Meeting #18: The Summer Trend Special
Summer layers, seaside retirees, and Crayola-core accessorising
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This week, we’re taking a look at some summer-suitable layering, and reporting on how accent colours are being used in twenty-four.
Early Summer Layers
So, its that time of year when layers slowly slip out of our outfit arsenals, unfortunately. However, all is not lost quite yet, and I’d like to posit a few options and examples of things I’m excited to wear this summer.
V-necks over T-shirts
Knitwear is perhaps not at the top of any given summer wardrobe list, but I wouldn’t count it out. Cotton knits, and wide, breathable, wool knits, such as vintage cricket sweaters, are a great option for the cooler temps in the morning or evening. If it gets too hot in-between, go for the over-the-shoulder or waist tie, look like polo-bear.
The v-neck’s natural habitat is atop a shirt and tie, layering with the t-shirt is a nice variation, a way to dress the look down. As a note, I generally struggle to pull off the t-shirt/blazer combo, unless I go for a v-neck o’er top. Then, when it does get too hot, you’re down to the ideal garment to beat the heat.
For further heat-resistance, don’t be afraid of oversizing the knit, gets you that 90s polo poster look, and lends a little airiness in the important spots.
Mil-surp meets Ivy
The jungle jacket is the talk of the town, in my circles at the very least. Whether it is one of those, or another lightweight field jacket, a ripstop M43, French M47, wear it with an OCBD and tie, or just the shirt, and some khakis. Hardly a new idea, I am more than aware, but the look is too damn good to omit.
Advice here is to get a jacket that fits like a sport-coat, length falling between the two knuckles on the thumb, for it to look natural without a blazer under it, or you can go more cropped. Longer can be a bit trickier to navigate, silhouette wise.
Then, a tie that plays nice with olive drab, anything with navy is a good place to start, then red, yellow, blue, more on that later.
Uni stripes and white tees
Going for a slight variation on a popular look. Whilst the white tank and open uni-stripe Oxford is nice, swap the singlet for, again, a t-shirt, white works best in this case I find, button the Oxford up, and possibly tuck it in. If it gets too hot you can ditch the shirt and still get into the bistro for lunch.
I say go for a white tee because there's something very satisfying about the relationship between the white of the stripe and the white underneath.
The other benefit of doing up the shirt is it opens the door to opting for a white trouser, a jean, linen, or deck pants, having all white through the legs and torso without a disruption is another style choice that’s a little tricky to manage, for most at least.
Summer Twenty-Four has a vibe of its own
It seems like we’re cultivating salty, oceanic opulence this summer, see Drake’s latest lookbook for reference. Its oysters and champagne, but we’re swapping the crystal blues of the med for the churning of the Channel and the Atlantic. A rugged reinterpretation of summer at the seaside. An overarching aesthetic which I am enjoying very much.
I’m looking to retired folks in Italian and British fishing towns for inspiration, the perfect sort of care-free, nautical outfitry. We’re thinking gingham shirts, cargo vests, maybe a flatcap if you can pull it off (I can’t).
Poster-paint accent colours
It doesn't tend to be within the scope of the club to engage in any sort of trend analysis, this meeting is rather breaking the mould. This one in particular has caught my eye though. It seems the current move for outfitry is to opt for one or two items, usually a top or accessory, in a bold red, yellow, or blue. Pulling palettes straight from the Crayola eight-pack.
What I find to be particularly fascinating is the manner by which, in this role, these colours are made to function as quasi-neutrals. Whether the look is dominated by olive, pink, navy, brown, stylish folks keep finding ways to stick a poster paint accessory or two in there.
I wanted to take a whistle-stop tour of some options in each of these prevailing hues, both evergreen and trending.
In the red corner we’re particularly looking at jumpers and beanies, as well as Vans and bandanas. Some of those are better suited to the current season than others, of course. There’s also the repp/club tie, probably red with navy.
In the yellow corner we have to start with the Kill Bill Mexico 66, perhaps a little too zeitgeisty, sadly, but I’ve seen a lot of caps and bags too, rugby shirts. Again, a repp tie is a fairly obvious pick. Check the Reproduction of Found GATs if you fancy a yellow sneaker with slightly less social media presence (with that said I still love the Mexico 66). Even extending out to an old-school fisherman’s coat, in accordance with the aforementioned salty sea dog summer that seems to be the current moment.
In the blue corner we have to be a little more specific, we’re talking LA Dodgers blue, Klein blue, cobalt blue. Obviously then, a Dodgers cap, I’ve got a polo varsity knit, I think a knit vest is a nice choice too, or Asahi’s boat shoes, and bandanas again.
The key takeaway that I’ve found is just how malleable our perception of colour in outfits can be, and coming out of an era dominated by neutrals and light denim, seeing this explosion of colour happen in a way that’s particularly accessible is rather lovely. It opens up an interesting reinterpretation of the capsule wardrobe, wherein the base components sit mostly in neutrals, and then any one of these bold primary colours can be added in to lend some more excitement.
I perceive this to be a particularly easy way to introduce colour into a wardrobe, a manner which doesn't necessitate an entire reshuffle of a wardrobe to have matching garments, and that can be introduced to existing outfits without great difficulty. It gets a strong recommendation from me, maybe pick up some crayola-core socks or a bright polo cap if there’s space in your wardrobe.
Thank you for attending today, as always pick up a copy of the Club Chair Bulletin on your way out if you’ve not yet read it, and if you’ve not yet joined the club, please consider doing so!
Prep Club adjourned, see you soon
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