Here’s my terrifying summer morning nightmare: I’m leaning against my closet, wilting from the summer heat in my flat that feels like an Easy Bake Oven wearing nothing but my Hollister pajama trousers. It’s July 1st at 7AM. I’m already sweating.
And before me hang – literally – dozens of options of t-shirts, none of which will work today for whatever reason. My brain shorts out and I wake up sweating from my dream. Quick reality cheque: it’s actually 70 degrees and sunny outside, and my summer closet is now so streamlined that I can literally grab any combination of shirt and shorts and know that I will look put together and be appropriately dressed for summer heat.
There’s no excuse for getting dressed. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always struggled with summer dressing.
Every year, I would buy racks of linen shirts in crazy colours I never wore, drawers full of ill-fitting shorts, summer “outfits” that would gather dust in my closet by the time school was letting out in September.
Every April, I would go on a shopping spree looking for the summer wardrobe that would FINALLY solve all of my summer style questions. Two things would happen by August: every piece I bought still had the tags on it, and I would wear the same three pairs of leggings and t-shirts that were comfortable all summer long. Two summers ago, I was packing for a week-long trip to Maine.
Yes, Maine. This was “work” so I wasn’t lounging by the pool all week, I was going to be traipsing around taking photos on beaches and eating lobster rolls by myself for “content.” Except that when I was packing, I realised I literally did not have anything to wear that was cute enough for photos ON THE BEACH yet also acceptable to wear to dinner with clients. But I refused to cheque a bag for a week-long trip (personal fail and professional fireable offence) so instead I poured myself a drink… before methodically taking every piece of summer clothing I owned and throwing it on the ground in frustration.
Fun fact: therapist tells me this was my “moment of clarity,” but according to my roommate, I “got white girl wasted on whiskey while crying and sitting naked in the middle of your clothes so the vodka wouldn’t bruise your skin.” Anyway, long story short, I realised I wasn’t going to figure out my summer style conundrum by buying more things. Instead, I needed way less summer pieces, but each one had to work with everything else and be PERFECT (cue Greek chorus of Real Housewives judges). I went through everything that night after a couple drinks but before my flight home the next morning, and decided which pieces were the issues (see above) and what I was ACTUALLY missing from my summer rotation.
Over the next month I edited out more clothes and replaced a few problem pieces with higher quality versions that fixed whatever annoyed me about the originals. And that, my friends, is how I created my eight-piece summer capsule wardrobe that’s seen me through three summers of weddings, holidays, work travel, dates, weddings at country clubs, nights drinking problematic rosé with my family – you name it. Now before we dive in: I’m obviously not saying you need these exact eight pieces in your closet.
Styles come and go, and what works for a 30-year-old fashion writer living in Brooklyn and staying in lots of hotel rooms may not work for a 35-year-old foreman in Arizona or a 40-year-old banker living in Boston. But the ethos of how I built this capsule (editing ruthlessly, dressing for versatility first, buying things that solve real problems versus trying to complete the imaginary Boy Scouts shirt quilt) should work for every guy out there. So without further ado, I give you every piece of clothing I wear all summer long, broken down into eight categories, with specific recommendations so you don’t have to endure your own spiral into alcoholism to find the answer: The best t-shirt you can afford.
Not five of the best t-shirts. Pick one white t-shirt and one navy t-shirt, okay? White and navy are the most flattering colours on men, and also go with literally everything else in your summer wardrobe.
T-shirts are the foundation of your whole summer capsule so this is where you should actually spend money. I’ve tried dozens of brands and styles over the years, and currently wears the Supima curved hem tees from LA brand Troon Editions. They’re made VERY well, so they run pricey but blow every other cotton t-shirt I’ve owned out of the water.
The fabric is thick enough to hang nicely but breathes well, the neckline isn’t stretched out after three washes, and the curved hem lets you wear them untucked without looking sloppy. I buy two white ones and one navy every year and wear them until they literally autumn apart. One GREAT pair of shorts.
Cotton twill shorts or lightweight chinos with a 7″ inseam are my go-to for summer days when it’s too hot for trousers but you still need to look somewhat put together. They’re universally flattering on every body type I know (thank you very much, TikTok and your ill-fitting denim shorts wisdom), and since I’ve settled on this exact cut and inseam, I actually own three pairs. Once you find the right style that fits you well (more on that below), stick with it!
After years of buying what I though were “cool” shorts that weren’t really athleisure but also weren’t chinos, I found the holy grail from John Elliott. Made from a heavyweight cotton twill, they feel more luxe than your averageTarget shorts but are versatile enough that I wear them with everything. My tip?
Get them tailored. I’m never one to advocate spending money on tailoring stuff that doesn’t need it, but your shorts actually should fit you perfectly in the waist WITHOUT needing a belt. These guys do, so if yours doesn’t, take them to your tailor and have him/her hem it for you.
One pair of lightweight cotton chinos. Ditto above. This needs to fit you perfectly or get tailored.
Slim enough through the leg with no break at the ankle that you can cuff them or not depending on your mood, I now own every colour they offer in these 3% elastaneBlend chinos fromJohn Elliott. The tiny bit of stretch is surprisingly comfortable for summer but looks completely non-performance-y. The stone/light khaki colour is my go-to for summer because it’s neutral enough to go with everything, but light enough that it doesn’t absorb heat the way darker colours will.
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Lightweight button-up shirt. Oh man, did this take me years. Linen shirts = wrinkly and awful to travel with.
Plain cotton = so sweaty. Performance fabrics = sweaty AND look like you’re wearing performance fabric. Don’t @me about the polo shirts, I spent years hating them too and promise you that is not the solution.
Finally after YEARS of reading stash reviews and asking every salesman who posed the linen-cotton question I found my holy grail. Called FanaticsWhitestripe shirt in cotton-linen with 2% elastane blended in so it doesn’t pull funny when you move. It feels as breezy as linen but doesn’t wrinkle nearly as badly, and the teeny bit of elastane means you can move without feeling restricted.
Throw this with the shorts and you’re good to go wherever your summer takes you. Non-death trap blazer. My summer uniform for as long as I can remember was linen shirts with chambray or denim shorts.
Problem is, linen and chambray both look ridiculous by the end of July, and no man should EVER wear denim shorts under any circumstances. I spent YEARS agonizing over how to get away with wearing a blazer in the summer until I found ANARCHY, a small Italian company that makes incredible cotton-linen-silk blends with minimal lining and completely unstructured shoulders. Breaths like a linen shirt but with far more durability, doesn’t wrinkle quite as badly and develops a cool, wearable patina throughout the summer.
Buy it in navy for sure, but I’m also loving this tobacco brown they make that looks great on me thanks to autumn dad_colors from my childhood. The trick? Patch pockets that ACTUALLY hold your phone and wallet so you don’t need to carry a bag for evenings out.
Proper loafers. If you’ve followed me for a while you’ve heard me sing the praises of these unstlined suede penny loafers I’ve been wearing for years. They go with everything, don’t make your feet smell like they’ve been through a warzone by July, and lace up instead of being slip ons, so they’re also way more versatile.
Invest in some good no-show socks to wear with them unless you like the smell of your feet fermenting in your shoes by August. Simple white trainers. After years of trying literally every variation of the classic white trainer from North Face fleece versions to gross overpriced Thrasher collabs that smelled like decay, I finally settled on my holy grail: German military trainers.
Nothing fancy, just a plain white leather shoe with minimal details and a gum sole that works with everything. They’re comfy, they wash well, and can take a summer shower without freaking out. Bonus points because suede in the summer?
More breathable than regular leather and way more forgiving if it rains. * One versatile swim trunk that doubles as a short. Ok hear me out on this one. After years of trying to find swim trunks that didn’t ride up when I sat down or look high-school sexy swim team, I finally foundThe Right One.
They look like a regular chino shorts, but are made from quick-dry fabric with a mesh liner to keep things where they need to be. No obvious branding, subtle detail work that reads as technical without screaming it, and honestly just cute. Navy is always safe, but I love this faded red version to break up all the neutrals in my capsule. * *Pro tip: you’ll notice the shower reference in both my trainer and trunk recommendations.
One of the luxuries of this capsule is that since everything matches everything else, you can truly get away with wearing literally anything in a summer shower. Just please make sure it’s quick-dry or you’ll still be drying your underwear when you get back from dinner. There you have it, gentle readers.
Everything I own and wear all summer long broken down into helpful categories. Every item has multiple uses, nothing in my wardrobe gets skipped over because it only matches certain things, and packing for any summer trip has legitimately become easier than winter, when I have to decide between wearing fifteen different jumpers. Your eight pieces probably won’t look like mine because your style is different than mine and you live your life differently than I do an office buildings in Manhattan.
But as long as you EDIT DOWN, buy the RIGHT STUFF that will actually get worn, and invest in pieces that can DO MORE THAN ONE THING, you too can ditch the stress of getting dressed each morning.
The irony of writing all of this is not lost on me. I AM telling you to consume more clothes.
But seriously, get the right ones. Spending $600 on a capsule wardrobe in the summer is silly when you could spend $150 on twelve new shirts that will only get worn once. And if anyone reading this WORKS in an office or has to dress like a human adult more than two days a week, I would 100% encourage you to curate a capsule wardrobe for autumn and winter, too.
Trust me, it’s life-changing. Just please… for the love of Trevor, DO NOT DO WHAT MY DAD DID WHEN I SHOWED HIM THIS LIST “Honey,” he said gesturing at my pile of would-be summer clothes on the bedroom floor. “Back in my day we just called that: ‘having clothes.’ We didn’t need a whole damn system for it.” Ugh, Dad. Welcome to the hustle. *I should note that this was well before athleisure was athleisure and more “Are you wearing basketball shorts to the bar?” baggy jeans offence, so take with a grain of salt.
Actual sidebar thought: do people even care about shorts on guys anymore? Mine are always pulled down. Photos: Thomas Joseph Main Photos Edited By Charlie Luxe, Getty Images
