ASK THE EXPERTS
Advice from the best in the UAE.
Q I like to dress smart formal during summer but the heat gets to me. What are my options? A Many gentlemen fear playing with vibrant colours such as lighter shades of blue, pink, lime green or rusty orange.
This summer, express your dandyism by conquering your fear of light and opting for some vibrant colours for your jacket or blazer.
The trick here is to make sure the fabric, although light in colour, has a pattern or a texture to it. One thing you can’t go wrong with, is mid-sized window pane checkered fabrics in these light colours. The light shades bring out the freshness of the summer while the checkered design keeps the masculinity and gentlemanly attributes intact.
Choose a lightweight fabric under 240 grams and instruct your tailor to make it without a lining or with half lining to keep it cool and breezy.
If he is a bespoke tailor, just mention that you want a Neapolitan jacket and he will understand exactly what to do with it.
The Neapolitan jacket, hailing from Naples in Italy as the name suggests, is a jacket that is constructed in a manner that is especially meant for the summers. It has a canvas with a memory feature, which means even though it is made from a very lightweight fabric with half lining at the back only, the form and shape still remain intact at all times and even get better with every wear as the canvas starts taking the shape of your body.
The checkered pattern is a treat for every tailor to work with as they match all your pockets, gorge and lapel to align with the checkered pattern. The ability to correctly align the pattern and match the checks throughout the suit whilst keeping the slim silhouette intact showcases the true tailoring prowess of a bespoke tailor.
In addition to this, your bespoke tailor will give you one of the signatures of a Neapolitan jacket, which is the camicia rollo shoulders. ‘Camicia’ means shirt-like and ‘rollo’ means roped. These casual shoulders crafted through careful randomness have a combination of random pleats and a high sleeve head, a complete charm to look at.
Team this with the Italian barchetta (boat-shaped) breast pocket and you have a combination that looks as sublime as men are meant to be.
The last thing you should add to this is a pair of cotton trousers or chinos that contrasts yet complements the colour of your summer blazer, possibly matching the colour of the checks on your blazer.
If the opportunity presents itself, top it off with a hat and you have got a combination that is meant for the summer yet doesn’t compromise on your style quotient.
If you have an innate sense of style, you would naturally notice there is something missing here, something that will set you apart from the rest. That something is a nice, vibrant and colourful bow tie to complete your smart casual look.
Make sure it’s a self-tie and not a pre-tied one. In the world of the refined, a pre-tied bow tie is the equivalent to a cardboard pocket-square.
When you are done with your event, meeting or seminar, untie it and leave it hanging around your collar for other gentlemen to realise that you are in the know of the art of tying a bow-tie.
Finally make sure the bow tie is tied neatly but with small ends.
The smaller the bow tie, the more your power to irritate, and as all gentlemen already know, sometimes we like to enjoy the subtle pleasure to displease.
A gentleman never waits for an opportunity to dress, he creates the opportunity. Having said that, there is no reason to wait for the winter to dress in your best; use the light of the summer as an opportunity to bring out your dandy self and open your eye of bespoke.
One thing you can’t go WRONG with is mid-sized WINDOW PANE CHECKERED fabrics in light colours of blue, pink, or RUSTY ORANGE. The light shades bring out the freshness of SUMMER