[Flanderian]

I have some experience with high quality summer dress shirt fabrics such as cotton lawn and cotton batiste and have found both excellent with some limitations. (See through.) But I have an old, cheap camp shirt from L L Bean that's made of 50/50 linen and cotton. The properties of this fabric are remarkable considering its constituents.

It is cooler than all cotton, and possibly even cooler than linen, but wrinkles less that either. Of course, the fabric in this shirt is comparatively crudely spun and woven.

Today I came across a couple shirts be Parisian bespoke shirt maker Daniel Levy that are also linen and cotton, though the percentage of each is not specified. It looks as fine as the best poplin/broadcloth. The caption describes it as cotton and linen zephyr. Whether zephyr is intended as a purely descriptive term, or is in fact a mill's brand name, I do not know. But if it shares the qualities of my cheap camp shirt I would have to think it an excellent summer dress shirt fabric.

 

[Mute]

For summer fabrics I'm a big fan of cotton/linen blends.

 

[Vecchio Vespa]

I like heavy oxford cloth, like a Mercer OCBD, cut baggy. It is surprisingly breathable, stays more or less away from body and arms, and can stand up to humidity, even with a tie. For less dressy, like right now in a comfy chair, I like loose linen camp shirts or madras with the tails out, the sleeves rolled up, and two buttons undone on the top and one on the bottom. They are cooler than anything else I know of. The traditional shirts like batiste or broadcloth quickly become damp and unhappy in Texas weather.

 

[Peak and Pine]

I have some experience with high quality summer dress shirt fabrics such as cotton lawn and cotton batiste and have found both excellent with some limitations.

I on the I other hand have no experience with either and don't even know what they are and have little interest in knowing, knowing by guess that money would be floating out of my pocket in multiple amounts, none of it going to a more sturdy fabric that would make a $200 shirt last ten times longer than a $20 one or wear ten times cooler or look ten times better, so I will stick to what you derisively describe as a cheap L. L. Bean linen/cotton not only because the money stays here in Maine, but so do I, no travel, if only by internet, to France for a visit to the guy you've been hawking here for years (a search for something or other brought up a four year old post of yours for Lévy) and while some of his stuff looks quite fine, much of it has pimp tinge so for summer shirts my extra money, which I have absolutely none of, would be parceled out to quantity not so much quality (tho a happy medium has always occurred) because on a hot hot hot Maine summer day I want to be able to change a shirt five or six times a day, a sudsy bucket kept porch ready to accept the peeled off one and because of the financial liability involved in being able to do that I would be willing to wear summer shirts made of flour sacks, if need be.

My June to Labor Day preference, somewhat like @Vecchio Vespa, is artic white oxford cloth long sleeve button downs by the dozens which everybody sells at some point. Walmart to PoloRL currently mobilized in my closets ready for summer sweat. Once on, I can't tell the difference. Correction, even not on I can't tell the difference.

 

[Dhaller]

Apparently, "cotton zephyr" is a specific fabric developed by Thomas Mason (in 1818), though it doesn't seem to be an actual trade name. Daniel Lévy uses it, among others.

More on it here: Thomas Mason Zephir & Linen Collection Shirt Fabrics | Senszio

Naturally, I now want one (some).

No one sells a shirt like Flanderian!

DH

 

[rs525]

Haven't quite found the fabric I want yet. I have a 60% Linen 40% Cotton Soft Cream Shirt from Luxire. A Linen Cotton Blend just doesn't work for me, I still get warm pretty quick. The closest I've found so far that work best for me are Broadcloth/End on End and Pique Knit.

 

[drpeter]

I have taken a different approach to the question of summer attire, especially on a warm day. I simply wear very informal clothing -- cotton shorts, T shirts and Birkies are almost a uniform for me, along with poplin trousers and cotton or cotton-blend short-sleeve shirts if I wanted to dress a bit more formally. The occasions when I need to wear even a blazer or sports jacket are rare, and a suit, rarer still. On those occasions, a simple cotton full-sleeve shirt in poplin is sufficient, along with one of my favourite Irish poplin ties (silk and worsted wool) in summer colours. And I have cotton suits and summer-weight blazers galore!

I am also greatly helped by the generally cooler summers in Wisconsin, although I daresay that is changing dramatically with the general warming trend in our climate. Given this latter fact, maybe we should dress like the fellows in Bermuda:

 

[Flanderian]

Apparently, "cotton zephyr" is a specific fabric developed by Thomas Mason (in 1818), though it doesn't seem to be an actual trade name. Daniel Lévy uses it, among others.

More on it here: Thomas Mason Zephir & Linen Collection Shirt Fabrics | Senszio

Naturally, I now want one (some).

No one sells a shirt like Flanderian!

DH

How about a bridge? Thanks.

And thanks for posting the link, beautiful looking stuff!

It's possible I remember Will Boehlke posting about this cloth in his late blog, A suitable Wardrobe.

Been out of the bespoke shirt market for ages, but doubt that even then I would have been willing to pay the freight for this. Primo cloth!

 

[Flanderian]

I have taken a different approach to the question of summer attire, especially on a warm day. I simply wear very informal clothing -- cotton shorts, T shirts and Birkies are almost a uniform for me, along with poplin trousers and cotton or cotton-blend short-sleeve shirts if I wanted to dress a bit more formally. The occasions when I need to wear even a blazer or sports jacket are rare, and a suit, rarer still. On those occasions, a simple cotton full-sleeve shirt in poplin is sufficient, along with one of my favourite Irish poplin ties (silk and worsted wool) in summer colours. And I have cotton suits and summer-weight blazers galore!

I am also greatly helped by the generally cooler summers in Wisconsin, although I daresay that is changing dramatically with the general warming trend in our climate. Given this latter fact, maybe we should dress like the fellows in Bermuda:

View attachment 87567

Agree that summer weight poplin/broadcloth is also a fine fabric when one is going to wear a tie and jacket in the heat.

 

[MAx12332]

We have a hot summer, so my wife likes linen dresses the most. They are light and comfortable, and most importantly, they do not get hot. By the way, there is a good selection here.

 

[drpeter]

We have a hot summer, so my wife likes linen dresses the most. They are light and comfortable, and most importantly, they do not get hot. By the way, there is a good selection here.

Excellent approach! Your wife is smart and has good taste.

There's another factor, perhaps even more important than the material, that helps here: A dress (or a skirt), by its very nature, is less confining and permits more air circulation than a tucked-in shirt and trousers. So wearing these loose garments in the summer is a very reasonable alternative to wearing the more restrictive shirts and trousers.

So given this logic, here's my invention (or design, if you will) for summer menswear: The madras kilt (US Patent Pending for Yours Truly). Brightly coloured plaids or checks in the general tartan tradition, but constructed with the classic madras fabric. Pleats optional. Now don't clutter things up with Scottish jackets, sporrans, dirks and other non-essentials -- in fact, a dirk is no use in this heavily-armed country unless it is to open an intransigent tin of corned beef hash or curry powder.

 

[DRWWE]

White on white seersucker makes a wonderful dress shirt as does linen and sea island quality broadcloth.