A "difficulty" that appears in the summer for men who dress in our style and who take an active role in developing their own personal style is the problem of a lack of layers. This is not a true problem, it is only one of perception. There is a general thought / trend in our style world that essentially places a great deal of emphasis on layering (and busy complicated layering at that). Now, it must be said that a lot of the layering that occurs is more performative and derived from advertisements rather than actual living. Life in an advertisement isn't actually life after all. Nevertheless this seeps into our general feeling and thusly "dressing well" means "dressing with a lot going on". This is a misconception even when lots of layers are possible and it is totally incorrect when it comes to summer. Essentially this general trend makes dressing appropriately in summer impossible.
Critique of the advertising impact aside, there is truth to the idea that with more possibilities, it is more possible to make distinction and make note. When your outfit includes 6 pieces as opposed to 3, there is simply more room for personal style to come through easily. There is more opportunity for more choice to reveal. While this is true, this doesn't mean it is impossible to reveal personal style in the summer or that intentionality is out the window, it is just that it requires a slightly more nuanced eye, a shift of thought and approach. In a way our senses must actually become more acute.
This summer I am going to write often on this theme, I am going to try to dig deeper into the emergence of personal style, nuance and differentiation when it comes to natural actual (as opposed to performative show) summer wear. In preparation and preview of this, you see a most simple outfit in the photos above. A thrift vintage Polo Ralph Lauren short sleeve madras button down (unbuttoned collar buttons), khaki chino shorts and the faintest glimpse of a brown watch band.