Wedding season is magical. And hot as Hades. The suit you wore to your BFF’s nuptials in February won’t cut it in June. You need a summer wedding suit to properly thread up without a chance of shvitzing or heat stroke. You can’t blame the happy couples out there for wanting a sunny wedding day (nor would we dare to ask them to move the wedding date to accommodate your mohair tux)—you’ve just got to adapt and wear the right clothes. Opt for something lightweight and breathable that comes with enough room to actually let some breeze through. To help you stay cool at the next stop on the smoldering wedding circuit we’ve scoured the web for the swankiest, sweat-proof-iest summer wedding suits out there to ensure you can show up to the function and show out on the dance floor without soaking through your getup. Tailored from breathable fabrics with minimal lining, all of these options are neutral enough to handle a summer’s worth of weddings and the fit mashups that go with them—from aloha shirts to vintage polos to good ol’ fashioned button-downs and ties—so they’ll never see you in the same thing twice. Oh, yeah, and did we mention a whole lot of ’em clock in at well under $1,000? Save your dough for the post-reception bar.
The Best Summer Wedding Suits at a Glance
- The Leveled-Up Linen Summer Suit: Todd Snyder Italian linen Sutton Suit, $766
- The Italian Summer Suit: Suitsupply “Roma” suit, $799
- The Southern Prepster Summer Suit: J.Crew “Ludlow” slim-fit unstructured suit, $346
- The Casual(ish) Summer Suit: Alex Mill “Mill” suit, $380
- The Nothing-But-the-Finest Summer Suit: The Armoury linen Glen plaid model 101 suit, $3500
- The Boogie-Bound Summer Suit: Gucci Maxi Horsebit cotton suit, $5580
- The Affordable Luxury Summer Suit: Banana Republic “Gavin” Italian linen suit, $680
- The Office-Ready Summer Suit: Polo Ralph Lauren Polo soft linen suit, $1096
- The Thigh-Baring Summer Suit: COS unstructured linen suit, $370
- The Dark Horse Summer Suit: Kaptain Sunshine cotton and linen-blend gabardine suit, $1435
- The Artisanal Summer Suit: Evan Kinori three button jacket and two pleat pant, $2240
- The Rule-Bending Summer Suit: Our Legacy Sharp suit, $1021
The Leveled-Up Linen Summer Suit
In the wrong hands, linen suits can be all kinds of terrible: baggy, sack-like, as unflattering as it gets. You know exactly the type we’re talking about, because your swagless cousin Dale probably got married in one at a resort somewhere in the Caribbean. Well, Todd Snyder has just about the surest hands in menswear, with a knack for making clothes that are reliably handsome and accessible, splitting the difference between of-the-moment and timeless. Applied to a linen suit, that means a trim two-button cut that’s structured enough to wear to work, while still embracing the texture and character of the fabric itself. If only Dale had copped one of these instead.
The Italian Summer Suit
Ever been to Milan in the summertime and marveled at all the perfectly sprezzed-out dudes whizzing by on Vespas without even a bead of sweat on their foreheads or a single hair out of place? This is the suit those guys are wearing: immaculately tailored from a luxe silk-cotton mix in timeless navy blue, with no padding to speak of and slightly wider-than-normal lapels. To go full Italiano, pair it with a crisp white shirt, a subtle tie, and a piping hot shot of espresso.
The Southern Prepster Summer Suit
No warm weather suiting roundup would be complete without some seersucker, the puckered, ultra-light cotton that natty Southern lawyers and buttoned-up Ivy League kids have worn to keep cool for generations. And J.Crew’s take—an unlined, unstructured version of their classic Ludlow suit—is even breezier than normal. If you have any reservations about pulling off those blue-and-cream stripes (you absolutely can), the mind-boggling sub-$300 price point should at least make it easier to take the leap.
The Casual(ish) Summer Suit
Ugh, you just got one of those wedding invitations with the incredibly vague and unhelpful dress code “casual black tie” or “rustic chic”. Just pick a normal theme! As amorphous and infuriating as it is, there is an answer that will solve this matrimonial conundrum. The Alex Mill cotton suit straddles the line between formal and casual with workwear leanings and a lightweight cotton fabric that’s not too fussy. Of course, you can press a crease into the pants to avoid looking like you literally just grabbed a pair of everyday chinos, but chances are, if you’re headed for anything takes place outdoors, the look will land perfectly. As a bonus, the suit is casual enough to easily wear as separates in your day-to-day office life without looking like you’ve been too lazy to do laundry.
The Nothing-But-the-Finest Summer Suit
If you’re a real or aspiring menswear aficionados, you probably want to opt for perfection and The Armoury’s 101 linen suit is about as close as it gets. It’s almost entirely made by hand with tasty details like a full canvas construction, 3-roll-2 button stance split-back waist and elegant adjustable side tabs.
The Boogie-Bound Pick
For some of us, weddings are just an opportunity to freak it on the fashion front and the dance floor. This baller Gucci suit nails both with its signature horsebit print and ‘70s inflected design. It’s made with a luxurious cotton fabric so you won’t have to worry about sweating (too much) when you bust a move to “24K Magic”.
The Affordable Luxury Summer Suit
Banana Republic—yes, the one from the mall—has been on something of a renaissance and a lot of that has to do with the tailoring. BR’s stepped up their suiting in recent seasons by using premium fabrics from esteemed Italian mills and employing details like pick stitching and soft shoulders which imbues its suits a handmade quality. The covered buttons feel almost like a tuxedo but the herringbone linen fabric give the suit a subtle texture and pattern that steers it away from overly formal territory.
The Office-Ready Summer Suit
Your friends don’t get to co-opt your hard-earned paycheck for a one-time event, as special as their wedding day might be. Who wants to buy a suit just for a single occasion, right? Ralph Lauren’s suite of suiting is some of the best you can find from such a big name and this lightweight linen number is just as appropriate for a wedding as it is for the office. Pair it with a pressed white shirt and a knit tie or, in more chill situations, a chambray shirt and some loafers and both your friends and boss will be happy.
The Thigh-Baring Wedding Suit
Look, it’s too damned hot. Period. Traveling away from home with a gift dressed in multiple layers of clothing and not just a breezy, open-collar shirt? The happy couple is already asking a lot. So in an effort to be as respectful as you can without dying of heat stroke, try this airy linen shorts suit and let your legs breathe. Pair it with some smooth leather loafers or a pair of off-white bucks and a crisp button-up and you’ll be looking as cool as you feel.
The Dark Horse Summer Suit
Normally, summer suiting necessitates lighter colors, but maybe that’s just not your speed. Kaptain Sunshine’s linen-blend suit is an inky black suit that fulfills your deep dark desire but stays far away from the generic black suit you’d find at most department stores.
The Artisanal Summer Suit
If your artsy creative friends are about to get hitched, you probably don’t have to worry too much about breaking any dress codes when it comes to your summer wedding suit. Art is about expression, baby! But if you’re still at a loss for what to button up for the big day, something like this tumbled linen two-piece from Evan Kinori is perfect. The fabric is a hefty linen that rumples beautifully without producing super fine sharp wrinkles and the fit is roomy, but not sloppy.
The Rule-Bending Summe Suit
Driving up to the wedding in neon tuxedos a la Lloyd and Harry from Dumb & Dumber isn’t generally advisable. But a very subdued lavender? That’s a big thumbs up. Our Legacy’s lowkey shade of purple is slightly unhinged (in the best way) and the fabric has a subtle iridescence and rumpled character that clearly doesn’t take things too seriously [insert divorce-rate statistics here].
