Summer is finally here and so if you haven’t started thinking about your summer wardrobe, what are you waiting for?! In this article we’ll quickly run through the 20 items that have made it into our affordable men’s summer capsule wardrobe. These items all work really well together allowing you to create hundreds of possible combinations. The pieces are mostly fairly neutral allowing you to pair them with bolder & more colourful pieces you may have.
Check out our YouTube video above for more info & without further ado here are the 20 pieces…
Shirts & T-Shirts
Uniqlo Kabuki Graphic Short Sleeved Shirt
Straight in with the big guns! This is one of our favourites from our 10 Must Have Affordable Summer Shirts For 2023
H&M Essentials Linen Shirt
Simple, classic, breathable, versatile – just perfect for summer.
Charles Tyrwhitt Button Down Washed Oxford Shirt
This isn’t a brand we normally recommend but CT’s quality is excellent and this is a really great piece that can be dressed up or dressed down easily.
Abercrombie & Fitch Ribbed Thermal Long Sleeve Tee
More than just a great layering item, this tee will also look great on it’s own with a pair of shorts. The off-white colour will add longevity compared to a bright white tee.
Decathlon Long Sleeved Sailor T-Shirt
Another leftfield brand choice, Decathlon isn’t normally a shop we’d visit unless we’re looking for sports gear for the kids! But this t-shirt is really great and is a solid choice for a striped long sleeved tee if the likes of Armor Lux and CDG are out of your price range.
Dickies Regular Fit White Tee
One of the fundamental building blocks of any capsule wardrobe is the white t-shirt. This one from Dickies is medium weight and regular fitting so works with most silhouettes. It comes in a 3 pack along with black & grey versions.
River Island Muscle Fit Vest
If you’re confident enough to wear a tight fitting tank top under an open shirt there are few better summer looks. But if this isn’t something you’ll feel comfortable in, don’t worry – just double up on white t-shirts instead.
Trousers & Shorts
Weekday Ross Shorts – Beige
We love these chino shorts – they’re loose without being too baggy so you’ll stay on trend without looking like you’re trying too hard! Since we filmed the YouTube video these have been discounted – yay!
Gap Essential Chino Shorts
Solid, good quality short option. These are available in a few colours but we like the grey option for the capsule.
H&M Premium Selection Light Beige Linen Trousers
More linen from H&M!
Percival Olive Straight Leg Trousers
Unbelievable deal here from Otrium – these won’t be around for long!
Uniqlo U Regular Fit Jeans
Uniqlo make hands down the best quality budget jeans. These are available in a few colours and have recently been discounted to make them even better value.
Outerwear
Levi’s Trucker Jacket
If you don’t already have a denim trucker jacket firstly, why not? Secondly, you’re in luck as this Levi’s version is perfect and discounted at Zalando.
Uniqlo Utility Jacket
This is just a great workwear style jacket. It will layer beautifully with jeans or cargos. Also available in olive but we’ve gone with brown for the capsule.
Gildan Grey Sweatshirt
Does a sweatshirt count as outerwear? Probably not but we’re including it here anyway… Gildan make good quality basics. If you’ve bought a random graphic tee from the internet there’s a good chance they printed it on a plain Gildan shirt. This sweatshirt is easily as good quality as most that are 3 times the price.
Footwear
Schuh Rogan Leather Loafer
We’re not going to pretend this is the best quality loafer you will ever wear. But if you’re looking to join the millions of Instagram loafer wearers and don’t want to spend a lot doing it, these are a great value option.
John Lewis Castana Suede Sandals
Unpopular opinion – we hate the Birkenstock Boston. But we still love the Birks Arizona. If you agree, but want a good quality cheaper option, these Arizona influenced sandals from John Lewis are ideal.
Reebok Club C 85 Trainers
We just love these and think they make the perfect alternative to Air Force 1s or NB550s.
We’re seeing these more & more on our Insta feed so jump on board now!
Accessories
Service Works Baseball Cap
A black cap will complement just about any outfit you make from this capsule wardrobe. This one from Service Works is simple and cool.
Vans Spicoli 4 Sunglasses
And finally, every summer wardrobe needs a pair of wayfarer style sunglasses. These Vans shades won’t break the bank, so you won’t be devastated when you sit on them and break them like every other pair of sunglasses you’ve owned!
Outfits
So now you have the items lets see a few examples of how to combine them…
