4 Insider Tips to Staying Cool in a Suit This Summer

A four-season suit is one of the most versatile garments in your wardrobe. But sometimes, it pays to be specific. During the summer, when temperatures rise, suits made with lightweight fabrics and breathable constructions are welcome substitutions for traditional tailoring.

When shopping for a summer suit, there are countless fabric colors and styles available in materials like wool, cashmere, silk, linen and cotton. Along with the type of fabric, the construction — whether the jacket is lined, half-lined or unlined — adds to the wearability of a suit in warmer climes.

To make sense of it all, I spoke to Nish de Gruiter, the former vice president at Suitsupply and Senior Vice President & Chief Curator at Restoration Hardware.

So, before making your next purchase, refer to his simple tips on purchasing a summer-weight suit — you’ll look sharp and stay cool.

1. Start with the location and occasion

Are you buying a suit for work, a wedding or something more casual? That’s the first question you have to ask yourself.

“If you go to a wedding, you want to make sure that your suit is half lined and that the fabric also holds its shape really well,” de Gruiter says, referring to destination-wedding linen styles.

On the other hand, if you’re working in a warm climate, stay away from fully-linen fabrics. “It wrinkles quite a lot,” de Gruiter adds.

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If you appreciate the casual texture and breathable weave of linen, consider linen-silk blends or linen-woolen-silk blends, instead.

“Those things still have the feel of a linen suit and also they hold their shape really well,” de Gruiter says.

2. Fabric composition is key

For comfort in warmer climates, pay close attention to the weight and breathability of the fabric.

Suitsupply

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This summer-friendly blazer features a blend of wool, silk, linen and cashmere, constructed in a hopsack weave for increased breathability.

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For example, a hopsack fabric features a much looser weave than a jacquard or gabardine fabric. “[Hopsack] holds the shape a little bit better,” de Gruiter says, “especially if you wear it every day.”

While the lining of a jacket compliments the fabric, it should also reflect the occasion.

Suitsupply

“The office guy will be a bit more comfortable with a fully lined jacket so it doesn’t wrinkle that much and it holds its shape a little bit better,” he says. “But if you get travel fabrics, it doesn’t matter if you have a lining or no lining.”

Versatile suits designed with those fabrics resist wrinkles and provide a bit of stretch for increased comfort in-transit.

3. Don’t forget about cotton

Though cotton is commonly associated with wardrobe essentials like t-shirts, jeans and sweatshirts, it makes the perfect material for a warm-weather suit. That’s because lightweight, it doesn’t require a lining and it doesn’t wrinkle as readily as linen.

“Cotton is one of the most overlooked fabrics in summer-weight suiting,” de Gruiter says.

4. Stay conscious of your shirt

When you invest in a lightweight suit for the warmer months, be conscious of the shirt you pair it with. Many people opt for heavy twill or heavy oxford shirts, a choice that negates the positive features of the summer-weight suit, de Gruiter says.

If you choose a suit based on feel and breathability, his advice is simple: “Make sure that your shirts are inline with that, too.”

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