Urban Menswear Myths #1
No matter how much our society has evolved fashion wise, there will always be a few well cemented premises regarding one’s desired/accepted image. There’s a general idea of how men and women should dress and the notion of classic and distinct usually hits a common ground for most people. When it comes to menswear in particular, the array of acceptable options is much more limited than that of our opposite sex…
The intrinsic idealism of a man’s “standard” outfit gave place to several outdated assumptions, which are desperately in need of an update to meet society’s current needs, beliefs and demands. Add to that the misinterpreted conception that comfort equals baggy, loose clothes and we end up with a series of style conundrums. In this series, I’ll try to shed some light on these “urban menswear myths”.
On the first entry and still inspired by the remaining sunny days (it’s still 30ºC here in Portugal), I’ll get into the controversial topic of dressing up in hot weather. This is something I find myself getting in arguments over with constantly. Most men are adverse to the idea of buttoning up in warm days, stating that its utterly uncomfortable to wear a shirt, let alone a tie. There’s no doubt that shorts and a tee are the perfect match for those days, but lets face it, if you’re required to dress up for professional reasons you won’t be able to sport them anyway, so you might as well do it properly.
Looking put together in hot weather is perfectly doable if you take into account these two factors: fabric and fit. Linen, seersucker or lightweight cotton are all adequate alternatives fabric wise, which leaves us the not so easy task of finding fitting items. While all your items should be fitted, usually the most important one to assure comfort is the shirt: a perfect fit is crucial, especially on the neck. Obviously, made to measure is the way to go, but if you’re lucky enough you might be able to score off-the-rack versions that suit your neck size. Once you do, you’ll notice that buttoning up and sporting a tie is a breeze. If you take these two paramount variables into account, there’s no reason not to look your best.
A few examples of how hot weather does not deter them…
