Emily Post

Weighing in on summer-weight suits

By Dawn Stanyon, AICI FLC, Professional Image Consultant

Scenario: Temperature: 90 degress; Humidity: 90%; and it feels like you should be swimming to work.

Dilemma: The thought of putting on a suit makes you want to weep but you’re having lunch with a prospective client so you have to represent.

Solution: Put on a summer-weight suit.

If you work in an industry that requires you to wear a suit daily or on occasion (or if just love wearing a suit like Barney on How I Met Your Mother), you should invest in a couple lightweight suits.

Here are five points of interest about summer-weight suits:

1. They can be found just about everywhere: J. Crew, Banana Republic, Macy’s, Brooks Brothers, and beyond.
2. Many people think linen when they think of summer suits. The problem is linen wrinkles the first time you sit down. Wrinkles are the hallmark of a linen suit, but in a business setting that informality doesn’t send the right message. Save the linen suit for a daytime outdoor wedding.
3. There are options: cotton, cotton/linen blend, fine gabardine, worsted, and silk/wool blends. In many offices, the comfortable and cool cotton or cotton blend suit would be perfect.
4. If you want a more formal look, opt for a wool/silk blend. While we think of wool as warm, a summer-weight wool (higher thread count keeps you cool and repels moisture (unlike cotton). Also, this type of material has a slight sheen to it that lends itself to formality.
5. A summer-weight wool suit will be labeled Super 120 to 150. This is a good three to four-month suit weight fabric and it drapes better than cotton.

For more information on Emily Post Business Etiquette Programs contact Director of Sales and Relationships, Dawn Stanyon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .