What Should I Wear to an Arts and Humanities Event

Summer means picnics, barbecues, fireworks, boating, and more.

Figuring out what to clothing to all those events, however, can exist a challenge even for the sartorially minded. The comfortable business default of a traditional adapt is both too formal and too hot, and the uber-coincidental look of shorts and a tee simply doesn't look as sharp as other every bit lightweight and absurd options.

And so what'due south a homo to do? Never fear! Beneath, nosotros provide a variety of warm weather outdoor event options.

The Upper Torso: Summertime Shirts

Most outdoor events are not going to crave a necktie. That frees you upward to consider just nigh any type of shirt.

A proficient summer shirt for social events should be light, breezy, and merely a little dressy — far enough removed from a T-shirt that people tin can tell y'all're making an effort, simply non so business organisation-similar that you could wear information technology to an office job.

Here are a few styles that work well in summertime outing wardrobes:

Lightly-Patterned Dress Shirts

If yous want an easy selection that works for everything and requires no thought, invest in a couple of 100% cotton dress shirts with a lite design on a white groundwork.

These have the reward of beingness business organization-appropriate every bit well equally social-appropriate, meaning they can exercise double duty: you lot can wear ane with a jacket and tie to piece of work, then whip off the tie for an evening issue outdoors.

The long sleeves are besides handy if things get cold. The residue of the time you tin can whorl them up, making the shirt more coincidental (a adept thing for social settings) and keeping you cool (a practiced thing for summertime in general).

Clothes shirts mostly await better tucked in, only younger men can get away with wearing them untucked in casual settings. It's a flexible option, and one that you can customize to suit just nearly any look and level of formality.

Polo Shirts

The summertime classic. Polos (and the other varieties of knitted, curt-sleeve shirts with soft turndown collars) are safe, respectable, and comfortable. You lot're not likely to be underdressed at any outdoor occasion that didn't come with a specific dress code on the invitation, but you're also not stuffy.

For these reasons, the polo has become many a guy's go-to, which is fine, but it's popularity also means you won't stand out much. You lot can up the distinctiveness of the polo by getting one that actually fits well (many men make the fault of wearing a polo that'due south excessively baggy) and has a handsome, un-corporate look, and by adding accessories like an interesting watch or bracelet.

You lot can throw a jacket over a polo if y'all want to, but it's not quite every bit natural a match every bit pairing one with a apparel shirt.

Brusque-Sleeved Button-Downs

Right in between the dress shirt and the polo in formality are button-fronted shirts with turndown collars and curt sleeves.

These can come in whatsoever number of fabrics and weaves — linen, poplin, and seersucker are some of the near common, along with cheaper synthetics. Patterns range from plain white to vertical stripes, to assuming graphic patterns, to chambray, and Hawaiian prints (though we don't recommend the latter for anything only a beach or puddle party).

Short-sleeve button-downs await proficient (as long every bit you get the fit correct — no excess bagginess in the sleeves or body), have a lilliputian more of a unique feel than a polo, and are usually cut with a squared-off hem for wearing untucked. Yous don't normally layer these, and in the summer that'southward merely fine.

Guayabera

Technically, these are just a style of brusk-sleeved button-up, but the cultural heritage and unique fashion earns them their ain mention.

Guayaberas are popular in South and Central America, come up with large front pockets and, typically, vertical pleats or embroidery on either side of the button placket. They're acceptable as both social and business organisation wear in a number of countries, with obviously white versions covering the more formal end of the spectrum and fancy, multicolored versions used for social events and celebrations.

If you want to stand out a lilliputian from the crowd at a typical Due north American picnic, a guayabera is a good way to do it.

T-shirts, Henleys, Etc.

At the least formal terminate of the outdoors scale are collarless knit shirts. T-shirts and henleys are both typical examples, and in the evenings, long-sleeved versions of both can occasionally be seen equally well.

While these are coincidental, they're admittedly fine for relaxed summer settings. Stick to solid colors and shut fits and you're in good shape. Avert loose, amorphous shirts with graphic designs or logos, however, and steer clear of heather gray athletic shirts. Those simply make y'all await like you lot got lost on your way to the gym. You lot can learn everything you ever wanted to know almost wearing t-shirts with way here.

The Lower Torso: Summer Trousers

Any of the shirts discussed above will await meliorate when you lot pair them with some fashionable trousers.

For outdoors events you want a combination of qualities that tin can exist tough to find: light weight and breathability for condolement, and immovability and stain resistance (or at least easy cleaning) for inevitable article of clothing and tear. And, of course, the pants have to look good.

Hither are a few of our favorite styles:

Tropical/Summerweight Wool Slacks

When you want to look nice and you aren't going to be too physically active, lightweight "tropical" wools are your fine-looking friends.

If you think "wool" and "summer" are two mutually exclusive concepts, you need to get to know this fabric better. It'due south naturally moisture-wicking, surprisingly breathable in all 4 seasons, and can really weigh less than many cotton options.

Whatever color works, though grey and navy are probably the most mutual. Wool holds a practiced crease, drapes smoothly, and lends your pants a nice texture and shape.

Wool trousers are a good option for any nicer, collared shirt, especially if you're going to be slipping on a jacket. For your dressiest outdoor events, lite- to medium-gray slacks with a lightly-patterned wearing apparel shirt and a blazer makes an platonic become-upward.

Khakis

The term "khakis" gets used and then broadly by wearable manufacturers that it's almost meaningless these days.

Go ahead and indulge in the aforementioned linguistic laziness. Any pants you've got lying around in a twill cotton weave and some sort of tan color, you tin call khakis if you want to. No i's going to quibble.

They're comfortable, await summery, and go with everything, making khakis an easy default, but and so many companies make them that quality tin vary widely. A pair of khakis isn't automatically light or breathable just by virtue of being cotton — in fact, many of them are heavier than wool slacks would be.

For good outdoors wear you want a pair that'south lightweight and not too fussy. Darker shades of brownish will hide stains better and wait skilful year-round, simply lighter ones have more of a summertime feel. Be sure to read our complete guide to khakis for a ton of tips on how to habiliment them with manner.

Chinos

Over again, we're talking about terms that take been desperately mangled over the years, but for applied purposes allow's just use chinos to define cotton twill pants that aren't in the khaki colour family unit. (That's non technically authentic, since the original "chinos" were a light tan themselves, but information technology seems to exist the going usage at large box retailers these days, so nosotros'll work with it.)

The big advantage of not-khaki chinos is exactly that: they're not khakis. That helps them stand out in the crowd. Earth tones and dark colors like navy blue piece of work well, and can provide some helpful dissimilarity for men with high-contrast complexions who want to wear a calorie-free-colored shirt.

Seersucker

Perfect for the hottest days, seersucker is i of your lightest options. It has a distinctive dimpled weave, and is oft made in either plain white or white with a candystripe pattern, normally bluish.

There's non much to say virtually seersucker trousers except that they're groovy, and well worth owning a pair. Y'all tin clothes them up or down; they do equally well with a blazer and with an untucked, short-sleeved shirt.

Linen

Another lightweight material, linen makes very breezy, flowing trousers. They don't hang as directly as cotton fiber or wool, aren't ironed to a crease, and the fabric is prone to wrinkling with wear.

Linen'due south a dandy fabric, just a little harder to maintain than cotton or wool. Our advice is to relax and not worry about some small-scale wrinkling — it'due south part of the natural texture, merely like seersucker's dimples.

Traditional advice is to just wear one piece of linen: no linen shirts paired with linen trousers or jackets, and and so forth. In practice, you can suspension that rule if the textures aren't a close match, simply exercise some caution. You don't desire ii things that look similar but aren't quite the same.

Summerweight Jeans

Most people don't normally retrieve of denim every bit a summer cloth, merely it'southward both casual and sturdy, which makes it a nice culling to the options above when you lot're doing something more rugged and less fancy.

That's when information technology's time to find a proficient lightweight denim option. Buckley Denim makes a good lightweight pair of selvedge jeans, and there are some others out there — look for a light ounce weight and a slightly looser fit to keep the jeans cool in the heat.

A pair of good dark jeans is a not bad fashion to dress down an outfit. Since they're less commonly seen in the summertime, yous'll also be sure to stand up out more than y'all would in cotton khakis or chinos.

For the more adventurous, you can also get jeans in lighter colors, ranging from patently white (a classic summer look) to bright neons (more gimmicky and bold). Levi's has a decent line of colored jeans, and then do a number of smaller brands.

Constructed Trousers

The traditional synthetics — polyester and rayon — aren't skillful summertime gear. They're not actually adept gear for any time of the year, apart from being cheap and sturdy.

Simply science has moved on, and y'all tin find some great summer gear made by and large or entirely from synthetics now. Camping and sporting goods stores are a skilful place to look for lightweight, breathable trousers made of things like nylon, polypropylene, and even more esoteric compounds.

These tend to be in a casual manner, only you can nevertheless wearable them to some outdoors events. A basic pair of "trek" pants (lightweight, synthetic pants with cargo pockets, available from most outdoor-article of clothing brands) paired with a polo or short-sleeved push button-upwardly is a great option for events that involve curt hikes, games played on grass, or other physical activities.

As an added bonus, some can exist zipped off at the knees to convert into shorts or impromptu pond trunks.

Shorts

We've placed shorts final on this list for a reason — they're just non quite as stylish-looking as long trousers, no matter how well you wear them.

If you're going to wearable shorts to a social event, make them fashionable ones. Go for the relatively fitted, flat forepart variety, rather than the very baggy cargo type. The shorts should be longer than mid-thigh but shorter than your knees — just touching the tops of the knees, or slightly above them, is a good criterion. The fit should be close in the crotch, without sag, and the legholes should be broad plenty to let a flake of air in, non snugged downward against your pare.

Patterned shorts, equally opposed to solid colors, are less formal, merely they're a good mode to say "this is a conscious mode selection as opposed to a convenience outfit" — and if you lot're wearing shorts, you're not that worried about formality anyway, so you might as well go with the pattern.

Farther reading on when, where, and how to clothing shorts the right way.

Rolled Cuffs

Any pair of trousers can be rolled upward — either for style or function or both. This tin can exist done anywhere from ane turn over to bare a bit of the ankle, on upwardly to knee-height for wading into ocean surf. Rolling past your knees gets a bit bulky and looks foreign, and so finish at the knee. And if y'all're not actually digging for clams, and the rolls are largely for looks (and a chip of ankle ventilation), shoot for a ane to ane.v-inch cuff, doubled.

As a full general rule of thumb, you don't want to be wearing socks when you roll your trousers. If you think you're likely to pull a trouser roll at some point in the upshot, become for slip-on shoes worn without socks.

That'southward non to say that people don't wear bright, decorative socks and and then roll their pants to show them off…but those people are pushing the boundary of "flaunting" as opposed to "style." Practice caution.

Jackets, Shoes, and Belts

Shirt and trousers — that's nearly all you want to be wearing in the summertime, most of the fourth dimension.

Merely you lot'll demand a few accents, and from time to fourth dimension y'all might want to slip a jacket on, and then consider these:

Lightweight Sports Jackets and Blazers

If you demand to be more formal than shirtsleeves in the summer, a solid, light-colored blazer in a lightweight fabric is your best bet. Seersucker, linen, light cottons, and tropical wools all work for y'all here.

It can feel odd to buy a lite, breezy jacket at first, but once you have ane you'll wonder how you always made it through the summertime without.

Solid colors are best because you tin can pair them with any sort of patterned shirt or trousers, and lighter colors assistance proceed it summery (as well as reflecting the sunday better in the daytime).

Slip-On Shoes

If your closet doesn't have anything between leather lace-up apparel shoes and sports sandals, now'south the time to change that.

Summer is the time for slip-on styles with a little dress to them — loafers, boaters/topsiders, and so on. When you're being really casual y'all can become to sandals, only even then information technology'southward preferable to go with something leather-strapped and earth tone, like Birkenstocks.

Tevas just aren't going to wait skillful with khakis and a nice shirt, no matter how comfortable or practical they are. Get a pair of loafers or deck shoes and break 'em in.

If you're in the stubbornly anti-boat shoe camp, go with a pair of canvass shoes like Converse, worn sockless.

Casual Belts

It'southward astonishing what a colorful or unique belt tin can do to plow even the most basic khakis/clothes shirt combination into an "outfit."

Step abroad from the conventional "solid strap of brown or blackness leather" model a piffling in the summer and add some leather weave, canvas, fabric, webbed, or even rope belts to the wardrobe. When you do wear a solid leather belt, effort to put an interesting buckle on it and so that yous've still got some uniqueness at that place.

These are just important if you're tucking your shirt in, of course, merely when you do, they're a must.

Hats

Summertime's a corking time to try wearing a chapeau, as the flavor's laid-back vibe makes greater assart for things others might consider goofy or costume-y the rest of the year (see: Hawaiian shirts). You go even greater allowance if you're Wolverine.

Traditional men's hats go in and out of style every few years information technology seems, and when they're out, they tin can seem similar an affectation. But summer is the easiest time to pull off wearing 1, because it's the season when they about clearly serve a functional purpose (keeping the hot sun off your face up and neck).

The best summer hats include Panamas, straw fedoras, and tilleys. Look for those made from establish fibers, and woven in a way that they tin block light, retain their shape, and allow airflow. Beware of gummed-up straw hats that do not allow airflow through the crown. Despite feeling lightweight in build, they are like wearing a plastic bag on your head and are more suited for show than function.

Depending on your needs, the skirt's size can vary widely; roughly, the rule is that the wider the brim, the more functional it is, and the narrower the skirt, the more sleek and stylish. My advice here is to go for a brim that's just large enough to keep the sun off your face and neck when the sun is at its peak.

Conclusion

Summer events are like shooting fish in a barrel to wearing apparel for — all you need is a shirt, some trousers, and a pair of slip-on shoes.

But good, summer-appropriate versions of all those things aren't always a tiptop priority when men buy clothes. You tin cease up limping along with "all flavour" wear for a long fourth dimension, putting off the purchasing of summer-specific gear.

Intermission the habit and get yourself some coincidental, stylish, lightweight summer clothing. You lot'll be amazed how much better you feel — and how much meliorate you look.

____________________________

Written By Antonio Centeno
Founder, Real Men Real Style
Click here to grab my costless ebooks on men's style

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Source: https://www.artofmanliness.com/style/outfit-guide/summer-style-how-to-dress-for-an-outdoor-social-event/

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