Summer Style Without Giving Up Your Standards
Summer is where most wardrobes surrender. People who'd never wear plastic in January throw on a polyester shirt in July and wonder why they're miserable. Synthetics don't breathe, they hold odor, and they'll outlive us all in a landfill. You can dress for heat and still dress like yourself.
The physics, briefly
Comfort in heat is airflow and moisture. Natural fibers move water away from your skin and let air through; the weave decides how much. What you want is light fibers in open weaves — and, ideally, texture, because fabric that stands off the skin instead of clinging is cooler than fabric that's merely thin.
The fabrics that work
Linen. Woven from flax, the great hot-weather fiber — strong, breathable, and it only gets softer. It wrinkles. That's not a flaw; that's the look. Stop fighting it.
Slub cotton. Yarn spun deliberately uneven, so little nubs hold the cloth off your skin and let air circulate. It also gives that lived-in, vintage hand from day one.
Open plain weaves. An oxford or a light chambray breathes far better than a dense, tightly woven "thin" shirt.
Washed corduroy and terry, believe it or not. In shorts. Texture beats slickness.
The rules
Roll the sleeves. Let the shirt be loose. Wear shorts that hit above the knee and are cut from real cloth, not swim material. And keep your footwear honest.
What we build
Our Linen Embroidery Stripe POP OVER and the Cabana Embroidered Stripe S-Shirt are built for heat. The SLUB Ultimate Pocket Tee is the best hot-weather tee I know how to make. And for the bottom half: Corduroy Shorts and Ultimate 30oz Terry Shorts.
Browse the store. — Josh