Not sure how to dress for your next trip? It’s all about having fun and trying new things—far away from the judgmental eyes of anyone you actually know.
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Lounging in Orlebar Brown. (Credit: Orlebar Brown)
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It’s one of the worst kept secrets of men’s style that nailing a casual outfit is far more difficult than dressing up. So it stands to reason that when you’re most casual—on vacation and nearly naked at the beach or pool—looking your best is even more precarious.
I’ve seen it. Men who are exemplary dressers for 95 percent of the year go all to pieces when they head off on a holiday for a couple weeks. Middle-aged Brits are by far the worst, their daily beach looks defined by sun-bleached swim shorts well past their prime and topped off with retired dress shirts of equal dilapidation. Possibly a Panama hat, as a nod to the weather. American men generally fare slightly better—but only because they have the standards of preppy style to fall back on.
There is a solution, though it takes a bit of mental recalibration to get there. You see, the clothes I take on vacation are emphatically not the clothes I pack the rest of the time. When travel is governed by work, I’m hardly going to show up for it in shorts. And, by the same token, when I go on vacation, I don’t plan to be anywhere that needs a blazer.
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Be like Hockney. Which is to say: Don’t take it too seriously. (Credit: Julio Donoso/Sygma via Getty Images)
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What I have cultivated is something else: a third rail I like to call my abroadrobe (yes, that’s a combination of abroad and wardrobe). Risks are taken. The abroadrobe consists of the kinds of clothes that I’d not be seen dead in at work or even at home on the weekend. But they have to rise to the occasion, nonetheless. Which means they need to be thought about.
While my go-to palette for at least 11 months of the year is blue (mostly navy), when I escape the corporate grind, I tend to go a bit Hockney. No colors are off limits and the more of them the better, especially when it comes to swimwear.
Fortunately, we’ve never been better served by swim brands that can up the ante at the pool. High on my shopping list is British brand Orlebar Brown, which next year celebrates 20 years of making elevated resortwear. OB hit on the idea that as well as being functional and comfortable, swimwear should also be well made enough that you could throw a suitable shirt over the top and step with confidence into the swankier kind of beach establishment for calamari under the frangipani. The Bulldog, the brand’s bestseller, has a constructed waistband with side adjusters derived from Savile Row tailoring, which gives a trim waistband without the need for elastic. It has been joined by more relaxed styles like the Boxer and the Mastiff over the years, giving you plenty of fit options.
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A look from the latest Orlebar Brown campaign, shot on Lake Como. (Credit: Orlebar Brown)
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My good New York-based friend, George Sotelo, meanwhile, does everything from eye-popping psychedelics to variations on hibiscus florals and color blocking with his brand Thorsun. Ever since he began an ongoing collaboration with legendary Parisian shirtmakers Charvet, that’s my go-to. Working closely with legendary owners Jean-Claude and Anne Marie Colban, George sifts out patterns from the Charvet archive dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, Charvet’s purple (and orange and green and pink and yellow) period. The results are certainly bright, but given they were first developed for Charvet’s ties, they’re not overblown in scale and are unquestionably Place Vendome-level tasteful. Which is important in swim shorts. Bright is not the same as loud.
(Another exciting project in the cards for George is a tie-up with the wildly, luxuriously escapist Hotel Esencia resort in Tulum, Mexico. Sadly, it’s too early to share anything of that here but check back here in November for an update just before your winter break.)
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See? Color is a good thing. (Credit: Slim Aarons/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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For out and out color with a dash of authenticity, Sundek’s classic boardshort with its signature rainbow stripe arcing across the back has been a mainstay of surf culture since 1972 and as of right now is available in more than 20 bold colorways. Purists will insist on the non-elasticated waistband of the originals. The rest of us will prefer the forgiveness of a little extra stretch and the reassurance and moral support of a liner to keep everything ship shape.
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Maybe not this exact look. But this exact vibe, for sure. (Credit: Slim Aarons/Getty Images)
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Also on my shopping list for summer in the abroadrobe vein are A$AP Rocky’s Puffer sunglasses for Ray-Ban, chunky versions of the tried-and-true aviator and Wayfarer styles available in bright blue, green, brown, and black. I’m eyeing Juan Maiz Casas’s Argentine-made striped ponchos, too. They’re perfect for gently covering up the sunburn as you sip a chilled Aperol spritz, wherever you fetch up. However, there will not be photos. Vacation time is me time.
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Thanks for reading this week’s Big Black Book newsletter. See you in a couple weeks. Until then, feel free to drop me a note at nicksullivanesquire@hearst.com.
- Nick Sullivan, creative director
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