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Photo courtesy DJ Scammell

A Summer Suit

By Douglas James Scammell

Published 12:22 PDT, Fri July 4, 2025

Fashion For Men

The warm weather of summer is rapidly approaching. If you’re attending an event that requires wearing more dressy clothing especially if you have been invited to a summer wedding or attending one of Vancouver’s more classier events like The Cup at Hastings Racecourse in July. It is very important to have breathable clothing that will help keep you looking razor sharp and not look like you’re dying from the heat of summer.

I have attended The Cup event at Hastings Racecourse in recent years and often see the women putting full effort into looking their absolute best. Unfortunately some men, not so much. As their website says “dress to impress” it makes me want to suggest men can look their best too.

Just because the weather is nice and warm does not mean you need to dress down for a fancy event, try dong the opposite.

It is a great investment to have a suit and shirts that are versatile for attending these dressy warm weather events we get invited to so that we can have the best time and look great while attending the events.

First of all, you need to retire your wool fabric dark color suits like charcoal, and dark navy and black. You can bring those back again during the fall season.

You just need to find the right type of materials, fabric, colors and styles.

First you need to find the right fabric and colors that are designed for hot weather.

The Suit

I recommend linen fabrics for a suit in the summertime. They embody the essence of summer style with their breezy elegance and relaxed charm. The linen fabric is perfect for summer due to its natural breathability, moisture wicking properties, and ability to allow air circulation, all of which will help keep you cooler and more comfortable in the hot weather.

Here is a more detailed explanation for why a linen fabric suit is perfect for summer time:

Breathability: Linen’s open weave and thicker fibers compared to cotton allow for better air circulation, keeping the fabric light and cool against your skin.

Moisture-wicking: Linen excels at absorbing perspiration and releasing it quickly, preventing the fabric from sticking to your body and ensuring you stay dry and comfortable.

UV Protection: Linen can act as a barrier against UV rays, offering some protection from the sun.

Absorbs moisture: Linen can absorb 20 per cent of its weight in moisture allowing it to absorb perspiration without making you left feeling clammy.

Dries quickly: Linen dries quickly due to its looser weave, which allows air to circulate and evaporate moisture.

Durable: Linen is one of the strongest natural fibers, second only to silk.

Environmentally friendly: Flax, the source of linen, requires less water and pesticides than cotton.

Biodegrable: Untreated, undyed linen is fully biodegradable.

Let me be clear, you will be hot no matter what suit fabric you wear. But the linen fabric is your best choice to help minimize being uncomfortable.

Whether you get your linen suit custom made or picked from the rack at the department store it is very important that the suit does not have an insulated inner lining. That will help alleviate the heat.

The Accessories

To go with your summer suit to help minimize the heat of summer it is important to have the right shirt. Again go with a linen shirt, or a linen part Cotton shirt for all of the same reasons why I said to go with a linen suit.

The shirt however you could go with short sleeve-dress shirt underneath your suit jacket to help provide more air for your skin to breath. If you choose not to wear a tie that’s okay too.

For the shoes I recommend going with something more light weight like a loafer style shoe. For socks, go with a no-show socks that will help expose air around your ankles which will allow your skin to breath.

Lastly, if your event is outside in the heat of the sun another suggestion is to add two other accessories. The right pair of sunglasses, as well as a Panama hat to help provide more shade and keep the sun off of your head.

In Closing

When picking the right outfit for your dressy summer event. Stay away from the dark colors especially dark grey, and black. Pick lighter colors that do not attract the heat like tans, off whites, light blues, and greens.

I have experimented with navy blue suits that were a lighter wool fabric and incorporated them with a linen shirt and no-show socks and that worked out well. It’s important to incorporate as much linen as possible.

It is a wise decision for your first warm weather suit to pick a color that is also versatile so that you can mix and match with different color pants, waistcoats and jackets.

That way you will rotate your summer suit outfit looking different each time and also you will get the maximum use and value from your summer wardrobe. In the picture above I show a tan colored suit and below a white suit which can be mixed and matched as shown in the far left photo.