Here’s What to Wear to Beat Summer’s Heat in Style
Summer pulls a man to the extremes of the sartorial spectrum in short order: a tuxedo for a black-tie wedding one day, a pair of swim trunks and some espadrilles the next. But at least those situations come with an easy-to-follow blueprint. It’s the open-ended occasions between the two—vacation dinner outings, backyard get-togethers, a heatwave commute—that present the greatest challenges to warm-weather dressing. The trick is finding items that deliver more structure and polish than tees and shorts but don’t cause you to keel over from heatstroke.
Fortunately, today’s menswear market, after years of increasing informality (spurred first by athleisure, then by the pandemic), is now flush with refined, just-shy-of-tailored options to address the predicament. This isn’t a case of some technological breakthrough in air-conditioned-polyester suiting but rather a return to the forms, fibers, and silhouettes men wore in sweltering heat during the most stylish parts of the 20th century. Think lightweight knit polos, open-weave shirts, and pleated, free-flowing trousers reminiscent of those worn by Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon—or from 1980s Ralph Lauren ads.
More from Robb Report
Inside the New Air Jordan 1 Pop-Up That Celebrates the History of the Iconic Sneaker
Robb Recommends: The Waxed-Cotton Jacket That'll Be a Key Layer in Your Wardrobe
The Air Jordan 1 'Skyline' Sneaker Is Dropping Exclusively at an N.Y.C Shoe Store
Few do this contemporary take on elegant summer styling better than Stòffa. The New York–based outfitter crafts everything from suits to shorts in muted tones and natural fabrications—features that are paramount to these kinds of breezy wares. “T-shirts are a very young invention. Band-collar shirts with half buttons have existed in hot tropical climates for centuries,” says designer Agyesh Madan of the brand’s inspiration, which draws from both Eastern and Western cultures. For spring-summer 2023, the label offers easy upgrades such as breathable basketweave cotton trousers and linen shirts in sun-evading hues, including wheat, taupe, and seafoam. A large part of the collection is constructed from silk-blended or tropical wool, which Madan calls “a very underrated fabric in the summer.” Though at first lightweight wool may seem like an unlikely choice, Madan says it was commonplace in summer suiting 60 years ago, as it can be made nearly sheer and is more resilient than cotton.
Stòffa and its stylistic contemporaries, including P. Johnson, Giuliva Heritage, Doppiaa, and Drake’s, plus more globally recognized houses such as Brunello Cucinelli and Loro Piana, also render heat-beating comfort via looser silhouettes. “You don’t find tight clothing in tropical climates,” Madan notes, the simple fact being that items with more room to breathe, breathe better. “If there’s air between the layers on your body, you’ll be able to cool down—you need that air separation,” says Greg Lellouche of No Man Walks Alone, a New York City haberdashery that has become a cult favorite for its stock of imported under-the-radar imprints. In addition to avoiding the uncomfortable experience that arises when slim fit meets sweat, more-relaxed garments feel less stuffy—literally and metaphorically—and thus less formal. While summer shirts are often collared and trousers may feature crisp creases, a looser fit allows them to drape, rumple, and move freely, whether worn on stagnant city streets or sunbaked boardwalks.
To be clear, improving your summer closet doesn’t mean reverting to the tired sartorial decrees of yesteryear, particularly the commandment that “men shalt not wear shorts.” Nor do tees need to be written off, though Lellouche notes that a knitted style—for example, one by Camo, a burgeoning label based in Biella, Italy—hits the mark better than your average screen-printed cotton-jersey number. In both cases, though, “it’s about what surrounds them,” he says. And if you do go the shorts route, be sure to apply the same principles that apply to their legged counterparts, particularly as they pertain to fit and fabrication—and consider what goes up top. “Shorts have to be supported by the right shirt, because of their inherently casual nature,” Lellouche advises. “Then swap out your flip-flops and sneakers for a more elevated shoe.”
And since there are only so many hours one can reasonably spend strolling the beach barefoot, the proper footwear for this “refined casual” aesthetic is the requisite finishing touch. Whether you’re kicking a lingering flip-flop habit or curbing a canvas-sneaker appetite, elegant options abound, from leather mules by Todd Snyder x Armando Cabral to Chamula’s hand-woven huaraches. Last summer, No Man Walks Alone debuted a Moroccan-raffia moccasin in collaboration with El Karti, an artisan based in the coastal town of Essaouira, which it still stocks. Effectively, it’s a traditional woven-upper shoe that the retailer revised with a stacked heel and a leather lining for a more loafer-like feel.
“The objective was to take that look and material but apply it to everyday summer looks in the city,” Lellouche says. In fact, the more he describes them, the more they sound like a remedy for any number of summer-style setbacks—a shoe that works at both ends of the season’s occasion dressing and everywhere in between. “You could even wear them to a summer black-tie event and they wouldn’t look out of place,” he says. Same goes for pairing them with swim trunks—and what other style of footwear can pull off that trick?
Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
