How to dress for a man in summer – part 1

Hot weather is relaxing. On a beautiful summer day, we are filled with good mood and enjoy the comfort. This feeling should be supported by comfortable summer clothes. No outerwear, just shorts, T-shirts. Only in the evenings a light jacket and chinos.

How can a man dress in the summer without sacrificing comfort? How to look stylish and presentable in the summer? Which materials are more suitable for summer clothes, and which are not. Let's look for answers together.

A dilemma arises when it comes to dressing in classic hot weather. Most of the styles of clothing and dress codes come to us from the old world (Kingdom of Great Britain), where it is usually cold and rainy. It is obvious that summer clothes there developed poorly, if at all.

Therefore, it is obvious that a woolen suit or fashionable jersey in the heat, when the thermometer is +30 Celsius, is not necessary to remember. What should a stylish gentleman wear in summer?

A man in a blue summer suit

On the open spaces of the Russian Internet there are many articles on this topic, but most of them are addressed to girls. Therefore, it is necessary to correct the situation and draw up a complete guide for men.

The topic is quite extensive, so I will divide it into 2 or even 3 parts. In the first part, we will look at the general principles to be followed in summer and the types of fabrics that are more or less suitable for summer. In the second part, we will look at the wardrobe items that can be worn in the summer without discomfort. In the third part, we will look at shoes and accessories for men in demand in the summer.

The main characteristics of summer men's clothing

Looking good for a man is important, however, when it comes to the hot season, the priority is still in functionality. What to look for when buying and choosing summer clothes:

Lightweight fabrics

What really matters in the summer is the thickness and weight of the fabric. The thinner and lighter the fabric, the more comfortable the feel and the better the air circulation.

Take clothes in your hands and try to estimate their weight. If the item seems pretty easy to you, try putting it on and walking around the store. If you do not sweat and feel discomfort – feel free to buy.

The lighter the fabric, the better it is for summer.

Breathable fabric

The fabric can be light, but the weave of the threads in it can be very dense and air will not circulate through it. And this, of course, will lead to excessive overheating and sweating (not a very pleasant word, but what to do …).

Not so long ago, we talked about how to choose a shirt in a casual style. There I gave advice on how to determine whether a fabric is breathable or not. In short: take a thing, bring it to your mouth and try to breathe through it. If you can breathe, then the fabric is fine.

The easier it is to breathe through the fabric, the more preferable the fabric is for summer.

Sun protection

Are you thinking about sun protection? Direct sunlight falling on your skin will warm up your entire body. Not to mention skin burns, if the sun is especially active and you are imprudent.

Fortunately, there is a way out of this situation, it is enough to wear a light long-sleeved shirt, long pants and a hat in the form of a hat or baseball cap. You can choose sunglasses to protect your eyes from the sun's rays, but it's all obvious.

The color of all these things is more important. Use light colored clothing to reflect direct sunlight. Simple physics works – black accumulates and absorbs more light than it reflects. In this regard, wear mostly white or light-colored clothes.

In the sun, wear clothing that completely covers your exposed areas. Also, only use light colors.

Pursuit of style

The main problem with summer clothes is that they are a product of necessity, not style. Perhaps someone will argue and say that shorts look better than chinos or khakis. But I have a different opinion.

If I see a man in shorts and a T-shirt, then I will think that this is a person of not very high status and works somewhere as a “handyman”. Will he be stylishly dressed? Not sure. It all depends on his sense of style and taste, additional accessories, selected prints, colors and more…. It's a different matter when you put on a shirt, chinos and a sports jacket. Human perception is completely different.

Surely you can tell me that the man in the stretched T-shirt and shorts is a millionaire on vacation. It may be so, but you can't tell from his clothes.

Therefore, in summer clothes, you always have to chase style in order to look a little better than the guy from the next yard. Creating a stylish summer look is a secondary, but not unimportant task.

Suitable fabrics for summer wear

So, we examined above 4 main characteristics of summer clothes. What's next?

There are more and less suitable fabrics for sewing summer clothes. Let's start with the materials used to make summer fabrics.

Linen

Linen is the best natural material that can be used for sewing clothes. It is lightweight, breathable and allows for a unique weave pattern. However, it has a drawback – linen wrinkles easily. On the other hand, this is also its charm.

Men's blue linen shirt

Modern textile production sews jackets, trousers, suits, shirts and T-shirts from linen fabric. Linen is used to make bags, shoes, hats and other accessories. Linen is often dyed in muted pastel colors to emphasize the lightness of the material.

Advantages of linen fabric:

1. Very lightweight and breathable fabric.
2. Interesting weave of fabric threads, which cannot be confused with anything.
3. Quickly evaporates moisture without retaining it.

Disadvantages of linen fabric:

1. Expensive fabric, and often used by expensive brands.
2. It creases easily and is extremely difficult to iron (even if you know how to iron a shirt correctly, after 30 minutes the linen shirt will still be wrinkled).
3. It wears out quickly and is difficult to clean, delicate fabric.

Linen shirt by Marks & Spencer

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Linen shirt Banana Republic

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Wool

Usually we forget about woolen things in summer and remember only in late autumn. Woolen suits, woolen knitwear, woolen blazers and so on are customary to wear in the cold season.

Light blue men's woolen suit

However, there are woolen items made of very fine and light woolen thread. Summer suits are sewn from wool with a value of 140-170 units. Let me remind you that 140 units means how many kilometers of thread can be made from 1 kilogram of wool.

In addition to fabrics for classic suits, flannel is also produced. Flannel shirts are sewn from it, which are comfortable to wear on cool summer evenings.

Advantages of woolen fabric:

1. The most beautiful and neat fabrics are made from wool.
2. Woolen fabric lends itself better to care and ironing than linen.
3. Wool 'breathes' and dries better than cotton.

Disadvantages of wool fabric:

1. Heavier than linen and cotton.
2. Expensive material.
3. Not all woolen fabrics are suitable for summer.

Boss Hugo Boss Wool Jacket

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Bazioni light wool blazer

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Cotton

Most of the items in our wardrobe are cotton. It is lightweight, breathable. It is much cheaper than wool and linen. However, there are cotton items for both winter and summer seasons. The whole difference is in the weave and the thickness of the threads.

Men's check cotton shirt

Next, we will analyze the types of fabrics that are made from cotton:

• Twill is a dense cotton fabric with a twill weave. Most of the jeans are made of twill with a characteristic herringbone pattern. If the thread is very thin, then the clothes are quite suitable for the summer. But if the thread is thick, then wear such clothes exclusively in the cold season.
• Poplin is a kind of cotton fabric with small indentations. Due to the different tension of the threads of the upper and lower layers, a small air space forms between them. Poplin dries quickly and is easy to blow through. Poplin is used for summer shirts, polos, trousers and jackets. Summer suits made of poplin fabric are also on sale.
• Searsaker, or crumpled chintz, is a corrugated fabric with different tension of the lower and upper threads. Unlike poplin, it has a more pronounced relief and has a softer texture. Seersucker fabric is the lightest and most breathable fabric from which things are made (chintz is not taken into account). Shirts, trousers, and also summer suits are sewn from seersaker fabric.
• Madras is a lightweight cotton twill weave. It has a characteristic pattern in the form of cells of different colors. The texture is softer than poplin and seersucker. Shirts, shorts or sports jackets are made from madras. The fabric is well suited for the summer heat, as it is easily blown by the wind.

Cotton poplin shirt Cotton shirt made of madras fabric Seersucker cotton shirt Cotton twill shirt

These were the most common types of cotton fabric used for summer clothing.

To keep from worrying about the fabric used in the shirt, just run a couple of tests: First, try breathing through the fabric. Second, look at the fabric in the light. The easier it is to breathe and the ray shines through, the more preferable a cotton thing for summer.

Advantages of cotton fabric:

1. Low cost and easy availability.
2. Many lightweight and breathable types of fabrics.
3. The most unpretentious material.

Disadvantages of cotton fabric:

1. It retains moisture more than wool and linen.
2. Not a very noble fabric.
3. May lose shape and color after several washes.

Cotton Gap Shirt

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Cotton shirt by Tommy Hilfiger

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Silk

The best combination of strength and low weight is silk. Silk is great for evening dresses or men's tuxedos. To match the summer heat, silk items need to be loose and fairly thin.

Men's beige silk shirt

Silk is used to make men's shirts, jackets, vests, trousers and tuxedos.

Silk fabric advantages:

1. Smooth structure, very pleasant to the touch.
2. The thinnest and lightest fabrics are made from silk.
3. Colors retain their shine for a long time.

Disadvantages of silk:

1. Expensive fabric, if we talk about natural silk.
2. The fabric wrinkles quickly and is difficult to clean.
3. Retains moisture.

Mango Man Shirt

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Trussardi cotton-silk polo shirt

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Synthetic materials

With synthetic materials, not everything is so simple. The fact is that modern technologies make it possible to produce materials with different desired properties. For example, thermal underwear, specially made for athletes, allows you to keep warm, evaporate moisture and withstand high loads, preventing increased wear and tear.

A man in a polyester sports t-shirt

At the same time, there are materials such as polyester or viscose, which, apart from the price and reduced wear of fabrics, do not have outstanding properties. Synthetics are breathable, can cause allergies and are not considered preferable for good clothing.

Advantages of synthetic fabrics:

1. Low cost.
2. Special synthetic materials evaporate moisture well.
3. The fabric is very lightweight.

Disadvantages of synthetics:

1. Viscose or polyester is poorly breathable and does not evaporate moisture.
2. Synthetics can cause irritation or allergies.
3. Synthetics are added to save money in the production of clothing.

Polyester T-shirt EA7

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Jack Wolfskin Polyester Shirt

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How to dress for a man in summer – part 2 >>>