The ultimate summer style guide for men – with Alice Hare

Look to the classics: finding the right the polo shirt

Polo shirts and men’s summer style go together like strawberries and cream. In 1850s India, British soldiers adapted the shirts worn by local polo players, adding buttons to the placket to prevent their collars flapping when riding. The modern polo shirt was born. It entered the mainstream and became a sportswear icon in 1926 when French tennis player René Lacoste, tired of stiff, formal tennis whites, designed a white polo shirt to wear to play at the US Open that year. And that’s precisely their magic: they merge the practicality of a sporting fabric and shape with codes of tailoring (the sharp collar) to make a uniquely sporty and smart garment.

Schöffel’s St Ives Polo Shirt boasts all the details you’d expect from a historic classic. There’s none of the corner-cutting you often find in cheaper, imitation, merely pretences of ‘polo shirts’ here. No, sir. Classic piqué cotton synonymous with the polo shirt – that’s cotton with tiny air-wicking vents in the weave – means optimal breathability and a softness that increases with every wash. Side vents trimmed with brown suede ensure no restriction of movement, so this is a polo not just for prancing – it’s robust enough to withstand actual sport. 

The models on our shoot put this to the test with a particularly competitive game of tennis in the Portuguese sun amidst cries from me of ‘please don’t crease your clothes’ and similar pleadings from the make-up artist of ‘please don’t sweat your make-up off!’. Competition of this level was last seen at the Wimbledon 2008 Nadal-Federer final. (Speaking of which, the Nadal documentary that’s just landed on Netflix is 1000/10, no notes, please watch immediately). The Absersoch Shorts were the perfect casual bottom half for the boys’ impromptu sparring, their light seersucker fabric allowing them to be rolled up at the hem by half an inch for both a stylised touch and moveability.

Proving its versatile credentials, later in the day, popped collars on the St Ives Polo ensured no burnt backs of necks when we took a boat trip for the afternoon part of the shoot. (I was so pathetically seasick I am surprised I even found the energy to pop said collars). The new striped colourway of the St Ives lent itself particularly well to our nautical setting. For an evening look, we swapped out the Abersoch Shorts for the smarter Harlech Chino Shorts. All the while, the St Ives proved the ultimate hard-working, adaptable building block.

How to approach summer layering

Much like ogres have layers (Shrek 2, IYKYK), every sensible and stylish man has summer layers. Obviously though, winter woollies will have you headed to A&E with heat exhaustion in no time. Instead, you need cotton layers for when coastal breezes hit or when the sun goes in come evening. The Truro Deck Shirt offers a fresh take on traditional layering that perfectly fulfils this. Layer over a t-shirt or polo shirt and peel on and off as the weather changes with ease. Wear its cuffs turned up to show their contrast underside. Its nautical-inspired details (see: striped detailing on the sleeves) mean it feels particularly at home by the coast, be this Brancaster or Barbados.

For those looking for more traditional knitwear-style layering, the Porthleven Quarter Zip has you covered. Worry not about recent murmurings quarter zips are the sole reserve of finance bros – styled right, they’re a preppy classic. For our shoot, the loud coral colourway of the Harlech Chino Shorts needed a more muted top half, and this came in the form of the oat colourway of the Porthleven. Another men’s summer style classic – the Walsingham Linen Shirt – provided the perfect neutral base layer.

Shoe-wise, you will notice a distinct lack of visible men’s toes on our shoot. Coincidence this is not – no matter how hot it is, there is never, ever a need to see a man’s toes, IMHO. Unless he is literally on his way into a pool or the sea. Then I will forgive you. Otherwise, keep the dogs in the kennels.

I’m not saying you need to wear Oxford lace-ups with your beachwear or sweat in socks and trainers all summer long. A chic Spanish-style espadrille will keep your feet perfectly cool and your toes firmly encased. The model on our shoot led by example and turned up in his own pair by Sabah, which I kept on him for most of the shoot. The reason for my repulsion? I just don’t think it’s elegant to have a hairy toe hanging out of a flip-flop in my eyeline. Have you ever seen the King in footwear that bears his toes? No. (Have some decorum!). Prince William? Also no. Any man who is remotely stylish? No, no and no again. There’s a reason for this.

Styling summer formalwear

Continuing the theme of formality, Schöffel this year has firmly entered the formalwear chat, offering a wider range of men’s summer tailoring than ever before. The Cowes Jacket and Chilham Trousers are the sort of thing I imagine the ridiculously stylish Edward VIII would have worn to sip pre-dinner apéritifs at his Parisian villa in the summer. The stone colour is particularly Bond, but there’s a classic navy for those who don’t trust themselves to not stain the stone with sangria or a similarly vivid-hued elixir of summer. If you’re destination wedding-bound, add a tie to your linen shirt under the suit, or leave it without for more relaxed evenings on holiday. The Derwent Leather Belt and simple brown suede loafers (no matter how hot it is, with socks, PLEASE) are all else it needs.

Fret not that with the linen suit you’ve invested in is something that will be wheeled out once a year on holiday. The trousers become a relaxed separate when paired with knitwear back at home.

Since I’m on a Miranda Priestly-style rant, I’ll end with some quickfire don’ts for men’s summer style. Really, it’s not hard to get men’s summer style right, and I promise I’m not just saying that as someone who lives and breathes style (‘easy for you to say!’, you could argue). (I am having flashbacks to my very mathematical older sister trying to help very unmathematical me with my maths homework as a child).

Truly, once you have a few essential building blocks, you can mix and match in a way that requires little thought. Schöffel’s pieces offer this ease of mixing – they all blend seamlessly colour and fabric-wise, so each item offers a myriad of outfit options both smart and casual depending on what it’s paired with. Just please, keep the dogs in the kennels and the dogs in socks if wearing a loafer. And invest in a cheap mini steamer for linen – yes, the fabric creases, but it shouldn’t be so creased it looks like it’s been retrieved from the bottom of your laundry basket after spending the whole winter there. *Miranda Priestly voice* That’s all.

For Alice’s ultimate summer style guide for women, click here