A reader question:
Dear Muffy,
May I ask the readership a question please.
Setting aside polo shirt, shorts and boat shoes, what is their favourite outfit for the warmer months? (And it's very warm where I am now).
For me it's a linen blazer with linen slacks and a lightweight cotton button down shirt. (I would add a tie for anything a bit more formal). Footwear is either suede loafers or lightweight suede brogues
If I'm not wearing the blazer then I will wear a linen shirt. I find this a very versatile combination that suits many occasions. I would be interested in the readers thoughts.
Best wishes
I'm a polo shirt, shorts boat shoe guy. But I'm retired.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to Craig: Retired, shorts, polo, or OCBD, boat shoes. Light jacket, blazer, khakis for a nice dinner.
DeleteI have a number of loose linen tops in colors ranging from white to light pastel to deep, intense colors. I pop these over a slim-fitting pair of slacks. I’m not a big fan of sandals with polished toenails, so I usually opt for a pair of espadrilles, or fabric slip-ons. Accessorizing is easy, since the colors of my jewelry just needs to complement the color of my linen top. This is an easy way to feel put-together when the heat is dampening enthusiasm for just about everything.
ReplyDeleteMost days, it's s genuine Madras shirt, lightweight chinos/chino shorts, linen flat cap and driving loafers. For formal or social occasions, I wear a poplin shirt with a seersucker suit, Panama hat and suede/calf penny loafers.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason Ken I've never felt comfortable in either madras or seersucker but I do wear Panama hat
DeleteBy coincidence, I wear Madras shirts in hot weather because linen feels uncomfortable next to my skin. Cordings linen caps are lined and very comfortable. Seersucker is a variable product - some fabrics are light and airy (PRL) can be rough or even heavy (Gant).
DeleteSimilarly Panama hats vary in quality. Mine is a fine Brisa as Montecristos are eye-wateringly expensive. Stetson has an excellent range of affordable summer hats and caps.
Your right about Montecristos. Mine is a Brisa too and was expensive enough. Very convenient being able to roll it up and slide it into the tube.
DeleteSetting aside the items above (and at risk of being heretical), I more frequently find myself in an old pair of boardshorts and a loose, lightweight button down. It's more conducive to getting work done. Otherwise, I generally prefer lightweight pants over shorts unless the setting is extremely casual or the temperature is above 90.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm not in a polo and shorts, I'm wearing stone poplin chinos plus a muted madras or solid color linen sport shirt. Long sleeves over short.
ReplyDeleteI don't really own linen tailoring outside of tan trousers, but will lean on my navy fresco suit, if needed. Suede penny loafers or Quoddy blucher mocs.
All that said, I have begun leaning into the midcentury Mediterranean look as of late with a few light, shortsleeve sweater polos instead of pique.
Khakis and a long sleeve shirt. Plain brown shoes of all sorts.
ReplyDeleteObviously, there aren’t a lot of outfit choices for a civilized man to wear in the summer. This is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, I run around in Peter Millar Summer Comfort Polos combined with Cordings’ Irish Linen Shorts. I don’t know how anyone could improve upon this. And one can’t wear enough linen in the heat.
https://www.petermillar.com/p/toga-party-performance-jersey-polo/ms25ek31s.html?dwvar_ms25ek31s_color=WHT
https://www.cordings.co.uk/us/red-irish-linen-shorts.html
a starched vintage cotton shift
ReplyDeleteThis is the way.
DeleteThere are a bunch of old linen, long sleeve, collared shirts I wear working in our 6,000 +/- square foot vegetable garden. This year we have planted almost 500 onions. Why? “Because it’s there,” so to speak. At any rate, perspiration when wearing a linen shirt has a cooling function, even on the hottest days. You might feel a slight shiver when you stop for break, even on the hottest days.
ReplyDeleteMadras, boat shoes, to get things started!
ReplyDeleteI have a collection of vintage Vineyard Vines all cotton LS button downs in an incredibly open wave. They are fantastic and dry almost instantly, even when soaked. Add standard khaki or navy shorts and my LL Bean hadsewn Mocs and I’ve covered 90% of my summer casual needs.
ReplyDeleteSuede shoes are only for winter. As are suede jackets.
ReplyDeleteSuede shoes for winter? In the rain & snow?
ReplyDeleteThat’s right. Whoever sang “walk me out in the cold rain and snow,” was not wearing suede shoes.
ReplyDeleteThat's "ran me out in the cold rain and snow." Gerry Garcia - The Grateful Dead... and anyone who wears suede shoes in a northern winter needs to buy a pair of boots!
Delete“Red and white, blue suede shoes” might just get you through the winter. Just beware of locales where it’s “snowed so hard the roof caved in.”
DeleteRobert Hunter wrote most Grateful Dead lyrics. He is the only non performing band member in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He sometimes went out into the audience to watch the performance. He said he was in the audience once when he got his greatest song writing compliment. The Dead played a song called “Cumberland Blues,” à hard scrabble coal mining tale. Hunter had no idea who the guy standing next to him was. The gent turned to Hunter and said, “I wonder what the guy who wrote that song 100 years ago would think if he knew the Grateful Dead would be doing it now.”
DeleteBob Dylan said of Hunter “he’s the only one who I collaborated with when he wanted to make a change, I let him make it, no questions asked.”
I love the way that sometimes a question morphs into something completely different lol !
DeleteJerry with a “J” please.
ReplyDeleteRobert Hunter was the great-great-grandson of Robert Burns, widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland who wrote Auld Lang Syne.
ReplyDelete“It goes to show you don’t ever know.”
ReplyDelete