Summer is soon coming to end. At least here in Finland. We spent the last week of vacation in Italy and this time instead of Florence or Milan we traveled to Naples. In addition we spent some time in Capri and Sorrento. And those are just beautiful places. If you ever have a chance, go and see them yourself.
At this point I am not going to give you any traveling tips though. Instead I will try to give you some inspiration on what to wear for casual summer vacation.
Naples was sunny, hot and humid. So basically I could have managed by wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for the whole trip. But in a city like Naples I felt more comfortable wearing something a little more dressed-up. Yet I still kept it quite casual. And only for the last dinner we had, I wore a tie. Here in this post I will cover the first three days and soon I will come up with the part II for the last two days of our trip.
Day 1 - brown linen and knitted cotton
On the first full day in Naples we decided just to walk around the city. On the morning we headed to the Botanical Garden and from there to taste the most famous pizza at the pizzeria Michele. And just as a side note, the pizza margherita was definitely worth the hype and an hour wait.
For the first day I wore a simple off-white knitted polo shirt combined with the brown linen suit trousers and brown suede loafers . This one is actually one of my favorite summer combinations. First of all the off-white and mid-brown colors go perfectly together. Secondly the textures of linen and the knitted cotton are as well very nicely balanced. Finally the knitted polo shirt is a casual choice, yet it gives a dressed-up feeling. And altogether the attire is again simple, restrained and chic.
And if you want to dress up the attire, you can always wear the suit jacket with it. As I did when we headed for dinner in the evening.
Day 2 - casual linen and shorts
On the second day of our trip we decided to head to Capri Island. And even though it is full of tourists, that is one of the most beautiful places I've visited. And my spouse loved the place, so most probably we will visit the island again at some point in the future.
With the 30 degrees heat and sun, I wanted to go as light and casual as possible. So I chose to wear an old white linen shirt from Uniqlo with the dark blue tennis shorts and Superga sneakers. This summer I have actually worn shorts quite a lot. And as you can see from the pics here, I like to keep my shorts quite short. Therefore I love the kind of vintage tennis shorts. Some years ago I found two pairs that fit me perfectly and since then they have been heavily on my rotation.
For some guys shorts these shorts are too short. And too tight. But as said, that's just how I personally like them. And combined with a relaxed button-up shirt or a polo shirt they also fit nicely to the proportions of my body. Mainly because my upper body is "heavier" than my lower body and legs. As a result too loose and long shorts would make my legs look just too skinny. If you want to read more thoughts about how to wear shorts, check out my earlier post.
Day 3 - white trousers and shades of brown
The third day was again pretty much just strolling around the town. For the morning and afternoon I chose to wear white tennis shorts with a brown knitted polo shirt. The shirt is precisely the same than the off-white one pictured above.
One thing about wearing shorts and polo shirts is that I don't usually wear them together. If I wear shorts, I tend to wear a shirt with long sleeves. Even though I would then roll up the sleeves. Or if I want to wear a polo shirt or a t-shirt, I tend to wear full trousers instead of shorts. There is no particular reason for this, but in general I think that it is easier to keep the outfit in balance that way.
This time however I made an exception. And one of the reasons for that is that the combination gives me kind of a vintage feeling. In a positive way. And that is due not only to the shorts but also as the shirt clearly takes inspiration from the past decades. So sometimes it is alright to go with shorts and short-sleeved shirt.
The part II coming up tomorrow - stay tuned.
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