Summer officially just started, but we’ve had a heat wave here in Atlanta. Of course, that hasn’t stopped us from needing to dress up, especially for work. But how do you meet the challenge of staying cool when you have to dress formally for work? Surprisingly, you do have options. So what are summer suits made of?
The main consideration for staying cool is picking the right fabric, but it’s not the only important factor in a custom suit.
Summer Fabrics for Suits
Here at Atlanta Custom Tailors, we focus on year-round wool. Knowing the climate where our clients live, we promote lightweight wools that can be worn throughout the year. As a wrinkle-resistant and odor-resistant fabric, wool can be a surprisingly good choice for summer.
Obviously, we can’t discuss summer suits without talking about seersucker. Seersucker is a southern staple for summer suits, as we’ve discussed before. The texture of the weave is great for insulating you from the summer heat.
Linen is also a great choice for a summer suit, but even with the best of care, it will wrinkle. Linen is not an easy-care fabric for suits, unlike tropical wool. But it remains a classic choice because of its breathability. Linen suits will keep you cool.
Combining the wrinkle- and odor-resistance of wool with the lightness of linen, our wool-silk-linen suits are great for summer (and year-round!). They are lightweight, thanks to the linen, but they are just as wearable as a wool suit. These blends also make for really unique patterns on your suit, something you can’t find in pure wool.
The Best Colors for a Summer Suit
We all know that tan and light grey are great colors for summer. But what if you want a suit you can wear in unseasonably warm seasons outside of summer?
Wearing a summer-weight suit in a seasonably appropriate color can help you keep cool when the weather doesn’t match the season. For example, a linen suit in navy can be worn later into a warm fall than a paler color without looking out of place.
Lining Your Bespoke Summer Suit
So what are summer suits made of? Not just the outer fabric, that’s what!
Choosing a great summer fabric doesn’t help you stay cool if you don’t address the inside of the suit. For summer suits, we recommend a half-lining on the jacket. This keeps the pockets and the structure of the jacket intact without compromising the coolness of the fabric. Our men’s trousers also come standard with a half-lining only in the front.
When it comes to designing a bespoke summer suit, remember to consider the fabric type, the color, and the lining to keep you cool in the summer heat.
