2 Elegant Ways to Pull Off Formal Summer Dressing
Summer dressing presents unique challenges. Because it’s warm out, many people take the opportunity to host formal events like weddings outside in the heat. But, of course, since it is so hot out during the summer months, the idea of donning formal dress can feel imposing. It’s not like you can throw on a winter-weight wool suit or a tweed blazer and roll up to a July wedding looking cool, calm, and collected. It’s a real conundrum. But fortunately, there are options out there. And O.N.S just happens to make a few of them, making us one of the top go-to spots summer formal dressing. With that in mind, we tapped menswear expert and excellent dresser Max “Gents Among Men” Twitty to show you how to look cool while staying cool.
Option 1: The Linen Suit
Because linen wrinkles easily, suits made from the material have long been viewed with suspicion by men who want to look good without expending much effort. But that’s because many men have a fundamental misunderstanding of just what it is that makes linen so great. Yes, linen—which is made from the flax plant—is incredibly cool and airy in the heat, but it also has a wonderful feel and visible texture. And, when a linen suit rumples, as it inevitably will, it actually adds to that texture’s visual appeal. So, for your next wedding, throw on linen suit and shirt combo, add a straw hat, and embrace those wrinkles as a key component of ultra-cool summer formal dressing.
Option 2: The Shorts Suit
The shorts suit is a bit of an advanced style move, but not so much that it needs to be avoided. First of all, it helps to know that the shorts suit (which also includes mismatched tailoring with shorts, and not just matching sets) has a long history among Western culture’s best-dressed men and top fashion houses. Blues legend B.B. King was famous for wearing shorts suits on stage, and the Bermuda Suit, which usually includes a blue blazer worn with colorful, contrasting shorts, tall socks, and a necktie has been the formal business option on that small island out in the Atlantic for ages. We suggest you really go for it here, wearing a printed short, like our windowpane option shown here, with a plain blazer. Adding tall socks and a tie are up to you, but the look also works well and looks contemporary sans hosiery and neckwear.
For more on Max Twitty, catch his Instagram here.
