Each season it’s exciting to think about the seasonal clothes you’ll get to pull out of storage and wear again, as well as what new clothes you could buy to scratch some sartorial itch nagging your brain.
In that spirit I’ve put together four clothing virtual flat lays, with links to the products, to showcase things I think look great in this spring/summer season’s collections, and which I myself might be wearing soon.
The Cheerful Suit
Spier & Mackay Linen-Silk Suit
Drake’s Blue & Pink Madras Shirt
Carmina Unlined Polo Suede Slippers
Alternative Shoes: Tassel Loafers
Suits have such a powerful connection to business attire, formal events, and serious men. But when you make one in a light color—like this 92% linen, 8% silk herringbone tan fabric—suddenly it feels cheerful. The power of a suit is that its matching jacket and trousers removes the question of whether they match, and also creating a cohesive top to bottom look. I picked this very bright and equally cheerful pink-blue madras shirt from Drake’s to go with it because I think in any other type of outfit, that shirt might scream a little too loudly (with just a pair of white jeans, sleeves rolled might work but it’d be quite the statement). Under a suit jacket, I think it’d give you just the right dollop of color. And the shoes match the relaxed vibe of the suit as well.
The Relaxed Day-Off Fit
Corridor NYC Beachside Stripe Short Sleeve Shirt
Spier & Mackay Cream High-Rise Shorts
Drake’s Olive Herringbone Espadrilles
I love Corridor. Dan Snyder its founder was interviewed on Blamo! a few years ago and his approach to clothes made so much sense after learning his backstory. Not formally trained, basically just sewing things himself and growing the business organically. His choices of textiles are the strongest aspect of his skill as a designer, and this casual short-sleeve camp shirt is a perfect showcase of that. I love the muted colors in the stripes; it screamed for shorts and espadrilles. The safest choice would be to pair it with navy shorts (still a solid option), but I think with cream shorts you’re in even more relaxed territory. I’d wear this at a day by the pool, the beach, or a 4th of July holiday with friends.
The Tasteful Workman’s Uniform
Spier & Mackay Cigar Linen 4-Pocket Overshirt
Cream Cotton-Linen High-Rise Trousers
Alden Snuff Suede Tassel Loafers
Alternative Pants: Off-White Jeans
I feel a little naked and unprepared without a blazer on, in large part because I don’t know where to put any of the things I carry with me everywhere—phone, keys, wallet. In a blazer, there are pockets for those things; without a jacket, they go in your pants pockets, bulking out your hips. So it’s nice to have a more casual option you can easily roll the sleeves up, that will wear a little cooler, and which still adds a visually pleasing layer to your outfit. These four-pocket overshirts from Spier & Mackay are a little more useful than just a chore coat or a two-pocket workshirt (where the pockets are at the chest). With the tailored cotton-linen trousers, you’ve got an elevated look, but if that doesn’t fit the rest of the vibe by all means go for off-white jeans.
The Sartorial Business Deal
Proper Cloth Navy Wool-Linen Hopsack Blazer
Spier & Mackay Green Reverse Stripe OCBD
Spier & Mackay VBC High-Twist Gray Trousers
Myrqvist Brown Leather Penny Loafers
Alternate Shirt: Pale Blue Business Shirt for Maximum Business Authority
Just because it’s summer out doesn’t mean you have to turn into a mess of sherbet colors. This fit is the classic combo of navy blazer with mid- or dark-gray trousers (the best combo IMO), and I like to bring the formality down just a hair by putting penny loafers, a wide striped OCBD and knit tie with it. Those things work well because the jacket is a wool-linen blend hopsack weave, which will have a good amount of texture from the weave as well as the linen content. If you wanted to go full business mode, you could do a white or pale blue spread-collar shirt, navy or black grenadine tie and dark brown or black lace-ups. But that’s less sartorially fun than this combo.
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Spier and Mackay doesn’t carry my size often.
Any other options when it comes to linen suits? Preferably nothing on the bottom tier.
One option is simply MTO via Spier & Mackay. Another is SuitSupply, which often carries linen suits. Higher up on the ladder would be Ralph Lauren, which does fabrics literally nobody else does because they’re in-house-designed. Anglo-Italian would be another option, even higher on the chain with the more Italian-inspired design I favor. Otherwise just look over my recommended shops page in the menu and check those retailers out as new releases are done. Some are MTO/MTM shops (like The Armoury) where if you’ve tried their off-the-rack and know you just need, say, a 42L instead of a 42R, they can easily oblige you. Let me know if you need any more suggestions!