What to wear to the office part II: Summer fashion
Last week we asked what we might be wearing after lockdown ends and we’re finally expected to return to the office. This week we spoke to designers, tailors and fashion brand founders about the clothes from their upcoming ranges they expect to see us wearing over the coming months, from statement pieces to sleek everyday items in reassuringly stretchy materials.
The Bellemere New York cashmere V-neck fine knit T-shirt 
Edit Suits drawstring chinos 
Henry Poole lightweight jacket 
Eleni Bantra Cellular I Silk Scarf 
Cad & The Dandy safari jacket 
The Fresha London Ayla Dress 
Sans Matin Domingo sneaker 
Dege & Skinner camp collar short sleeve shirt 
Huntsman cashmere blazer 
Thom Sweeney double-breasted jacket 
Richard Anderson Single Breasted Jersey Sports Coat
Edit Suits Founders Patrick Jungo and Reto Pete
Our new drawstring chinos: smart-casual never felt so comfortable. We’ve all come to value comfort in our wardrobe, but soon it’s time to leave our houses and get our social lives back. Our drawstring chinos are the perfect wardrobe item for the post-covid world, combining the classy look of a chino with the comfort of a jogger.
Custom tailored to your personal size, it has an elasticated waistband, while the cotton from Tessuti di Sondrio is the perfect fabric for all seasons – breathable, durable and with a slight stretch.
£129, available here
Fresha London Founder & Designer Chidem Mokan
The Fresha London Ayla Dress, featuring clashing retro prints in a classic silhouette with a chunky bow-tie detailing. This versatile dress is perfect for a garden picnic or summertime wedding outfit, easily dressed up and down for the occasion.
It’s the ultimate summer dress to have and keep in your wardrobe every season, with the return of florals always predominant on and off the runway for spring/summer. This dress truly captures the essences of the British countryside with its ditsy floral prints and romantic flare, bursting with colour, wearing this will make you feel good and look good.
£200, available here
Bellemere New York Founder Samantha Honstetter
The Bellemere New York cashmere V-neck fine knit T-shirt holds endless possibilities of being styled into your spring/summer wardrobe. The easily worn, silky finish T-shirt is available in the on trend classic neutral shade, perfect to be layered or worn alone; the versatile staple can be worked into your go-to collection, from tucked into a skirt or worn with trousers or jeans. Dressed up or down for a timeless and classic look, it’s also available in light blue and red for effortless colour-blocking.
£158.05, available here
Sans Matin Founders Charly and Lockie Cunningham
The Domingo sneakers are our hero piece, stylish, comfortable and versatile, and designed for the conscious consumer. The Domingo is the perfect unisex shoe to pair with a suit to the office, or jeans to the pub.
The Domingo, as with all our collection, is ethically handmade using premium locally sourced materials including our 60 per cent natural rubber soles. Our packaging and shoe bags are made from recycled materials, and two per cent of all our purchases are donated to charity.
£140, available here
Eleni Bantra Founder and Designer Eleni Bantra
An elegant and timeless accessory, with a delicate surface and an exceptional drape, the Cellular I Silk Scarf (90x90cm) is part of my Human Microverse collection. It’s a chic addition to every wardrobe that can be worn in a variety of different ways – as a neck scarf, headscarf, sarong, top, shawl – and it can be easily adapted to any outfit as a statement piece.
What makes it even more unique is its design story; a microscopic pattern of a human spleen photographed under the microscope is combined with geometric shapes found in laboratory equipment. A pure amalgamation of art and science.
£180, available here
Cad & The Dandy owner James Sleater
Our houndstooth safari jacket is the ideal partner for spring, cut in a cream, wool and silk mix cloth from Loro Piana, the jacket is lightweight, breathable and extremely versatile. Fully unlined with a soft shoulder and drawstring waist, this deconstructed jacket pairs perfectly with casual cotton trousers and a brushed cotton shirt for an effortless weekend look. Designed with comfort in mind, this jacket retains an elegant silhouette whilst still appealing to a more dressed-down world.
£675, available here
Dege & Skinner MD William Skinner
Our linen camp collar short sleeve shirt comes in a relaxed fit perfect for the summer climate. The famed camp collar, which was a favourite of Sean Connery in the James Bond film Thunderball, is made from Irish linen. The photo above shows a fresh mint green, ideal for a relaxed summer look. Designed, cut and made in our Savile Row workshops, it also comes in white, navy, blush pink, hot pink and riviera blue.
£245, available here
Henry Poole co-managing director and cutte Alex Cooke
Henry Poole & Co uses lightweight canvas intervals to ensure our jackets are comfortable and create minimum heat. In the past, we’d use three layers of canvas on the chest but now we’ve stripped it right down, sometimes to just one. Plus the lining is buggy or half-line and we put it only across the shoulders at the back. Given linings tend to be synthetic, this makes a lot of difference to a jacket’s breathability.
A Henry Poole lightweight jacket ensures you are comfortable and cool but it is still made to last and retains the world-renowned and instantly recognisable Savile Row cut that is a guarantee of sartorial elegance. They never look flimsy or off-the-peg and retain that bespoke look.
£3,245, available here
Huntsman Head Cutter and Creative Director Campbell Carey
Following the success of last season’s unstructured jacket, we’ve worked to refine and perfect the silhouette of this cashmere blazer. Crafted in the finest Loro Piana french-navy worsted cashmere, the plain weave construction of the cloth highlights the quality of the handle and the softness of the yarn.
The lightweight and airy cloth is sumptuously soft and in a warmer hue for Spring. Unstructured, and skeleton lined, this jacket fits and feels as comfortable as a cardigan, but retains the timeless quality of a navy sports coat. It’s elegant and versatile and designed to work seamlessly in a smart/casual wardrobe.
£2,500, available here
Richard Anderson founder Richard Anderson
We have recently expanded our Bespoke range to include a Single Breasted Jersey Sports Coat, a superbly comfortable tailored piece that is perfect for warmer temperatures. The Jersey Sports Coat is slightly shorter than our traditional house style with a swelled edge and narrowed lapels for a more contemporary feel.
It is perfect for summer dress-downs as the cloth drapes and enhances the body’s natural features. The coat has a softer shoulder with slightly less construction through the chest, making it both flattering and comfortable. The jersey comes in a variety of colours including deep navies, greys and forest greens, making it a versatile piece that can be carried through summer to winter.
Our Single Breasted Jersey Sports Coat is a reflection of an ever-growing demand for a relaxed alternative to classic, structured tailoring and offers customers the perfect piece for those spring weekend strolls, late-summer al fresco dining or an easy-to-wear travel piece for when borders open up again.
£5,152, available here
Thom Sweeney founders Luke Sweeney and Thom Whiddett
A key piece in the Thom Sweeney Spring Summer 2021 collection, this double-breasted jacket in a striking rust coloured lightweight slub linen is the perfect dress-me-up or dress-me-down staple to look the part in any scenario. Cut in our classic Thom Sweeney style, we love it styled with a classic white polo and a sand chino.
£1,395, available here