For maximum breeziness, you could wear your knit tank with pleated linen shorts and strappy leather sandals. But, as your fuddy-duddy brother-in-law would be quick to remind you, the window to enjoy your summer whites only stays open for so long, and the opportunity to break out pants as preternaturally chill as Polar’s ’90s-inspired joints is a terrible thing to waste. (As per usual, your brother-in-law is woefully misinformed—white jeans look killer long past Labor Day—but the point still stands.)
Tie up those grease-stained strands with one of Kapital’s signature bandanas, block out the bad vibes with Crap’s lemony tinted frames, and soothe your swollen dogs with Vans’ unbeatably cushy slip-ons.
Total Cost: $360
The rugby shirt has been around in one form or another since the 1800s, when thick-necked Britons popularized the style chasing around a wee leather ball on the pitch. (Okay, you got us: we’ve never watched a game of rugby before.) The point is, the beefy cotton polo—defined by its contrast collar and broad stripes—was designed to take a beating, and it’s lingered in the menswear consciousness for that exact reason.
Once upon a time, the rugby was the exclusive domain of winter and fall, often layered under a burly waxed canvas jacket or worn solo with cozy-as-hell cords. Mercifully, those days are behind us—J.Crew’s retro-leaning riff preserves the silhouette’s quintessential attributes, but equips it with a jaunty teal stripe across the chest, a welcome upgrade that feels just right with summer on the horizon. The Crew’s durable cotton joint was already a steal, but at a mere $40 it’s suddenly looking like a deal worth wading into the scrum for. Blitz!
Rugby shirts have long since transcended their origins, but to really lean into the vibe (and dial-in your next hiking fit), keep things in the broader gorp family. Gramicci’s climbing shorts are a perennial GQ favorite, and Nike’s Air Deschutz sandals, the latest smash from the brand’s ACG sub-label, might just convince you to ditch the Merrells indefinitely. Before you hit the trails, protect your keppe with a UV-shielding, moisture-wicking ball cap, and protect your toes with a scrunched pair of camps socks.
Total Cost: $290
You ever wish you could walk out of your house in your PJs and not get side-eyed? (We miss college, too.) The adult world is a bit less forgiving in that regard, which is a real shame—at this very moment, there are a heckuva lot of pajamas that look cool enough to wear as street clothes, far away from the marshmallow-y safety of your bed. Case in point: Tekla’s GQ Sleep Awards-winning jammies, which answer the question of “Is it possible to rock pajama bottoms out of the house without looking like a slob?” with a hearty, resounding YES. In fact, we’d like to suggest, you can even wear them to elevate your outfits all the way to Cloud 9.
