Style Scenario: It Got Hot (Smart 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. Summer is here, and while it’s totally understandable to revert back to the elastic waists of 2020 in the hot hot heat of 2021, throwing a “I dressed up for the hell of it” twist in a few times a week (or, I dunno… once?) can do wonders for your self-confidence. Here’s one contemporary way to do a smart look that also has some elements of being slightly dressed down and relaxed. It is summer after all. 

The Sportcoat: Bonobos Unconstructed Italian Wool in Light Gray – $400. Was just 30% off over the long weekend. The champ for dressing up a bit when it’s freaking hot out. Airy, lightweight, Italian hopsack wool. No structure. Barely any lining whatsoever. Spendy, but worth it. A linen or linen blend (like what’s shown at the top of the post) would work here too, but those are oddly hard to find this summer. Must be supply chain stuff. Again.

The Pants: Banana Republic Core Temp Chinos in Navy – $58.80 ($98). The “goldilocks” chino. Has great properties of a tech-style chino thanks to their “core temp” technology, but they’re still mainly cotton so they look, feel, and sound more like a traditional chino than other tech pants. Slim fit here. Cardmembers can knock an additional 20% off with the code BRCARD20 through 7/7/21.

The Shirt: Charles Tyrwhitt Slim Fit Non-Iron Poplin – $40ish when on sale. Or whatever your favorite light blue dress shirt happens to be. Just make sure it has a good collar that looks good without a tie. No major spread collars here. Those can look a bit odd minus a necktie. Ledbury would be a great play, albeit super spendy. A polo could also work here, as long as it also has a good collar, which won’t pancake down or flop over the lapels. Heck, even a t-shirt could work.

The Sunglasses: Sunski Yubas in Cola/Slate – $58. Polarized. Gray slate lenses with 9% light transmission. Translucent “cola” frame is on-trend without diving fully into the crystal clear frames territory.

The Watch: Timex Marlin Hand-Wound California Dial 34mm in Green/White – $199. Well that’s new. And fun.

The Belt: Banana Republic Bombay Suede Belt in Mahogany Brown ‘ $35.70 ($59.50). Suede for summer. Affordable here. Part of BR’s long weekend sale. If you’re a cardmember, you can take an additional 20% off with BRCARD20.

The Shoes: Nike Air Jordan 1 Centre Court Sneaker in White – $135. Any clean white sneaker would do here, but that wrap around wings detail is really, really hard not to like. Sizes are scattered at post time. Ships and returns free via Nordstrom. Want a splash of color? The yellow accent option is mostly in stock, and could be fun here.

The Bag: Tumi Alpha Bravo Aviano Slim Briefcase ‘ $196.50 ($395). Gets mentioned a lot because it walks the line between professional, and not too rigid/full leather attache case. And that’s hard to do these days. On sale at Nordstrom Rack.