Enthusiasts always anticipate the arrival of summer. As much as everyone looks forward to fall and winter clothing made of fabrics as heavy as Victorian curtains after the dog days of July and August; the promise of spring and summer offers a new opportunity to master the most difficult seasons of dressing.
Perhaps you’re looking forward to leaving a few more shirt buttons undone and getting some extra Vitamin C, or maybe your perfect pair of breezy linen trousers has been calling to you like the Green Goblin mask. Either way, we at TNBC are well into the painstaking process of ironing and steaming linens and cottons that have been in storage for many months, most of whom will need multiple sessions before being deemed wearable.
Learning how to wear these pieces throughout the seasons is an essential skill for some men with a good sense of self and style. While we can offer guidance based on what we have, much of this skill must be learned through experimenting throughout the years, and getting it wrong more times than you’d like to admit. See here some of our most coveted and flexible garments that will get plenty of time in the sun (or rain) in the coming months.
First up is a workhorse vintage military trench coat from 1996. This was issued to the US Marine Corps and features a removable lining, allowing flexibility and wearability all months of the year. It features many details that are now considered classic features like the epaulettes, a high belt, and full length. The fact that this is a true military garment means that it is the source material for most of those details: the name “Trench Coat” comes from WWI, when a coat nearly exactly like this one was produced for British soldiers fighting in the trenches of Europe. I was looking specifically for a military coat, as that would mean that it was in more structured, classic proportions. This coat hits that nail on the head, and is exactly what should be expected from military outerwear.
Next is a contemporary Polo Ralph Lauren sport coat. One thing that PRL does quite well, in our opinion, is bringing summer weight tailoring to the mass market. This specific subsection of tailored clothing is often reserved to higher end, custom, or smaller retailers that cater to a more specific audience. While PRL making summer weight suits and sport coats is nothing new, it is being featured more heavily in the current spring and summer campaign for this year, which we are happy to see. Unfortunately, this is in a very #menswear cut, rather short and slim. I feel that I can get away with it as I am slim myself, but that doesn’t excuse half of my rear being exposed; I continue wearing the jacket regardless. One reason being that the fabric is an extremely luxurious 65/35 linen and silk blend in a beautiful grey and black herringbone, and another being that many of the pants I wear during the summer are on the slimmer side, thus a consistent silhouette.
Now for my most recent acquisition and something I intend to pass down a generation (or two if it can survive that long) - a beautiful 1970s Haspel linen suit in navy. If you’ve read anything I’ve written before, you will know that I am an evangelist for the unfairly disrespected decade of tailoring that was the 1970s. While there was plenty of awful clothing that came from that decade, the enthusiasts of the time were collecting classics reminiscent of the 1960s in an understated 1970s style. To me, this suit is the perfect example of that. A classic fabric for warm weather tailoring that uses the foundation of the 1960s proportions (slim jacket waist, high armhole, low buttoning point, long jacket length, flat front pants) and adds a reasonable amount of 1970s flair (wider lapels, flared pants, slightly structured shoulder). When buying a summer suit, you nearly always have the option of wearing just the pants in more casual outfits, and this suit is no exception to that. I will wear these pants often with polo shirts and camp collars as the temperatures reach into the 90s/30s F/C.
A piece that was an unexpected vintage gem is my 1950s navy blazer in hopsack. I picked this up at an L Train Vintage location in BedStuy, not paying very close attention to the tags due to it fitting well and being $6. I wore it a few times and started to realize that some of the details were very authentic to the heyday of Ivy style: a plush soft shoulder, 3 button (not 3/2) configuration, two sleeve buttons, and a relaxed undarted front. I did some reverse image searching on the internal tags and found that it came from a now defunct menswear shop in New Jersey, and was without doubt pre-1960s. This has been one of my most worn jackets throughout all seasons, as the hopsack fabric wicks moisture in the summer and layers nicely under structured coats in the winter. Many will say that one of, if not your first, odd jacket should be a navy blazer due to this versatility, and this jacket has made me a subscriber to that sentiment.
No summer outfit is complete without accessories, how many show personality when it’s too hot to wear any semblance of layering. For me, the easiest and most sophisticated accessories one can have are a classic pair of sunglasses and an elegant wristwatch. Neither of these need to be anything very fancy, but practical and useful for daily life. Accessories and clothing look the best when they are worn often and with ease. As you can see in a few of my provided images, I often keep my Ray Ban Yachtmasters either on my face or in my breastpocket during the summer months. A beacon of 60s elegance, these glasses do the trick without being flashy and sit well due to their lightness. I rarely find myself outside these days without them.
-Jack Hidde
While I believe Jack has covered many of his summer essentials I thought I would speak a little bit about my affectionately named “mustache shirt.” This name was given to the shirt by my family because the logo of the Spanish brand Nuñez de Arenas is a very flamboyant mustache.
While I do not know very much about the brand other than that I found this shirt on a vacation in Spain. I do know a little bit about the garment itself, and it has become one of my summer favorites.
The poplin material on the shirt seems to be of high quality, is light and creases quite nicely out of the iron. The shirt has managed to stay relatively crisp without starch which is another bonus if you like the flat look.
The pattern on the shirt is my favorite part. The checkered green color used reminds me of spring and works well with almost any pair of pants, jeans, or trousers. The shirt can be dressed up or down, looks good with sleeves rolled or not, and with one or two buttons undone.
This actually leads well into discussing something that I could get used to on more shirts. While I do not know a proper name for it (if someone does please let us know), the odd double button collar is actually a very thoughtful addition. At first I thought of it as an annoyance but it makes the collar more versatile so you can wear the shirt with a button undone without looking like a Miami social media influencer. Perhaps the Spanish ingenuity should be applied to more clothing items.
The buttons on the shirt are a fun green color on the cuffs and a white on the chest which makes for interesting contrast. The sleeves also feature double buttons which make them easier to roll up neatly without crushing the structure of the cuff.
I also feel the need to apologize for this week’s photography. Wildfire smoke continues to engulf the Northeastern United States which makes it more difficult to get proper colors and sunlight in photos. I hope everyone reading from Québec is safe and has not been impacted by the fires and those in areas impacted by the smoke continue to be in good health.
-Theo
Fantastic article
I love that shirt!