Summer has definitely arrived, with temperatures nearing 30 degrees in some areas this weekend. So how do you stay cool AND smart when you have to wear a suit for the office?
Follow our top tips to stay cool this summer:
Fabric – cotton, linen, linen mix, seersucker
Colour – lighter shades, pastels, white, beige
Style – looser fit, polo shirts, short sleeved shirts or neatly fold back long sleeves a couple of times if in the city (short sleeves can appear unprofessional.)
Fabric
First things first: wearing breathable fabrics like linen or cotton will help tremendously. Both are very versatile, hard-wearing fabrics, but they also come with drawbacks. Both tend to wrinkle easily (linen more so than cotton), which can leave you looking unintentionally casual at best. Going for a wool/linen mix is a good way around this, because wool is a much more crease resistant than linen. Although it sounds like madness recommending wool in summer, it actually makes sense: wool absorbs and wicks moisture away from the body, helping you keep cool. Another alternative is a silk/linen mix, which also cuts down on the creasing risk, particularly in suits. Dean is a genius when it comes to these details; speak to him to find the best fabric choice for you.
Colour
Going for lighter colours is not just a style choice: they also reflect the hot sunlight rather than absorbing its heat, leaving you cooler in more than one sense of the word. A good summer wardrobe will have mid to lighter tones of grey, and navy. Leave your dark grey and black firmly in the winter wardrobe. Pastel blue jackets this summer is very current and stylish when mixed with a pair of beige chinos. Mix them with white or pastel coloured shirts to create a fresh summer look.
Style
Luckily for us, a looser fitting style is all over the catwalk right now. This will help keep the fabric away from the skin and allow air circulation around the body. Short-sleeved shirts are of course an option, but polo shirts with suits are the latest catwalk trend. This allows you to combine summer cool with office smart in a bang up to date look. Ask Dean about this look from our favourites Ermenegildo Zegna.
Other tips
Remember to consider a lighter weight of fabric in your suiting for the summer. This can make all the difference particularly when travelling abroad. Dean can advise you when making your selection.
If you have to wear a suit jacket to the office, avoid putting your jacket on until you get to the office, so you don’t build up a sweat on the way and arrive feeling like you need another shower.
If you can, allow yourself more time to get places so you don’t have to rush and build up a sweat. Stick to the shade and drink plenty of water: we hear this advice all the time, so this season let’s try and follow it, and stay sweat patch free!
