Most of us who habitually wear suits to work will be either furloughed or working from home, which might make it feel like the wrong time to think about buying a suit, but with summer around the corner hopefully bringing with it a return to some kind of normality as well as a very welcome excuse to freshen up our summer suit game, it is actually a very good time to get cracking.
Most of us have more time on our hands than usual and there’s nothing like a spot of online retail therapy to soothe those lockdown blues, so let’s take a look at how you should be spending your money when it comes to men’s suits this summer.
Wool blend
It may seem counter intuitive, but wool has an exceptional ability to regulate temperature, whether it’s a hot, summer’s day or a chilly morning walk to the station, an all seasons worsted wool suit will help you maintain a comfortable temperature. If you think about it, it actually makes sense when you consider where wool comes from. Sheep exist in seasonal countries when it can be very cold or very warm – so their wool must be able to protect them in all conditions – as it can you.
Single-breasted suit with a notch / peak lapel design
Now you’ve chosen your material, it’s time to look at the main design. Bear in mind that this will be your ‘all-rounder’ and as such, especially being in the UK where you can get all 4 seasons in a day, it needs to be adaptable. The single-breasted suit, with a classic cut should be well tailored, but allowing for enough room inside to give you a bit of airflow when the weather is fine.
Colour
The conventional wisdom has always been that black and darker colours make you hotter in the summer, but research suggests that, while darker colours do attract and retain heat, it dissipates (unless the clothing is particularly thin) before the extra heat reaches the skin, making any effects minimal. Therefore, if you, like Johnny Cash go by the adage “I’ll wear any colour as long as it’s black” there is no urgent need to change. Check out our range of mens black suits here. However, if you’d like a splash of colour in the summer then mid to light greys are good. You can always add a bit of ‘va-va-voom’ with your choice of shirt and tie. Grey and pink goes very well together to this end.
Dressing for the occasion
Summer 2020, perhaps more than any summer in living memory, could be the year for many an occasion after such a lengthy period of relative isolation. Occasion suits give you the excuse to move away from the more classic colours and styles. You could go mid blue or if you can pull it off, a linen beige. But many of us will want something slightly subtler, so a grey single button suit, with something like a classy black t-shirt under it can look incredibly striking.