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Game-Changing Summer Shirts from Knickerbocker
The cotton Lola shirt in color Bone is one of the most beautiful shirts I have ever seen. This and the cotton linen Highway Shirt changed my perspective on summer clothes because I’ve never been good at wearing clothes in the summer – we have proof of that. But I think I finally cracked the code.
Both of them are of the brand called Knickerbocker. They are made in Portugal, and have amazing mother of pearl buttons, which fun fact, mother of pearl is exactly what it sounds like. The oyster wraps itself around the sand and forms a pearl.
This should be a pretty cool article because I think I’ve cracked the code on how to dress in the summer, and it’s not how I usually dress.
There are a lot of things from Knickerbocker on this list, not because they sent me anything for free, but because I went on a little shopping spree because they sent me a 20% off coupon.
Let’s Talk Fabric: Cotton Lola and Highway Shirts
First up is the shirt I actually ruined – I don’t think I ruined it. But this is Knickerbocker’s cotton Lola shirt, 98% cotton, 2% elastane.
It’s essentially like a toned-down version of seersucker fabric, with some waves, so it stays lifted off your body and keeps you cool, and doesn’t let sweat stick to it. But really, it’s one of two shirts, both from Knickerbocker, that made me realize what I was missing in my summer outfits. We will discuss that later.
The next shirt is also of knickerbocker. This next shirt is Knickerbocker’s cotton and linen Highway Shirt, which is probably my favorite item on the list so far.
This is incredible. The fabric is incredible, and it’s a joy to iron, which we’ll get to in a second. It feels beefy but airy. Everything I could want in a summer shirt is here. 80% cotton, 20% linen. I’m very happy about it because it wrinkles less easily, but it still wrinkles a lot.
This isn’t really necessary for summer, it’s actually quite warm, but on summer nights it’s sometimes important if you’re going to a formal event like a wedding in Italy, which I did.
this is Beefy Cotton Oxford Button-Down. I learned it’s called a button-down because there are buttons where you can button the collar down. The two other shirts I have mentioned so far are camp collar shirts that open open.
Short-sleeved button-up shirts, in general, are much nicer than T-shirts, at least in my experience, because you can get clothes that rise above your body and allow things to breathe better, but you can also open the collar if needed and let more air in.
Fun fact: I didn’t realize this until I was 25-26. I am currently 27 years old.
The only thing I don’t know if I really like or I don’t really like is the monogrammed Knickerbocker initials on the bottom because you usually put your initials in there, so it’s from another brand. Still, some people may think it’s your name. No big deal, but still.
The Great Pants Debate: Linen vs. Cotton
Okay, then things get a little interesting because I have two pairs of linen basket pants from Knickerbocker in brown and black, and I really like them, but the issue is that they’re 10-ounce fabric, and it’s 80% cotton, 20% linen, which I like because it makes the fabric feel a little more sturdier unless you get a really heavy linen.
But then you’re left with this mix that you have to decide how you want to go about it. Linen wrinkles, cotton wrinkles, but usually wrinkles can come out due to the fabric moving around, so for the most part the wrinkles come out after a while, not 100%.
So, I would ideally like to steam them, but I tried it with a steamer, and it doesn’t really work because the fabric is too heavy; Nothing really provides comfort. So I tried ironing it, but it’s still difficult to iron. These pants are still a little wrinkled, and I took a long time ironing them.
Admittedly, I’m not good at ironing yet, but when you combine these two heavy clothes for summers, the convenience goes a long way.
Then you can go the other way and buy a very light shirt j crewFor example, linen shirts, which are nice shirts, but they’re very, very, very thin, so they don’t really retain their structure at all, and that’s the definition you probably think of when people say linen is too wrinkled – it becomes a wrinkled mess.
But personally, I would rather have a more structured shirt than a very, very, very loose and flowy linen shirt that gives me a better, crisper look in the long run.
We’re going to take a quick stop into the world of footwear, going into formal and then less formal, but it’s the brand, Velasca. I’ve seen their ads on Instagram for a long time.
I love their aesthetic because it reminds me of autumnal Cape Cod, where I’m from, even though these are completely handmade in Italy. To make a long story short, they reached out to me and said, “Hey, what’s your address? We’re just going to send you some things,” and I was like, “Okay!”
And then I wore their derby shoes to a wedding — I didn’t actually wear them when I was officiating the wedding, but I wore them the day before the wedding, and they’re fabulous. On the wedding day, which I also recommend you to take, I wore Allen Edmonds Leads Plain Toe Blucher.
I wore ones that are thin and flowy, but Velasca’s derbies are very, very wide, so much so that I suggest you’ll probably want to size down at least one. They’re great shoes, and they’re a little formal, which is the entire thesis of this article.
And on the subject of shoes, I’m currently wearing my Adidas Gazelles. I bought these especially for Italy, and the color I’m wearing is called Pre-Loved Red.
I bought them for Italy because there’s a brand there, or there was a brand called Roy Denim, and the founder’s name was Roy Slapper, but he has this Instagram picture of him where he’s walking in a full outfit in red shoes, and I think about it all the time, so I got these shoes.
OAS Brand and Textile Talk
And then we have shirts, but the whole brand does that, so I should just say brand. This brand creates shirts with unique textiles and unique textures. I’m wearing one of their terry towel shirts right now. I have another one in a different color pattern. I have another one that has a really cute weave. This is not a box weave. I don’t even know what kind of weave it is, but it looks like a hotel robe. It’s amazing, and so is the brand OAS.
It’s definitely a split between the more formal stuff like knickerbockers that you can wear at night if you’re going out versus the more informal stuff that you can wear if you’re going to the pool or something like that.
sock and shorts position
Okay, next are shorts and socks. They are always connected. Depending on what shorts you wear depends on what socks you should wear. A story as old as time. in any way, American ditch Sent me a bunch of socks because they are great socks. The retro stripes are amazing, and the wool merino socks are amazing – not because I got them for free, but because they’re kind of iconic in the socks world.
And then for shorts, we have huckberry to valen. It’s a household brand and the shorts are great. They are a big thing. However, if I could do it again, I would say my best advice with shorts is to look at the length you want and then go up a couple of inches on your inseam.
That’s my only mistake – I think these shorts are a little too long, and if I made them a little shorter, that would be fine.
T-shirt and big summer style revelation
Well, I know you’ve been waiting for this since I told you this article was about how to dress in summer. It’s t-shirt time. This year I discovered a thing about t-shirts, but I’ll get to that in a second. i found a bunch of shirts Imogene and WillieWhich I’ve reviewed before, and I’ve changed my mind.
I still wish the fabric of these shirts was a little different, and I wish the collar rib were heavier and that the design of the shirt wasn’t actually the same – that would have been better made. But I really like the quirky phrases on the shirts. I think it’s so fun, it’s so fun, and it adds a little edge to an outfit, which I felt was something I really wanted all the time.
Very rarely do I feel stylish or cool in the summer. I usually wear a T-shirt and shorts, and sometimes I feel like an idiot. Then I say, “I don’t look good,” but last summer, the big revelation was two things: formality and tailoring. In the fall or winter, you can get away with being less formal because you have a jacket that lets you show off your personality, or you have a sweater or something that naturally tends to be more formal, and you’re covering yourself up, and it’s OK to look oversized.
As summer goes on, you lose a lot of things where you can show off like, “Hey, I’m really into denim” or “I’m into this really cool jacket,” but leveling up that outfit – boom. And on that note, if you decide to dress formally in the summer, the other thing you need to do is make sure your formal clothes fit really, really well.
What I’m trying to understand is that if you’re going to be a little formal in the summer, you should get your clothes tailored, take them to the tailor so they fit you perfectly, and show off that smoky summer vibe. The knickerbocker was important for me in figuring this out because the first two shirts I talked about are probably cropped for most people, but I’m not a very tall person. My torso is small, so it doesn’t look as cut, but what it does look like is it fits really well, and when I wear those two shirts, I feel like a million bucks. That’s because the fit is impeccable, and the formality makes me feel good anyway.
Check out this review
goodbye!
Anyway, I hope this article has been of some help to you on how to dress in summer. goodbye!
This article was adapted from Michael Christie’s video on The Iron Snail with editing from FashionBeans, and was reviewed by Michael to ensure the integrity of its original content. Watch the full video here.
Iron Snail is a men’s fashion vlog (and now article series!), starring a young man named Michael and featuring a snail larger than a quarter. The duo set out to take over the fashion world by creating the one clothing line to end all clothing lines. Until then, we’re here to tell you everything you need to know about the best clothing, from the highest quality raw denim jeans to the warmest jackets and sturdiest boots…Iron Snail has you covered.
