Suited for Summer, Part 2: What to Wear?

Now that we've established some guidelines, let's consider some reasonably priced options for summer suits.

In the past, warm-weather suits were typically purchased at the traditional men's clothing stalwarts like Brooks Brothers or Jos. A. Bank. They are still available at these stores, but these days they are typically a cotton/polyester blend, which isn't going to wear as cool as all-cotton, and the quality isn't particularly impressive, especially so with the Bank suits.

A Brooks Brothers cotton suit is going to run you $400, unless you wait until the end of the season when you'll probably see some markdowns. By comparison, the Banks are a relative bargain: if you go look, you'll see that you can currently get a poplin suit for $137, which is hard to beat if you can live with the fabric. Keep in mind, though, that their suits are cut very full, and you can't mix and match jacket and pant sizes. (At least there are a couple of fit options at Brooks Brothers.)

Fit and sizing are key issues for me. I don't have what would by any means be considered an athletic build, but I still have an eight-inch "drop" (the difference between the chest and waist measurements), and a standard suit has a six-inch drop (sometimes tapering to only five in the larger sizes). You may be able to find an "athletic-fit" suit, which would have a seven- or eight-inch drop, or a good tailor can alter a standard, fuller-fitting jacket so the waist is more defined, but tailoring has its limits. If I were to purchase a suit from Jos. Bank in the proper jacket size, the waist of the pants would be three inches too big, and even the best tailor can only take in a pair of pants so many inches before they start to look too weird (back pockets too close together) and/or the tailoring becomes not worth the expense. Overall I think buying separates is a better option.

As I mentioned yesterday, Banana Republic can be a good source of reasonably-priced suit separates, and it looks like they are now offering two fits, though it seems to be an either/or proposition: some suits are in one fit, some are in the other. J. Crew still offers its most basic cotton suit pieces in both fits. Those of you who tend toward the shorter and lankier would probably be more comfortable in the Ludlow fit, which is cut slimmer and with a slightly shorter jacket and lower-waist pants; those of you who are built more like myself would likely want to go with the Aldridge fit, which is more traditional but not nearly as sacklike as a Bank. The Italian fabric on these is really nice, and there are options like center- or side-vent (for the Ludlow jacket) or two- or three-button (for the Aldridge). For either store, the suits run $370-380 for both pieces, but can certainly be bought for less during sales or with the retailers' frequent discount offers.

J. Crew also offers the Ludlow fit in linen, which is an option worth considering because its weave makes it breathable, and the fabric has some tactile and visual texture. Linen also wrinkles easily, but then again so does cotton. I've never particularly cared for linen, probably because you can end up looking dressed-down even when you're dressed up, but if worn with the right shirt, tie, and shoes (keep 'em all simple) you can do a credible impersonation of an Italian fashionisto. The J. Crew linen pieces are only $10 more each than their cotton counterparts, and it comes in a light gray that's a refreshing change from the typical beiges and tans.

Tomorrow: believe it or not, I'm not done with this nonsense...