Style Scenario: Spring / Summer Wedding, Super Casual

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. Dressing for summer weddings can be tough. It’s warm, you want to look good, but you don’t want to treat someone else’s big day as your own personal fashion show (it’s seriously bad form). We’ve recently tackled some common warm weather wedding style scenarios, and today features the most casual situation. The couple might go barefoot. The groom might skip a suit, and be in linen pants and an untucked shirt. This outfit respects the day, while still keeping it loose.

The Blazer: J. Crew Italian Cotton Sportcoat in Ludlow or Crosby Fit – $228. A sportcoat? Super casual? Well, it’s still a wedding. And if you get there and it’s too much? It’s super easy to take off if you feel overdressed. Unlined and unconstructed, yet, still nice and a bit polished. Goes on sale quite often with certain codes.

The Watch: Armgoan Le Mans Chrono – $154.98 ($220). Sporty but still clean enough to dress it up a little.

The Polo: UNIQLO Button Down Dry-Fabric – $19.90. Yes you can wear a polo with a sportcoat, and this is a perfect example of how to do just that. It’s an important event, but you don’t want to look anything but relaxed. So choose an unstructured sportcoat, and instead of a long sleeve shirt you’d have to tuck in, go with a polo with a nice collar in a bright white fabric. It stays untucked, and that increases air-flow, all while looking put together but not uncomfortably stiff. The UNIQLO option even has some shirting fabric on the underside of the collar to keep it crisp. Strongly consider sizing down if you’re on the slim side.

The Sunglasses: Suitsupply Acetate and Metal Sunglasses – $79.00. A blending of two styles that gets it all kinds of right. Ships and returns for free.

The Sweat/Skin Managers: Handkerchiefs – $9.99 | Titanium Dioxide Sunscreen – $10.24 | Foot Powder – $6.00. Stick a hankie or two in your pockets for brow wiping. They’ll also come in handy if you’re seated next to a particularly weepy guest. Why that specific formula of sunscreen? Titanium Dioxide based sunscreens won’t stain your clothes if washed later on in hard water (some of the Avobenzone-type sunscreens can turn to rust in hard water). Foot powder = a good idea even if you are wearing the no-show socks.

The Socks: Smartwool No-Shows – $13.95. Hooray for sockless and all, but sweaty feet + shoes that don’t fit perfect (which can often be the case with loafers) = some serious discomfort. Going with WOOL… not cotton… no show socks is insurance against hot-spots and blisters.

The Shoes: New Republic Lukin Loafer in Brown Suede – $58.50 ($78). Dirt cheap, but they’re the loafer version of the surprisingly good for the price brown suede “Penton” winger shown here.

The Card Case: Hook & Albert Pebbled Card Case – $55.00. Keeping it slim. Sold through Banana Republic. Normally excluded from codes.

The Belt: Lands’ End Cotton Web Belt in Olive – $39.95. Often on sale, and with those grommets it won’t slip like many other web belts. Remember, with suede you don’t need to match your shoes to your belt precisely. So that leaves room for a casual, woven green belt.

The Pants: J. Crew Factory Oxford Cloth Pant – $32. Just mentioned in the tax refund post, but worth another mention here since it’s a perfect pick. Not overly pressed. Airy. Just different enough in color from the polo so you can easily take the jacket off if you want to.