Put This On

White Denim Season

I have one pair of white blue jeans - some 501s not unlike the ones above - and this is the time of year they come out. Despite their weight, they actually wear reasonably cool, and end up being a great option on days when the sun’s out and it feels like summer, but it’s not quite hot outside.

Our friend CBenjamin’s in the picture above, and his outfit has a lot going on. He pulls it off well, but I find that I have good luck pairing my jeans with very simple compliments. Even as simple as a plain navy t-shirt and canvas sneakers. (I avoid white tops; white-on-white is a little too Andrew WK, though Andrew always looks great.)

White jeans also make a nice compliment to a summer blazer. With tan bucks, like CB is wearing, and a pale blue shirt, you have a relaxed look that’s surprisingly pull-off-able.

One note: CB’s white 501s, and mine, are tapered slightly by a tailor. This will cost you about $20, but I find that a trendier, slimmer fit is more appropriate with a jean like this. It helps drive home the point that you’re wearing white denim on purpose.

Real People: Derby Day

I love The Thrifty Gent’s Derby Day outfit. All thrifted, by the way. Note the horse motif on the tie. If ever there was a day where a ridiculous seersucker costume was appropriate, it’s Derby Day. Especially if you’re a mild-mannered southern minister, which Thrifty Gent is.

A Shade Lighter

I’m a big believer in dressing seasonally. Consider a simple, basic pairing: a blue oxford cloth button down shirt with a mid-weight navy wool blazer. It’s a classic combination that can be relied on year-round. But in the fall and winter months, this can be switched into a cotton/wool blend flannel shirt and tweed jacket, and then in the spring and summer, changed into a madras shirt and linen sport coat. The OCBD and navy blazer can be always worn (well, depending on the harshness of your climate), but the other pairings will better reflect the moods of their respective seasons.

Dressing seasonally can also mean adjusting your color palettes. For spring and summer, this can be as simple as wearing things just one shade lighter. So instead of a navy sport coat, consider Royal Air Force blue or French blue. Instead of dark brown shoes, consider chestnut or tan. Instead of dark grey suits, consider a more summery dove grey. These can all be the same exact garments, but in being one shade lighter, they’ll automatically feel more in harmony with the season.

Keeping Summer Simple

I don’t love shorts, but I wear them. Why? The truth is that I’m a San Francisco guy living in Los Angeles. My internal thermostat can handle temperatures from about 55 to 80, so when the weatherman says “high of 91” and I don’t have a meeting or a reason to wear something fancy, I reach for a pair of shorts. It’s tough to admit, but it’s true.

When it’s genuinely hot outside, I work hard to keep things simple and lightweight. Above is the kind of outfit I’m talking about. The shirt’s from J. Crew - right now they’re full retail, $89.50 (!), but I didn’t pay more than $30 for any of the linen in my closet. I usually buy them in-store late in the summer, when they’ve been marked down a couple times. When I see some plain white linen that works well for me, and it’s $23 a pop, I buy a few. I’ve got a couple with something going on, and a couple more in white and light blue solid. Perfect for every occasion.

The shorts are by Uniqlo, and they’re $30. These aren’t world beaters, quality-wise, but they’ll get you through a summer or two. Focus on basics - khaki is of course number one, but white’s surprisingly easy to wear when it’s genuinely summer out. Navy blue’s pretty useful, too.

The shoes are plain plimsolls - traditional canvas sneakers. I actually bought this pair a few weeks ago right after posting about them here, they’re Keds. Thirty five bucks out the door (though there are only a couple sizes left now). Plain white and navy are workhorses for summer sneakers. If they get dirty, don’t sweat it. If they get gross and ratty, replace them. Besides Keds, we like to recommend Converse and Superga. Keep those feet fresh with no-show socks like these.

There are other options, of course. I love the madras shorts and shirts from Lands’ End, for example. I’m a big ghurka shorts man, and if it’s really summery and I’m not walking too far, I wear espadrilles. But frankly, with a simple, coordinated outfit like this, you’ll have 99% of the other chumps beat. Heck, just by covering your toes you’ll have 90% beat. And trust me: no one wants to see your toes.

I’ve just lost forty minutes in the photo gallery of the Martin & Osa Johnson Safari Museum. The Johnsons were a Kansas couple who adventured their way through the 1920s and 30s, making some of the first wildlife documentaries on film and photographing both people and animals. Their book was called “I Married Adventure.” Wonderful.

I’ll admit it: I do love a good safari outfit.

Look for Linen Now

While it’s only the middle of April and the weather is still fluctuating between pleasantly warm and miserably wet, you should consider thinking optimistically toward summer’s heat and how to dress for it. 

For my first few professional years I wore regular cotton dress shirts to work — the same ones I wore year-round — and it never occurred to me until last summer that I ought to put an end to it and look for linen dress shirts. 

Derek wrote about linen shirts in the past and where to buy them, but I will say that they’re tougher to find off the rack in exact neck and sleeve sizes — although you can find a decent variety of linen sport shirts off the rack. 

If you’d prefer to not wait for end-of-season sales or your non-average length arms are too short/long for most options, then consider finding a made-to-measure option. And act sooner than later. 

If you’ve used a shirtmaker before and have your measurements dialed in, then turn-around time will be shorter. But if you’re new to the process or using a shirtmaker that requires longer lead time, giving yourself 6-8 weeks to get shirts that fit is what I’d recommend planning. 

I’ve found the cost isn’t much higher than what most retailers would charge. Plus, you’ll get shirts that fit you, the fabrics you want and the details you prefer. But if you wait until summer is already here, you can plan on spending a good amount of it waiting for your shirts to arrive, which isn’t fun. 

For those of you who are worried that linen’s wrinkles will be unsuitable for the office, I’d suggest finding a fabric that blends some cotton into the linen. The shirt will still wear cool, but it’ll resist wrinkling better. 

If you stick to solid colors, most people won’t notice the shirts you’re wearing are linen under your jacket, but you’ll definitely notice you’re not as sweaty. 

One tip I’d give is to add another half inch to your normal sleeve length. As linen wrinkles in the sleeves, the sleeves will ride up. If you want to show some cuff, this extra material helps prevent it. 

-Kiyoshi

It’s On Sale: Keds Triumph Mark McNairy

$35 (Originally $65) on Keds.com

I’m constantly on the lookout for simple, attractive summer sneakers. By looks alone, these are tough to beat. There’s also a style with novelty laces (just had to add a twist to the classic, didn’t you?) for just under fifty at 6PM.

(via)

Peaks and Patches

Last night, I caught the last half of 1974 remake of “The Front Page”, starring Jack Lemmon. It’s an amusing film, especially if you were a journalism major who really enjoyed hearing stories about how press rooms used to be filled with cigar smoke and poker games. Sadly, this wasn’t the experience I had during my brief career in newspapers. 

Lemmon’s character, Hildy, wore a suit that caught my attention. I couldn’t be entirely sure, but I believe it was a cotton khaki suit. What made it interesting was the combination of a single-button, peaked-lapel front along with triple patch pockets. It’s not a pairing you see very often, as patch pockets are typically reserved for suits and jackets that are more casual. And peaked lapels are definitely more formal. 

But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. He’s wearing a boater hat, signaling it’s summer — or at least where he’s headed next with his wife-to-be that it’s warmer weather — and the need for cooler-wearing clothing. It reminded me of a post at A Suitable Wardrobe about how summer jackets have patch pockets. This is done to minimize the amount of lining needed to allow for better air circulation in the heat. A jacket with pockets that go inside would require more lining inside. 

Of course, I wondered how much of this would be negated by the fact Hildy also wears a waistcoat, which ends up coming undone toward the end (naturally, while cranking out the story of his life on a typewriter on deadline). But as you’ll notice in this photo, it also has patch pockets. And I’m not sure he could get away with wearing a single-button, peaked-lapel suit without the waistcoat and still look quite as sharp. 

The suit is a reminder that typical conventions and rules are nice, but sometimes you should be open to changes for the sake of practicality. 

-Kiyoshi

Summer 1930s, Summer Today

Although I’m not usually one to trot out Apparel Arts illustrations and harp on the timelessness of classic men’s style, today I’ll do just that. Check out these three wonderful illustrations from the 1930s. Each and every one looks just as good now as it did then. 

Take, for example, the man in the double breasted jacket. Imagine it being made from a cool fresco wool or heavy linen. Paired with linen Bermuda shorts, pique cotton polo, and navy canvas shoes, it looks quite smart. The man next to him, in the soft-red ribbed sweater, mid-grey shorts, and cream espadrilles, shows how a slightly more interesting color combination can be executed. 

Fall is almost here, but we still have a month and a half of summer left. There’s still plenty of time to wear loafers without socks, shorts with cuffs, and linen trousers cut high without a break. Enjoy it while you can. 

It’s On Sale: Ebbets Field Flannels

Anyone who reads the eBay Roundups regularly has probably already surmised that I’m fond of Cooperstown Ballcap, a company (now defunct) that hand-made baseball caps in a broad variety of vintage styles. We’re left to trawl eBay for those gems, but at least we still have Ebbets Field Flannels.

Ebbets Field Flannels caps have a slightly more modern form - they have higher, stiffer crowns and fabric rather than leather headbands. Still, they’re quite beautiful, and have some wonderful details like green satin underbills. They’re also very reasonably priced, at $40 each.

Of course, when they’re on sale for 25% off, just in time for the All-Star Game, it’s downright unamerican not to buy one. They’re the perfect accessory for a summer afternoon in a t-shirt and jeans.

Use the code ALLSTAR.

(Above: the 1955 San Francisco Seals)