Nobody buys a complete new wardrobe of suits for each new summer. Usually the suits for the warmer season are worn many years. Suits made of heavier fabrics will nevertheless last longer. Woolen cloths are more durable and lighter fabrics wear out more quickly because of perspiration, frequent dry-cleaning and pressing.
Early summer 2020 is characterized by the pandemic. Some pieces which should have been finished already haven’t even been cut or hang ready for the fitting in the tailor’s workshop. Others have never been bought for a lack of need. Since life has returned to normal I have mainly worn three suits in the past few weeks. Two of them are new, the other one has been with me for about four years.
Shortly before the lockdown of most retail stores in Germany on 18th of March 2020 I had bought a grey single-breasted suit with peaked lapels at Anton Meyer in Hamburg. It’s made of a light grey worsted from Vitale Barberis Canonico. The trousers are high waisted with side adjusters but no pleats. The cut is a mix of 1930s and 1960s style. When I tried them on at the shop I instantly liked them because they stayed put without braces. I’m not very much into braces at the moment anyway and I never fancied them in the summer. When it’s hot braces are uncomfortable and they also show underneath the thin fabric of summer jackets.
For the photo I’ve matched the grey suit with a bespoke linen shirt from Gino Venturini in Vienna, an old dark blue knitted silk tie from Ascot in Krefeld (Germany), fine dark blue knee length cotton socks and unlined casual shoes from Ed.Meier Munich’s Redtongue collection. They come with a thin leathersole and they don’t have a heel cap which makes them very comfortable. I opted against a pocket handkerchief because in the moment I prefer a plainer style when I wear a suit and a tie.
The second suit is from Gabo Napoli. It was also bought off-the-rack. I have owned it since 2016. The jacket hasn’t been altered in any way, the trousers were adjusted to the right length. They are cut lower on the waist, have belt loops and small pleats. Due to the very good Italian cut they fit well without a belt. Southern Italians still do this style best. The fabric is a mixture of linen, wool and silk, very comfortable to wear in temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius upwards. I’ve paired it with a poloshirt from the German suit brand Eduard Dressler (cotton with 4 percent Elastan). It has a slightly wider, very floppy collar in the style of the smarter Friday Polos. The shoes were again my loafers unlined from Ed.Meier Munich. They are the lightest casuals I own and my summer favourites.
Jan-Henrik Scheper-Stuke. CEO of Auerbach Berlin. A report about Auerbach Berlin will follow on Monday, July the 13th. 
The third suit was an impulse purchase in the onlineshop of the German retailer Mey Edlich. I’m familiar with this brand since the late 1980s. The suit is named „Papierflieger“ (in English paper plane) which is a good description of its lightness. I had discovered it when I did some research and I mainly liked the fact that it is machine washable (the fabric is 72 % cotton, 24 % Polyester and 4 % Elastan). My expectations as far as the fit goes were not very high when I ordered it but I was pleasantly surprised when I took it out of the box and slipped into it. The jacket is totally unstructured and it wears almost like a shirt. Despite this it has a nice, soft line around the shoulders. The trousers are cut in a very fashionable style with low waist and belt loops but it fits well without alterations. I can wear it without a belt which is good in the heat. I wouldn’t know which belt to wear with this very lightweight cloth anyway.
On the day when we took the photos in Berlin I wore the suit in two ways. First with a bespoke linen shirt from Gino Venturini and handmade leather sneakers from Brütting Diamond brand (no socks). Afterwards with the same shirt and a blue knitted silk tie from Auerbach Berlin. I own many knitted ties in this colour, I picked this one because it has an interesting diagonal structure. The shoes were once again the casuals from Ed.Meier Munich. I wore them without socks because of the heat, usually I’d wear dark blue socks to match the tie.
