Just because we're told to experiment doesn't mean that we do experiment. Because, for all the wavy garms and big trainers and Timotheé Chalamet in starchild suits, some guys still, understandably, feel a bit unsure about the Big Menswear Upheaval. Hand embroidered floral cargo pants aren't for everyone. But a mad and hot summer shirt? We can all get in on that.
Because we're finally at a point where show off shirts are commonplace, but not quite overcooked. Just as white T-shirts and 11am beers are acceptable in the summer months, so too are Hawaiian shirts, and painterly shirts, and boxy shirts, and Cuban collared shirts, and shirts that look like they're from the costume department of Midsommar. They're also easy to wear (very important!).
These slightly mad things slot in with the simpler things. It's symbiotic too. Your best jeans tone down some mad stuff up top. Same mad stuff elevates the quieter bits elsewhere. It's magic! All of that allows you to really mess about, and to dip your toe into the wilder elements of today's menswear without feeling like that awful guy who confuses a bow tie for a personality.
It all started with Prada. Naturally. In the brand's AW '16 collection, a very willowy model walked out in a very Instagram bit: the 'Impossible True Love' shirt. Depicting a young Elvis Presley and Cleopatra in a sweet, sweet, sweet embrace, the illustration by French artist Christophe Chemin launched the big bold shirt as the next big thing. A$AP Rocky had one, and Kanye, and the late, great Virgil Abloh. And the next big thing endured for several years as both Cuban collars and their mainland alternatives became the go-to choice each and every summer.
If you haven't got the time or the inclination or the sheer cash power to trawl StockX for the original Prada piece: no fear. There are tonnes of brands that can do the summer shirt just as good. To be a big strapping Provençal lad, go for Jacquemus. The incumbent wunderkind makes French fashion that looks beyond Paris, and the Marseilles-centric aesthetic gets fun with illustrations, stripes and strokes that are all a bit playful. Harago is also a strong choice. Founded just in 2019, the label has amassed quite the following thanks to traditional Indian techniques that embroider and embellish cool linen shirts. YMC, Folk and Albam do that pared-back British workwear thing. Bode is fast becoming a grail brand for the pagancore boys. Casablanca is riding high on the Liberace kitsch wave. See. Loads of options.
Of course, you can settle for something classic and simple and look nice in photos in 20 years time. But given the fact that mad shirts have not just survived but thrived in the menswear canon for almost a decade, and given the fact they yield a high-impact 'fit with minimal effort, perhaps you go big. The long, hot summer shirt is going to be a good one.
