Hot Suit

"Thanks for the new article, Sartoman. Nice and helpful as always.

BTW, I've been meaning to ask you. What makes a business suit a "summer suit" -- one that is more appropriate to be worn during the summer. Are summer suits supposed to be without lining or are they supposed to use very light material/fabric? Would appreciate your view on this. Thanks."

-- Jason, Japan

A: There are two Es that generally drive what we wear -- Event and Environment. For suits, the Event influences the Cut & Style of the suit, while Environment dictates the Fabric that you will choose.

Summer-friendly fabrics include Linen, Light Wool and Cotton. Personally, I like linen because it is both laidback and stylish. It's admittedly more challenging to wear because of its wrinkly nature, but that's also its charm; definitely not for the obsessive compulsive corporate drone.

When temperatures reach mid-30 Celsius, your skin acts like Post-it Notes with the extra amount of sweat it produces to cool itself down. So, your summer suit should be a little more roomy. And, since linen suits are typically loose-fitting, they allow for good ventilation on a hot day. This one pictured here from Banana Republic is a classic light khaki linen number. If you're going to a tailor to have one made ask him to use Italian or Irish linen as these give good body and are relatively less wrinkly vs. ordinary linen.

Oh, and make sure you add an extra layer of deodorant/anti-perspirant for good measure.