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It’s hot today folks! While the temperature may drop again soon, I had a flash of inspiration for all the great things I’m excited to wear this summer—new things I’m looking forward to, as well as the old favorites.
Zipper Fly Swim Shorts
While I won’t say swim shorts without a zipper shouldn’t exist, per se, I’ve been so spoiled by ones that do that it takes a pretty special pair to get me to go back. Various companies have made them (and discontinued them), and while the high-end OGs from Orlebar Brown or the luxury option from Tom Ford are great, there are thankfully accessible makers doing them well, too. Here are some recommendations:
Long sleeve polo
I wrote about this already but long-sleeve polos are just the go-to staple for me, specifically in navy, but black has been in rotation for me lately, too. My newest one from Spier & Mackay is just about perfect. But Proper Cloth makes them really well, too, which is great if you need a custom fit. Here are some recommendations:
Spier & Mackay with spread collar (top choice) or they make it with a button-down collar
Kent Wang (if they’re ever in stock when you want one; don’t count on it)
Proper Cloth — Check out their cotton-linen blend pique or their Japanese cotton pique option (I’d customize it with soft president spread collar + soft long one-button cuff option)
Fun linen shirts
My wife gives me guff for continuously getting shirts in blue and blue-and-white stripes. Which c’mon, who can blame me, they’re the best and most wearable shirts. But for summer, I love a fancy stripe linen shirt to wear insouciantly like I’m on the Golden Coast (the California one, but the Aussie one is nice, I’ve heard). Pictured above is an old Eidos one from 2015, but really there are tons of options. Typically I prefer long-sleeve shirts, with the sleeves rolled. But there is value in short-sleeve options. Some recommendations:
Corridor NYC short-sleeve boardwalk stripe shirt
Corridor short-sleeve fun shirt
Proper Cloth cotton-linen sedona navy plaid
Proper Cloth wide red stripe linen
G. Inglese teal wide stripe linen button-down
Frank Leder natural/ochre stripe shirt
G. Inglese gold wide-stripe shirt
G. Inglese blue cotton-linen horizontal stripe polo
Moccasins / boat shoes
While the irreverent broheims talk in circles about whether boat shoes are back or not, I’ve found them in various forms (the camp/canoe moc being my favorite version) to be one of the easist-to-wear shoes when it’s hot out for like 10 years running. I recently came across a pic of my dad wearing them with double pleated chinos (which tapered down to a remarkably slim cuff) when I was a kid. Here are some recommendations
Oak Street Bootmakers camp moc (just get these; they’re the best)
Sperry Boat shoe (there’s something really compelling about the tan leather Sperry uses)
Inis Meain linen knits
Inis Meain has this special way of making clothes that maybe look like something your grandmother would own, but if you wear them the right way look totally badass. I bought an ombre linen tunic sweater on final sale last year, which fades from a pale gray into shades of blue below, and it’s possibly my favorite knit sweater ever. I had the opportunity to try their knit linen polo and have gotten compliments on that, too.
They also make various forms of non-sweaters, like knit outerwear of sorts. The pub jacket is my favorite that I’ve tried in the latter category (though I have not tried it in linen. The cold-weather wool blend one I tried is simply outstanding).
Shop Inis Meain linen knits at Todd Snyder
Shop Inis Meain at No Man Walks Alone (they kind of discovered them here in the States, tbh)
Shop Inis Meain at their own site
Espadrilles
When the menswear dudes hail espadrilles as the ideal beach shoe, please remember that European beaches are full of rocks. Here in America, where the sugar sand is abundant, espadrilles are not the best. However, as a casual shoe to wear with the shorts and fun linen shirt, they’re fantastic. Of course the mainstream brands like TOMS are probably the most comfortable. But if you want something more legit/original, here are some recommendations:
Ropey Soles (the most authentic, with a price that’s impossible to beat)
Castaner (ok these are more authentic than Ropey Soles, but more expensive by a large margin)
Rich navy linen suit
I was inspired by a 2018 post by Andreas Weinas in a beautiful, rich navy blue linen suit. I’m excited to see Cavour has one (possibly the same fabric), which I’m thinking I’ll get, so this is one of those can’t-wait-to-have. Here’s the link:
Giro Inglese shirt
Giro Inglese is a 100% cotton fabric woven in a nice almost honeycomb pattern, which breathes well and gives visual interest. I just got one in solid blue from Proper Cloth and it’s great. I’ve had an Eidos shirt in a similar open-weave cotton for years and in summer, it’s one of my favorite shirts. Leno weave is another similar open weave cotton. Here are some links:
Proper Cloth giro inglese shirt (I made mine with the soft Roma cutaway shirt + soft long one-button cuffs)
Wool-silk-linen trousers
©Atelier Munro. Shot by Mounir Raji.I was turned onto the great texture in wool-silk-linen trousers by No Man Walks Alone back when they used to do regular pre-orders and size runs of Rota trousers in the fabric. Namely they’d have a gorgeous color of bluish-green called Petrol blue, that I never pulled the trigger on back then and now wish they’d run them again.
For my Atelier Munro campaign, however, I used the opportunity to make a pair in a nice blue color (not quite petrol), which wear super well with tan jackets, my green windowpane jacket, and it’s light enough blue it works with a dark navy blazer.
If you’re an Atelier Munro client, this link will work and you can create some custom trousers. If you’re not a client yet, read my review of them to get an idea of how that process works.
Navy mockleno blazer
I got one from Cavour last summer and wrote about it then. And thankfully more makers have been using the fabric this year. Natalino sold out so fast they’re restocking it in May. Cavour is making it again. And Spier & Mackay as well. Buy one, it’s a fantastic go-to blazer option. Here are the links:
Cavour (mine pictured above is Cavour)
Natalino (restock coming soon)
White or cream linen-cotton dress trousers
I’ve been chasing this Loro Piana image for years, and it’s essentially my go-to summer outfit. Sub the DB blazer for a single breasted and it works just as well.
Instead of full-linen trousers, I like cotton-linen blend trousers. Spier & Mackay make my favorite go-to’s. Here’s the link. I picked them up in the linked cream color, as I already have an off-white pair from Brooks Brothers from several years ago I wear.
If you want a bit more of that la dolce vita lifestyle, go with full linen. here are my favorite makers:
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