How do you dress casually in the summer? It can be a difficult season for men’s casual fashion.

You’ve got fewer layers to work with, and wearing shorts and a plain t-shirt every day can get a little stale.

Without the added benefit of layers that colder months give us, we’re left to make casual basics more exciting. It takes some creativity to stay stylish with casual summer outfits.

In this guide, we’ll give you ideas to do just that. 

Casual Summer Style: What You Should Focus On

If you’re like me, the first thing that comes to mind this time of year is how hot it’ll be and how I can avoid sweating through my clothes. 

There are a few things for us to consider before we jump into outfit ideas for the summer:

Materials and Fabrics

Keep your fabrics light and breathable. This is key to avoiding embarrassing sweat stains and hot, uncomfortable situations.

Linens and linen blends, seersucker, breathable cotton, tropical wool, and terry cloth are all good options. Stay away from any heavyweight wools or bulky cottons that will trap heat.

Good Quality Basics

Casual summer clothes mainly consist of staple pieces like tees, button-downs, shorts, and light pants.

Since you shed layers as the mercury rises, viable options from your wardrobe get reduced to bare bones. It’s important that you have good-quality “bones” (i.e., summer basics) rather than ill-fitting or worn-out essentials.

Opt for shorts and pants with some structure and devoid of holes or stains. Choose versatile items that can be mixed and matched with other items in your wardrobe.

Fit

The key to basics looking good on their own is how they fit you. By nailing the fit you’ll solve many of your style issues.

You want to find shorts that hit above the knee and shirts that fit in the shoulders and sleeves. In other words, you want to look like your clothes fit you and aren’t just hand-me-downs from your older brother.