Having an arsenal of summer shirts – from button-throughs to camp-collars – to combat
everything Italy has to throw at you is a sure-fire way of waltzing through the season intact. They should be
elegant and charming, but not stiff and restricting. Linen is, of course, the most obvious material to bulk up on –
it’s woven loosely and therefore allows air to flow between the fibers, and due to its lightness, it doesn’t stick
to the body. However, cotton works just as well and options here can be more playful and colourful. For
button-through shirts that are vibrant, tasteful, and can be worn with tailoring, look to the likes of Cordone 1956
and Anderson & Sheppard, and for your more casual styles, such as camp collar shirts, look to G. Inglese and
Kevin Seah.
It’s always sensible to pack at least one jacket when you’re on holiday, but given
the fact that you’re in Italy, it pays to have a few options. For this, you can’t look past SACCO, a Neapolitan
brand that has an array of feather-light wool blazers in bright colours to suit all kinds of tastes. For something
different, the modern tailoring house De Petrillo has crafted in its atelier in northern Naples a range of jackets
cut from summer-appropriate patterned cloths that have plenty of character and will pair well with more formal
trousers.
For trousers and shorts, it pays to think about comfort more than anything. Again,
opting for styles made from linen will help keep you cool even when the sun is at its highest. If elegance is the
name of the game, you can’t go wrong with a double-pleated trouser which is an incredibly comfortable option due to
the extra folds of fabric that help keep you cool. Kit Blake has cotton and linen options aplenty in this department
that would look especially good when worn for an alfresco dinner or garden party with a jacket. Honing from Naples,
as the name suggests, Pomella Napoli is one of the city’s most revered trouser-makers. Its shorts, however, are
lesser renowned but equally as brilliant. Cut long to the knee with a cuff and a single pleat, they might just be
the smartest shorts we offer.
Comfort reigns supreme in this department in Italy given the state of its streets that can wreak havoc on your feet.
So, forget your Oxford shoes and stick to loafers that are elegant in shape and comfortable with an unlined
construction and soft sole. A profound creation in men’s footwear recently is undoubtedly Baudoin & Lange’s
Sagan Stride, which is the combination of a suede upper on a shock-absorbent rubber, meaning you can walk on the
chaotic cobbles of Florence all day and not notice a thing.
