Why Shorts Aren’t the Answer to Office Heat

Why Good Tailoring Beats Shorts In The Summer Heat

Michael Pascalis • October 24, 2025

Why Good Tailoring Beats Shorts In The Summer Heat

You may have seen the increasing number of media reports calling for a “rethink” of the suit in summer. In a warming world, more and more people seem to be advocating for a switch to shorts as an officially sanctioned piece of office wear.

But are shorts really the future of corporate wear, or is there another, better, way to keep cool, comfortable, and professional in an era of climate change?

Our view is that suits are outdated, it’s that too many people are wearing the wrong suits.

Every decade has its fashion provocations. Once it was the open-neck shirt, then the disappearance of the tie. Today, the idea of pairing shorts with a jacket has become the headline grabber. The notion is playful, even charming. It conjures up images of Hollywood stars in the 1980s experimenting with silhouettes that defied tradition.

But in practice, shorts in the boardroom are a gimmick. They neither solve the challenge of extreme heat nor maintain the respect and professionalism that corporate clothing should convey. No serious client wants to negotiate a deal with someone who looks as though they are headed to the beach.

Why Suits Feel Hot

The real reason people struggle in summer is not the suit itself, but the way modern suits are being produced and worn. Too many are made with polyester blends that trap heat and suffocate the skin. Too many are cut too tight, clinging to the body and choking off the very airflow that once made classic tailoring wearable in any season.

The skinny trouser trend has been a disaster for comfort. By hugging the thighs and tapering sharply at the ankle, it eliminates circulation and airflow. Similarly, the ultra-slim jacket looks sharp in a shop window but becomes unbearable after an hour in the summer sun. What was once a garment of elegance and function has been cheapened into a costume.

The answer is not to abandon the suit but to return to its principles. Classic tailoring has always adapted to climate. Lightweight wool, for example, is a marvel of natural engineering: breathable, resilient, and cool in summer while warm in winter. When woven properly, it surpasses every synthetic fibre in comfort and durability.

Cut matters too. Trousers with pleats and a slightly longer rise create space for airflow. A little more fullness in the legs prevents fabric from clinging and heating the skin. Wider hems allow for movement without sacrificing line. Jackets cut with ease, rather than strangling the torso, allow the body to breathe. Half linings or unlined constructions reduce bulk without compromising structure.

In short: the suit is not the problem. Bad suits are.

Professionalism in the Heat

Clothing is never neutral. It signals authority, respect, and intent. A well-cut suit tells a client, a judge, or a boardroom that the wearer has taken the occasion seriously. Shorts may be practical on a sports field or at a seaside café, but in the world of professional exchange they diminish more than they relieve.

The climate is changing. Summers are hotter, winters more unpredictable. This demands more from our clothes, not less. The fashion industry has the tools: natural fabrics, sustainable production, and designs rooted in function as much as form. Returning to these principles would do more for comfort and sustainability than any shorts-in-the-office experiment ever could.

By investing in fewer, better garments, with lightweight wool suits, breathable shirts, unlined jackets, professionals not only adapt to hotter summers but also contribute to a more sustainable future. Throwaway polyester blends, designed for trend rather than longevity, do more harm than good.

To dress well in this era is not about shocking with shorts or making headlines with gimmicks. It is about showing that professionalism can coexist with climate reality. A lightweight wool suit, cut with room to breathe, by a leading tailor of bespoke suits in Sydney, sends a stronger signal than any pair of boardroom shorts: that style, comfort, and seriousness are not mutually exclusive.

< Older Post

Eight Things to Consider for Your Summer Suit

October 22, 2025

The conversation about summer dressing too often circles back to gimmicks. Shorts in the office, polo shirts in the boardroom, but these are symptoms of a deeper problem: we have forgotten how to make and wear proper clothing for the climate we live in. A summer suit, chosen with care, remains the most elegant answer. But not all suits are created equal. If the heat leaves you dreaming of linen drawstrings, it’s not the suit’s fault. It’s the wrong suit. Here are eight considerations that turn summer tailoring from punishment into pleasure. 1. Fabric First The single most important decision is fabric. Natural fibres are non-negotiable. Polyester and other synthetics trap heat and suffocate the skin; they are cheap in every sense of the word. Tropical wool, with its fine yarn and open weave, has been the quiet hero of summer tailoring for decades. Linen, either pure or in a wool blend, brings unmatched breathability and texture. Cotton offers a crisp alternative for the more casual office. The principle is simple: fabric should breathe. 2. Lightness of Weave Weight is not enough; weave matters too. A dense cloth, no matter how fine, will feel like armour in January. Fresco, hopsack, and other open-weave constructions let air circulate without sacrificing drape. They prove that you don’t need to bare skin to keep cool. 3. The Case for Unlined Jackets Every layer in a suit traps heat. A fully lined jacket in the peak of summer is as unnecessary as it is uncomfortable. Half-lined or unlined jackets offer structure without insulation. Stripped back to its essentials, the jacket still frames the shoulders, flatters the waist, and gives shape, only now it does so without suffocating the wearer. 4. Rethinking Fit The tyranny of the skinny suit has done more to ruin summer dressing than the thermometer ever could. Narrow lapels, shrunken jackets, and trousers cut like leggings may look sharp in shop windows, but in the real world they cling, sweat, and stifle. A summer suit demands room to breathe: a touch more fullness in the chest, pleats in the trousers, a slightly longer rise. These small concessions to airflow make all the difference. 5. Freedom of Movement Tailoring was never meant to be restrictive. The best summer suits allow ease: side vents that open as you walk, trousers that fall cleanly without gripping the thigh, shoulders that move without resistance. Comfort is not the enemy of style, but rather it is its foundation. 6. The Role of Colour Summer is no time for charcoal and midnight navy. Dark cloth absorbs heat and looks heavy against the season’s light. Pale grey, beige, sky blue are shades that reflect the sun and signal ease. Seersucker, with its puckered surface, even lifts the fabric off the skin to create tiny channels of air. If ever there was a fabric designed for August, this is it. 7. Care and Longevity Summer is unforgiving. Suits face sweat, humidity, and relentless sun. The careless solution is cheap rotation: buy more, wear them out, throw them away. The wiser approach is investment. A well-made summer suit, rested between wears and hung to air, will last for years. Quality not only looks better, it endures. 8. Dressing with Intent The final consideration is not technical but philosophical. A summer suit is more than cloth and cut. It is a statement that professionalism need not wilt in the heat, that respect for the occasion is not seasonal. To wear one well is to prove that elegance adapts. Shorts may make headlines; tailoring makes an impression. There is nothing radical about suggesting that a summer suit can be cool, comfortable, and dignified. It has always been possible. The knowledge is there, in the choice of fabric, the looseness of cut, the restraint of lining, the play of colour. What is required is not reinvention but remembrance: a return to tailoring that understands climate rather than fights it. Eight considerations for made to measure suits for summer, then, but really one principle: good clothes work with the body, not against it. And in the heart of summer, a well-made suit is not a contradiction. It is liberation.