When barometer meter readings are on the rise, collared shirts and slacks are no man’s friend. And though none should be denied the right to cool down in a pair of Bermuda shorts, there is a clear distinction between a breezy summer wardrobe and a sailor’s closet (circa 1930s/Popeye era) that should not be ignored. It’s the simple difference between a tailored short-sleeved button-up and a cuffed cap-sleeved plaid shirt buttoned to the top.
But, with the scorchers piling one on top of the other, and the city’s men finding themselves in toe-to-toe combat with the notorious sleeve monster (who prefers his victims to be nautical striped, in baby T sizes), the task of finding a happy medium between beach bum Slater’s flip flops and board shorts and upper class Brad’s Sperry’s and seersucker shorts appears increasingly daunting.
Or so I learned while shopping the summer sales with my brother and boyfriend last week — my 30-something year-old brother being the type who would never wear a grandpa cardigan because he doesn’t get the irony in looking like the dad from Growing Pains, and my boyfriend being the sort of guy who would wear a Boston Red Sox cap every day for two weeks to hide a side part fade he inadvertently got from one of our neighbourhood hipster barbershops. Both men were on the hunt for staples and wanting to find items to help transition their fall/winter fashion sensibilities — pea coats; solid-coloured crew neck sweaters; straight leg jeans (not to be confused with skinny cut) and slip on ankle boots — into practical and stylist summer wear.
The first item on their wish list: shorts. For a few seasons now, the men’s runways have been showing slim shorts. Every year, they seem to get slimmer and shorter, bringing us to this year’s favoured above-the-knee variety, seen modeled around town in chambray incarnations and colourful twills alike, worn so tight that when a man sits and rises, the shorts must be yanked down back into place. Such short shorts, though, would not do for either of these two men. What they were looking for was a tailored short with versatility: a pair of shorts that they could wear camping as comfortably as to a nice dinner out — shorts for the fashionable man’s man. Funnily enough, it was a pair of swim trunks that ended up fitting the bill best for both gentlemen.
Found at Sydney’s menswear store on Queen Street West and designed by Carl Cunow of New York’s Onia label, the boys’ dream shorts (pictured below) were happily discovered at the back of the store on the sales rack. Measuring 10” in length, these zip-front shorts fall above the knee and are made from high quality cotton/nylon fabric sourced from Japan and tailored in NYC’s Garment District. Aside from the durable net lining and the whole hi-tech waterproof fabric thing, Cunow has taken his background in fashion — including five years working production at Steven Alan doing fabric-buying and sample-making — so these shorts look every bit as ready-to-wear (made of 60 per cent cotton, they’re soft enough to wear as a walking short) as they are ready-to-swim (at 40 per cent nylon yarn, they dry quickly). During our visit to Sydney’s, there were still at least a handful of shorts waiting to be snatched up, but should you miss the sale, try ordering online at onia.com.
Next on the list was a breezy top of some sort — something suitable for city strolls and park lounging. This we would end up buying at Little Portugal’s Lost & Found. One of the many clothing shops popping up on Dundas West specializing in smaller labels that one might find at Opening Ceremony, this particular shop offers the distinguishing perk of being reasonably priced.
Amongst the brands on offer here is Unis, a contemporary men’s sportswear line produced and manufactured out of New York and Los Angeles. Designed by Eunice Lee, the line is at the head of urbane menswear’s appropriation of the office nerd-preferred short-sleeved button-up. While the bulk of designers have re-imagined the shirt for the malnourished man with a boyish figure (i.e. arms smaller than mine), Lee has stayed on trend with narrow bicep cut sleeves whilst managing to keep in mind that some men might actually have something bigger than joggers arms, and would rather not wear a shirt that makes them look like they’re going to lift weights on the pier. Unis’s “Owen” shirt — woven out of cotton and available in striped, checkered, purple and pink — is a good choice for a low-key guy in need of an honest summer button-up that can be worn in both casual and semi-formal settings — best worn not buttoned to the top — and doesn’t look like it’s been shrunk in the wash.
For the last item on the boys’ summer wish list, shoes, it was as easy as a pair of Vans. For my brother, the woven leather slip-ons; for my boyfriend, the classic canvas low-top sneakers — both in all-black, both an ideal balance of coast and street and both available at Get Outside.
Top-siders dodged and sleeve monster averted, the boys had their summer staples, and I had a new appreciation for menswear. Never would I have known how challenging it is for a man to avoid looking like a caricature unless I had gone shopping for summer essentials with someone who already looks like a sailor from the shoulders up: the fade, like layers of clothing in the summer, is no man’s friend.
Toronto-based writer Jennifer Lee is the editorial director of FILLER magazine, an online fashion and culture journal. She is also the co-editor of Hardly magazine, an arts-centric online teen publication for Canadian girls. Her column, The Dressing Room, appears weekly.
