This is a great photo of maomao. Here he’s wearing a madras shirt, pair of sunglasses, and a beat up Panama hat. It’s a casual, easy-going summer style that’s perfect for weekends. Good for an afternoon drink with friends, stroll in the city, or general laying around at the park.
What I like most is that every item here is easily obtainable at almost any price point. I’ve already written about where you can get madras shirts. I was recently at Ralph Lauren and J Crew, actually, and was fairly impressed with the colorful patterns they’ve chosen for this season. If you decide to not get something custom made, these are some pretty good options off-the-rack. Just make sure you know how they should fit before you buy.
You can also read this post about Panama hats. Panama Bob is generally recognized as one of the best places to buy an authentic Panama, and he has two stores. His main store sells hats made from finer weaves. These will look better, and you’ll get to own something that’s from a dying cottage industry. If you can’t afford those, he also has an eBay store with more affordable options. These will be made from rougher weaves, but on the upside, they can be more breathable on those hot, humid days. Note that it’s generally easier to buy hats online if you’ve already had some experience with them. If this is your first hat, you may want to buy one from a local shop, just so you can try a few on in-person. Pay particular attention to the shape and height of the crown, as well as the width of the brim.
Finally, I co-wrote this five-part series on sunglasses with my good friend Agyesh Madan. That should put you well on your way to getting a good pair. Of course, you can also search eBay for deals. Not everything in that search link looks good, but it contains the brands that Agyesh and I talked about in our series. You can use eBay’s navigation filters to make the search results more managable.
Not pictured here are maomao’s pants and shoes. I imagine he’s either wearing cotton or linen trousers, and maybe some leather slip-ons (e.g. penny loafers, boat shoes, driving mocs, and the like). I’ll cover those another time, but in the meantime, consider madras, sunglasses, and a straw Panama for your casual summer weekends. If you need to, you can throw on a linen sport coat, but even without one, you can look quite good. Just check out maomao.
