Men’s fashion rarely agrees with the temperature. Leather shoes must be kept safe from the rain, while the usual suits are impractically warm during the warmer months. But just because summer is in full swing doesn’t mean that you should turn tank tops and shorts should become your daily uniform. Knowing the right kinds of clothes, particularly suits, to wear is the key to making it a sartorial season.

Ditch the Duds
You likely have a set of suits that you wear to your air conditioned office on workdays. Hang them up and leave them at home. Unless excessive perspiration suddenly swings into vogue, it’s a cool decision to leave those traditional threads at home. Fact of the matter is that the usual formal suits really aren’t made of fabrics practical for warmer weather. In fact, a lined suit jacket is unbearably warm at any time other than fall.

What will you wear now that your usual suits are in the mothballs? Suits are made of a wide range of fabrics; formal suits work with just a very small segment of that spectrum. It’s time you explored all your other suiting options.

Learn to Love Your Linen
No, linen’s not just for those drawstring pants you wear to the beach. A few men’s suit makers have tried their hand at turning the light fabric into the traditional idea of a suit. The result is something that’s light, sophisticated and not a little bit fashion forward.

Instead of the loose and billowing cuts of beachwear, however, linen suits should be cut exactly like a suit. That means a close fit, seams that hit at the shoulders and little to no excess fabric that bulges outward. Linen suits are meant to be worn in all of their wrinkly glory; all the wrinkles that can’t be knocked out by a good steaming should be displayed with pride, not forced out with a hot iron.

Want for White
The official cool color of the summer months, white is good for more than just a set of shirts for the office. On a suit, white makes for a look that’s much lighter and livelier than businesslike gray or sombre black, while losing little of the sophistication in the process.

A white suit is meant to be worn as if you were a warm weather dandy, not some dour banker. Keep a cool and wrinkled (non-white) cotton shirt underneath it, sans tie and top button. Most of the usual rules apply: a belt is still necessary, a good pair of shoes are as important as they ever were, and a good fit is imperative. By bending the rules a bit, try wearing a pair of colored shoes without socks, and you’ll look like a real fashion plate.

Picking Up Patterns
If you don’t regularly wear patterned clothes to the office, summer’s the best time to get the habit started. Summer’s light, casual mood is the perfect backdrop to trying out happy, lively prints that give your outfit that extra paunch.

Start with a simple check pattern in a classic color combination like white and light blue. Pair it with a cotton necktie, preferably a slim one with a bold pattern in a deep color. Once you’ve gotten comfortable with patterns, you can move on to bolder ones like plaids and then work those with even more fashion forward ties.

Wearing a suit in the summer months need never be stifling or boring. In fact, it’s a chance to make a few pleasant changes from your typical business formal wardrobe. Put on your straw fedora, open up those wayfarers and suit up for the summer.

Hendrik is more than just a writer on mens fashion. He is also the founder of online tie retailer Ties-necktie.com/ - a site that offers much more than just good deals on finest silk ties, but also advice Shirt and Tie Matching, different tie knots, and much more.

[tags]mens summer fashion,what guys should wear in the summer,dress tips for men on sunny days, silk ties[/tags]