14 Men’s Spring Summer Wardrobe Essentials

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Don’t you love the time of the year when the sun is shining outside, the grass is turning green, the flowers are blossoming and you just feel invigorated?

I love overcoats, but it’s nice to get out your spring-summer wardrobe. Brighter colors, brighter accessories and just enjoying life again outside.

Raphael in Spring Summer Wardrobe Essentials
Raphael in Spring Summer Wardrobe Essentials

In regards to your wardrobe, it is very easy to make slight changes and instantly create a spring summer feel and look that helps you underline the season so you stand out from the crowd.

Tassel Loafer in Olive Green
Tassel Loafer in Olive Green

1. Invest in Loafers

The first spring wardrobe item is a pair of loafers. A tassel loafer in a suede olive green is quite casual. It is wonderful to wear and combine with seersucker or cotton chinos. On the other hand, you can also get a tan loafer in brown which is a little more classic.

Penny Loafers are versatile
Penny Loafers are versatile

Apart from the tassel loafer, you could also go for penny loafers which are very versatile especially during the summer. For colors, most people prefer tan or a lighter shade of brown. Of course, you could also go with darker browns, but I think it is a great opportunity to go with more unusual colors such as a light blue, green or something in gray.

Spectator Tassel Loafers
Spectator Tassel Loafers [Image Credit: Man of Many]

It can also look great to have spectators in two-tone colors or different materials such as suede and box calf. If you can invest in one loafer, get one in burgundy because you can wear it with all kinds of things and it’s a timeless investment into your wardrobe.

2. Unlined Chukka Boots

The second item I want you to invest in is a pair of chukka boots that is unlined which is typical for spring. Soft and slightly above your ankle, chukka boots gives a very cool look ideally in a tone of sand or tan or dark brown. You will get lots of wear out of it and you won’t regret investing in a pair.

3. Shoelaces = Biggest Bang For The Buck

It’s a very small investment, but nothing changes the look of a pair of shoes as dramatically as just different colored shoelaces. With options such as green, light blue, yellow, or something more subtle such as burgundy or purple.

Fort Belvedere offers over 15 different colors of boots and shoelaces and you can find all of them in our shop. The wonderful thing about shoelaces is that it’s not permanent and it’s reversible. So you can take a red pair of shoelaces and put it to your black oxfords, which creates a really different look. And if you don’t like the look anymore, you can just exchange it and use a different pair of shoes. It’s probably the biggest bang for the buck in this entire list.

Spice up your Polo Shirt with Vibrant Colors
Spice up your Polo Shirt with Vibrant Colors

4. Vivid Colored Polo Shirt

At number four is the polo shirt in vivid colors. Chance are you already have white, navy and a gray polo shirt in your wardrobe. And while those are versatile, if you want to spice it up a little bit, go with something that is vibrantly green, yellow, red, orange or sky blue mottled. Ideally, skip the floppy collars, get a dress shirt style collar.

Raphael wearing a Gagliardi Glen check Summer Sportcoat with Knit Tie in Solid Red Silk, White Spray Rose Boutonniere and Pocket Square from Fort Belvedere
Raphael wearing a Gagliardi Glen check Summer Sportcoat.
Knit Tie in Solid Red Silk - Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

Knit Tie in Solid Red Silk – Fort Belvedere

White Spray Rose Boutonniere Buttonhole Flower Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

White Spray Rose Boutonniere Buttonhole Flower Fort Belvedere

5. Spring Coat That Can Be Worn During Summer Time

Item number 5 is the spring sport coat that can also be worn during summer time. A spring sportscoat with linen woven into the material gives you a more crinkly texture. The colors are lighter and it has an airy and more spring feeling and that’s what you should invest in.

Chinos can be worn to the office or dressed down
Chinos can be worn to the office or dressed down [Image Credit: Mr. Koachman]

6. Chinos Are A Wardrobe Staple For Men

Chinos are a wardrobe staple for men because it can be worn to the office or dressed down and worn casually with a pair of boat shoes and a polo shirt.

7. Use Colorful Socks

Personally, one of my favorites is colorful two-toned socks because you can pair them very easily, because of the two different colors. They are not over the top and too strong that you stand out just the way you would do with taco crazy socks. For summer, I suggest you go with lighter colors such as pink, light blue, maybe light gray or green or even yellow.

Stiff Woven Belt won't wear out and stretch
Stiff Woven Belt won’t wear out and stretch

8. Invest In A Casual Belt

The 8th item you should invest in is a casual belt. There are different kinds of casual belts. First of all, braided belts. They can either be made of an elastic material and personally, I am not too fond of them because they stretch out very easily. And, although you don’t find the exact size, I find over time they just lose their stretch and then they are too wide and you can’t use it anymore.

On the other hand, a stiff all woven belt with Richard yarns either all leather or mixed with cotton yarns is very elegant yet casual and it’s perfect for spring and summer time. The good thing about it is that it won’t wear out and it won’t stretch out so you can wear it for years to come. Also because of the two colors, it’s easy to combine it, let’s say with a pair of espadrilles in the summer or with a dark brown pair of loafers.

Bold Fabric Belts
Bold Fabric Belts

The other casual belts to look into are fabric belts. You can have like a soft fabric belt with D-rings made out of silk or you can have stiffer ones that are backed by leather and have this madras patterns or anything else fort hat matter. When you wear those bolder fabric belts, make sure they’re contrasting your shorts or your pants so they create a harmonious look and don’t try to match the color exactly to either your pants or your shirt because it will look odd.

9. Bold Colored Neck Ties and Bow Ties

Item number 9 are boldly colored neck ties or bow ties. Because it is spring, you want something that’s more vibrant that is louder and has a cool contrast with the rest of your outfit. Alternatively, linen neckwear looks quite good and silk always works. Stay clear of wool because it is too warm and not summer enough but a Cri De La Soie Silk Knit tie is really nice and you can find all these accessories in our shop here.

Open weave shirt fabric
Open weave shirt fabric

10. Open Weave Shirt

Item number 10 is the open weave shirt. I really love it for spring time because it is open and airy. It has a crisp touch and allows the air to flow through so you don’t overheat. When you hold it against a stark light source, you can actually even see through that shows you how open the weave is. But when you wear it, it’s not see through and you can’t see your underwear through it because it’s just a shirt. It looks very professional but it keeps you cool all day long.

In terms of color, I suggest you stick with whites, light blues or light pastel colors, don’t go with anything dark. Also, a lot of people like oxford shirts and while I personally like them, the weave is usually quite tight and so it’s not open. Therefore I prefer an open weave shirt in the summer. You can also look for linen cotton blends because it gives you that nice mottled color look paired with a crisper texture and it’s just wonderful for spring and summer time.

11. Trench Coat For Colder Climates

Item number 11 is a trench coat. It is perfect for colder climates. It’s also great for travel especially in darker colors such as black or navy otherwise, go with a traditional khaki color. If it has a wool liner that you can either zip in or button in, you extend the range you can wear it in because if it gets too warm you just take off the liner and you still have something that you can wear regularly over suit or basically any other kind of classic men’s wear outfit.

 

Reversible Harrington Jacket in Navy and Madras Pattern
Reversible Harrington Jacket in Navy and Madras Pattern

12. Harrington Jacket

Item number 12, is the Harrington jacket. If you don’t want to wear a trench coat, go for Harrington jacket because it is also light weight and sometimes they come in reversible options. I personally like it because it is light weight. I can bring it when I travel and it has a sporty feel that I like to combine with spring summer outfits.

13. Add Boutonnieres In Your Outfit

Item number 13 is the boutonniere. You see the nice beautiful flowers outside, sometimes you can just grab one and put it in your lapel and it looks awesome. The problem is, you rarely find those flowers, you don’t want to steal them from someone. Often they wilt and sometimes the pollen even stains your clothes.

 

Instantly transform your watch with NATO watch strap
Instantly transform your watch with NATO watch strap

14. NATO Watch Strap

Item number 14 is the NATO watch strap. No matter what kind of watch you have, adding a fabric strap just like a NATO watch strap either in a classic navy and red or any other color under the sun will instantly transform it into a more casual looking spring-summer watch. It’s perfect for this time of the year.

Reader Comments

  1. Hello Sven. I like you, have an eye for detail, so imagine my surprise to see a loose red thread dangling from under your red trousers [cuff] displayed against a dark sock! Not a good look.

    The detail in your article [on the other hand] is Top Shelf … as always. Thank you.
    ~ cvp

    1. Damn! What sharp eyes you have. I never would have noticed it. Looks like a loose end needs to be tied up. Bravo Charlie for your eye for small details, Bravo Sven for his eye for putting together a collection of classics both style literary and sartorial.

  2. One of my best summertime clothing investments was a light blue/white striped seersucker sport coat when I visited family in Princeton. To my knowledge, seersucker has never been a major suit or sport coat fabric of choice here on the West Coast, but mine was extraordinarily comfortable, useful, and always in good taste.

  3. Another great article.

    I have to add that I can’t stand the “no socks look”. It looks terrible!

    It is like wearing no shirt under a suit jacket. Works OK for Grace Jones but nobody else….

  4. If you don’t mind, may I ask who makes the reversible Harrington jacket you’re modeling?

  5. Hey :) I love the watch in the last picture.. not the strap, just the watch by itself. Do you mind telling me the name of the model? :) Would be really nice! Thank you and cheers from Germany

  6. Great article. I have to know, what brand is that fabulous green polo? The colour is perfect but I cannot make out the manufacturer from the image. Thank you.

Comments are closed.