For The Suits: Spring/Summer Guide

Could that be, the, the, the sun!?! Spring is just around the corner (not from where we’re sitting mind you) and so it’s time for another For The Suits season guide. You know the deal: we outline our personal favorites for the season and you run out and buy them. Or wear them if you already have the gear. We like to think so at least.

In our last guide we made mention of the sort of excitement and joy reserved for the fall and winter seasons by a lot of cats in the scene. You get to pull out all your real proper gear to keep warm. Not so much in spring and summer.

It seems like the challenge for the next couple of months is figuring out how to look smart while not melting in the heat. Not so easy, but it’s certainly possible.

Let’s start with jackets. Not necessarily something you’ll be wearing a lot of it. It’s worth searching out a lightweight harrington for the season. Absolute classic and they never look bad.

We recommended a Mac for those of you in rainy climates over the fall and winter months and we’ll do the same again. It’s really quite simple: nothing looks as smart with a pair of sta prest with a button down popping out of the collar. And that look doesn’t appear nearly enough. If you have an H&M in your city pop in, they do a great slim cut Mac. The lads over at Jump The Gun also have them on offer, if you don’t mind waiting for the mail.

Last jacket you want is a monkey jacket. Once again slim cut, choice of colour is yours. We personally suggest either navy or white although white can be a hard look to pull off. Fred Perry, Modern Action and Warrior all have some on offer. The jacket is rain repellant as well as nice and lightweight making it perfect for heading out in the early evening and coming home later as it cools down.

Shirts are up next. Another thing we had previously mentioned in our last guide. Oxford shirts are the way to go during the summer. They look smart, are lightweight and the material tends to be more breathable. Easy peesy. Blue, green, plain white and yellow all fit the bill. Mikkel Rude even has a sale on right now. If you rush over you might just get there in time.

The trousers bit is always a bit simple because of the lack of deviation. Sta prest of course are in order but during the warmer months jeans is always a smart look with an oxford button down, monkey jacket, Aviators and loafers. Levi’s still have a lovely vintage repro of their 1967 505 denims. Steep in price but quality is worth it.

And for heavens sake if you’re going to wear jeans get the bloody things tailored. Nothing makes you look like more of a melt than jeans that are too long. Either ankle length or with a tiny turn up sewed in looks good. Don’t roll them either, we’re talking amateur hour once again in that case.

Shoes is an easy one. Time to get the Weejuns out. Although they can be worn year round depending on ground conditions, spring and summer tends to be the perfect time for a pair of these classic loafers. And they look great with either sta prest or denim.

Last bit here is accesories. We kind of let the cat out of the bag in the last bit there. You need sunglasses. No one has ever looked good constantly squinting, have they? Wayfarers or Aviators are the way to go, our recommendation being Aviators.

There we have it folks. Undoubtedly a lot of this gear will be in many a closet, probably worn in much the same manner as we’ve suggested. But it never hurts to share a bit does it? Here’s to the best summer you’ll ever have.