We’ve recently been experiencing a level of heat and humidity that is most definitely not typical to Vancouver. As a result I think there are a lot of guys who are looking over their summer wardrobes with a different mindset and as such are realizing there are likely a few holes and changes that need to be made. The following is a collection of thoughts that deal directly with the heat as well as some general summer style commentary.
5 Summertime Sartorial Thoughts.
1. The importance of relaxed trim – breathability is critical.
I touched upon this subject earlier as we were transitioning into the warmer weather but as the temperature goes up I feel it necessary to hammer the point home. The context I spoke about it within is in how we are beginning to see a bit of a more relaxed silhouette – the focus shifting from overly trim to what I call relaxed trim. As a reminder here are some pictures I previously used.
The importance of this is most evident in the summer – this is because overly fitted clothing becomes clingy and sweaty when the heat gets turned up. By wearing clothes that are a touch looser we allow air to get in between the cloth and our skin which is wonderful for cooling us down and making us look more at ease. This is because tight and sweaty never looks good – regardless of what it does for your silhouette.
2. Hands in pockets with trim pants – be very careful.
This is more of a tip for those of you who are wearing your pants trimmer and shorter. As I mentioned above this leads to less fluidity in the cloth and hence more sweat and stickiness come the heat.
The result of all this heat and stickiness is the tube effect – essentially what that means is that when things get tight they start to ride upwards. Factor in putting your hands in your pockets and the tube gets even tighter – the resulting effect being the pants get even more uncomfortable and then they begin to look dangerously short if you’re already going for the short, cropped look. You have two choices; relax the overall pant to get some room to breath or refrain from putting your hands (and phones) in your pockets. Your choice – it comes down to if you’re willing to sacrifice for fashion?
3. The importance of the dark shirt with a lighter jacket – in the evening.
Darker in the summer? I know this is a bit of a shift from traditional thinking hence I’m specifically making the point for the evening time when it’s slightly cooler. Feel free to do it in the day though if you don’t feel it makes you too hot. With suits and odd jackets we often go lighter in terms of cloth, construction and color in summer. As such it perfectly sets up the darker shirt combination which is quite striking and on point right now. It makes the question of whether you should wear a tie moot as a beautiful pocket square will add the necessary pop and formality to the situation. Here are a few examples:
4. No tucking with shorts – ever.
This might be controversial but I’m not sure why – it just doesn’t look right. It’s the old “formalizing the informal” scenario – it makes no sense and there is simply no need for it. If the situation calls for a tucked in shirt than wear pants and do so – just make sure you go sockless with loafers and keep yourself as cool as possible.
5. What type of dress shirt is okay with shorts?
This is a bit of a back to basics – but before we get going there is one key point that needs to be made. That is the first rule of dress shirts and shorts – always roll the sleeves. Wearing the sleeves down formalizes the look too much and puts you in the same category as tucking in.
As for the type of dress shirt – it needs to be a shirt that is designed to be un-tucked. Specifically it means that it isn’t too long and most importantly it comfortably flows over the hips and seat. I cannot stress the last point enough – all over town I have been seeing guys wearing fitted dress shirts with shorts whereby the bottom of the shirt is catching on the hips which leads to unsightly pulling and tugging. The bottom line is there are three types of shirts; tucking-in shirts, un-tucking shirts and then the hybrid. Figure out which ones are which and wear accordingly. To assist here are two good examples of the hybrid model:
As always I’d love to hear your opinions on this or any sartorial subject for that matter. Better yet book a free appointment and we can banter in person and see if we might be a good fit to work together.
Take care – Michael
info@martinfishertailors.com
