish off an outfit with off-white espadrilles. I’ve bought a few different brands and ultimately come back to Ropey Soles. $28 including shipping from France, made in the original style of a simple rope sole with applied rubber outsole; they’re far more comfy than Soludos, and far less expensive than Castaner. I’m planning on buying a pair in navy this summer.
While we’re freezing this Memorial Day weekend, warm weather is just around the corner. Frankly I’m a little delighted to find something exciting at J.Crew again (and even before that guy from Noah takes over next year). Here’s to a long, hot, pandemic-free summer.
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