Summer provides plenty of opportunities for you to look your best. Whether your summer plans include weddings, meetings, or patio happy hours - you want to choose the right outfit for every occasion.

This summer, follow these five fashion tips to look great despite the heat.

Choose Breathable, Synthetic Fabrics

The cotton shirts and sweaters that keep you warm during winter don’t work well for summer as these fabrics hold moisture. If you wear a cotton shirt on a hot day, you can expect the material to absorb your sweat within hours, pit-stains and all.

For summer, you want to choose breathable, synthetic fabrics that wick away moisture or natural fibers like linen, though of course not for your socks. This will ensure you stay dry and cool.

Southern Scholar Socks are made from our signature blend of materials and engineered for comfort, durability, and a stay-up all day fit, guaranteed. We blend 32s/1 Polyester (the highest grade in hosiery), Viscose, Nylon, and Spandex throughout the entire sock - not just in the cuff. This blend gives our socks the perfect amount of stretch and breathability, without absorbing or holding onto moisture from your feet.

When selecting shirts, pants, and other items for your summer outfits, avoid heavy fabrics. You will look and feel more comfortable when you choose clothing made from fibers like linen.

Wear a Lightweight Blazer Made From the Right Fabric

The right blazer or linen hopsack jacket can add the finishing touch to a summer outfit. Some men push their jackets to the back of their closets during summer. Many of them will only wear blazers when they know that they will spend all of their time in air conditioning - we recommend not being that guy.

Try lightweight blazers or hopsack jackets that are unstructured, unlined, and crafted with material blends containing linen, cotton, silk, and even super lightweight wool.

When choosing a blazer for summer, stick with earth tones or go for jackets with more vibrant colors within the patterns. This will help to add a little pop to your outfit and make you stand out amongst the noise.

Button-Down Shirts for the Summer Season

Just the idea of wearing a button-down shirt during the summer season can make some men start to sweat. When you button a shirt up to your neck, you don’t leave much room for the airflow that you need to stay cool on hot days.

You can stay comfortable by following a few tips.

First, choose colors that reflect heat. Wear lighter colored shirts rather than dark colors that will absorb the sun’s heat.

Second, we recommend going without a tie whenever possible and adding a pocket square to your blazer to keep your look classy and professional

Finally, choose a shirt made from synthetic fiber blends designed for performance. As mentioned above, some of our favorite performance dress shirts come from Mizzen + Main, Twillory, and State & Liberty. Most of the shirts from these companies have proprietary fabric blends that wick moisture away from your body, resist wrinkling, and stretch with your movements to keep you comfortable on a hot day.

If you’re disappointed in most of the dress shirts that you find in stores, visit these companies for better alternatives.

Get a Summer Haircut That Doesn’t Need Much Maintenance

If you spent a lot of time getting your hair to the length you like, we don’t insist defaulting to a basic buzz or crew cut. However, you can consider taking a bit off of the sides and getting your hair trimmed more often to keep it lighter and thinner on top to look sharp while staying cool this summer.

You can always turn to your favorite celebrities for hairstyle inspiration.

Brad Pitt, for example, looks awesome with short but messy tousled hair. As long as you wear a nice outfit and have plenty of confidence, you can get away with a bit of shaggy style. Don’t forget some product to hold it in place throughout the day, though!

Justin Timberlake takes a more styled approach with a low fade and side part. This cut keeps hair off of your neck, so you can enjoy every summer breeze while letting you keep plenty of hair on top of your head.

You can find plenty of summer cut ideas from sites like GQ, Man of Himself, and Esquire.

Add Color Without Adding Weight

You don’t want to wear drab outfits during summer. Then again, you don’t want to wear unnecessary clothes that can add weight and layers to your outfit.

Instead, add color to your outfits without adding weight.

Easy ways to accomplish this include:

• Pocket squares that lend a hint of color to your shirt or jacket.
• Belts (that match your shoes).
• Watches with lighter color bands
• Vibrant socks that bring your shoes and pants to life.

A touch of color can dramatically alter your outfit. Experiment with different colors and patterns to find a look that you love.

If you ever have questions about choosing the right socks for your summer outfits, you can find our style guides on every product page, or you can shop by touser here. If you ever have further styling questions or are looking to match a certain outfit or event, contact us - our founder love giving personalized advice to men who appreciate style enough to go down to the details (the world’s best socks).