Style Scenario: Summer Business Casual Done Right

What are you going to wear? Sometimes it’s good to look at a few suggestions then add your own tweaks and ideas. That’s what these are for. Summer can be a tough time to get dressed for business casual work. Khakis, a tucked in button down, and leather lace-ups still works, but depending on colors, fabrics, & textures, the standard can feel suffocating. Here’s one way to take it a step up, while still looking seasonally appropriate, and stylish.

 

The Blazer: UNIQLO Comfort Fabric Jacket in Glen Plaid – $69.90. Yes, a sportcoat for business casual. If you think you’ll get too many side-eyes from co-workers, than either: A. Ignore em’, B. Skip it, or C. Dress it down further by wearing an untucked polo underneath. UNIQLO’s jackets also run short in the tail, so that’ll make it look more casual than dressed up. And if UNIQLO knows how to do anything, they know how to make poly/cotton blend fabrics that do a decent job at breathing. Appears to be mostly unlined as well.

The Shirt: Bonobos Daily Grind in Aqua Micro-Stripe – $40.60 w/ VACATION ($98) Those “Stripes” are so tiny that they end up being more visual texture than a pattern. So you won’t have to worry about it looking too busy up against the Glen Plaid of the jacket. Great collars on these shirts, and now an extra 30% off with the code.

The Sunglasses: Cole Haan Polarized Modified Wayfarers – $34.97. Part of a Cole Haan event that the Nordstrom owned HauteLook flash sale site is running. Polarized and under $35.

The Pocket Square: TheTieBar Linen/ Silk in Serine Blue – $10. Dark, saturated, but still has that familiar texture of linen.

The Chinos: JCF Sutton Broken in Chino in “Salt” – $39.50. And should drop further with codes. A not too casual, but certainly not too dressed up (no crease here) chino that balances out the sportcoat. Perfect off-white color too.

The Boots: Banana Republic “Julian” in Walnut – $66.49 w/ BRSAVE ($168). Boots in the summer? Absolutely. Especially when they’re a lighter brown shade like these, with a light colored sole. They’ll do just fine up against the chinos, and the shape of the toe is nice and slim.

The Belt: J. Crew Wallace & Barnes Tannery Belt – $55.80 w/ GOSHOPPING ($98) A bit spendy, but from the upgraded Wallce & Barnes line. Made in Italy from Italian leather, and the taller than it is wide nickel buckle is a nice change of pace.

The (Splurge) Bag: Jack Spade Slim Dipped Leather Brief – $229.97 ($498) Right. Another Jack Spade bag in another Style Scenario. BUT… this one has been on the radar for-everrrr, and it’s now down under $230 thanks to Haute Look. Tempting. Extremely tempting.

The Watch: FormFunctionForm Button Stud Timex Sport – $98. Shades of an Omega! But still a Timex price. Comes equipped with FFF’s 20mm Horween leather button stud band as well as the original band that the Timex came on. (Note: Watch at the very top of the post is the recently mentioned Bulova 96B104, which would look terrific on a 20mm FFF band.)