Come rain or shine, here are seven ways to get ahead of the season.

Forget the beach body. Here at MR PORTER, the pressing question is: are you summer-wardrobe ready? The clocks have gone forward, the mercury is inching up, and you can just about get through the day without an emergency gilet. So we’re throwing caution to the wind (a balmy southerly one, hopefully) and getting a head start on those outfits eminently suited to sun-worshipping. Scroll down for seven ways to make this summer the hottest since records began – sartorially, at least.

Nothing says “clocks forward” like the advent of the new season’s T-shirts, all factory-fresh and ready to bask in radiant rays and lambent light (well, we can dream, can’t we?). This gentleman cannily pairs his navy number with a pair of artfully beat-up jeans, thus exemplifying the laid-back seasonal silhouette. Extra kudos for the detailing, from the turned-up tee sleeves to the horse-blanket-style chunky cardigan, ready to be deployed for an alfresco drink – you know there’ll be a few – when the tee needs some serious Swat team-style back-up.

Double-breasted blazers – the ultimate in formal, structured, buttoned-up rectitude, right? Wrong. This gentleman proves that material, cut and fit can transform the most old-school gents’-club style of garments into something suitably mellow, unwound, and a touch louche. Look for a soft shoulder, a lightweight fabric (cotton, linen, silk, or mixes thereof), a lower, looser buttoning, and relaxed detailing such as turn-back cuffs or patch pockets. Add some casual chinos, a chambray shirt and slip-ons with no socks. Dress up with a knitted tie and down with a pristine tee.

The field jacket might have military origins, but the only conflict you’re likely to face with its summer iterations is just how slouchy you want to go. Very, in this gentleman’s case. The khaki and epaulettes may be present and correct, but those languid pockets look more suitable for carrying a Spotify summer playlist-loaded iPhone (with The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer In The City” at its head) rather than maps and compasses. The nonchalantly-knotted belt adds a whole other layer of urbane lassitude. Pair with bright white jeans, and prepare to be mentioned in all the seasonally best-dressed dispatches.

Summer’s the time when, to quote the immortal words of Kenny Loggins, “you gotta cut loose/footloose”. We can’t quite go along with his subsequent exhortation to “kick off your Sunday shoes,” as we feel sure that an easy-like-Sunday-morning pair of espadrilles or Top-Siders would be the perfect complement to this gentleman’s exemplary take on the relaxed-fit, unstructured, keep-your-cool-in-the-heat ensemble. A jacket this deft and breezy can be shrugged on and off like a cardigan; a shirt this gossamer-light is exempt from the normal MR PORTER no-more-than-one-button-undone rule (though no slashing to the navel, please); and the trousers are a masterclass in airy insouciance. It’s all proof that “slack” can be the opposite of slipshod.

Pink has ceased to serve as some kind of final frontier on the menswear spectrum; catwalks have majored on it in the past couple of years, and Instagram is awash with “influencers” in pink caps, hoodies, and sneakers. Summer is the season when pink comes into its own, but that doesn’t mean going all-out back to the fuchsia or indulging in remembrance of things pastel; instead, like this gentleman, you should keep it simple – in this instance, a strawberry-shaded short-sleeve shirt, as juicy as any freshly-plucked Elsanta. Try it on those days when white or off-white shirts seem a little too, well, vanilla.

If the dress code for a forthcoming summer party reads “unceremonious suiting”, then Mr Waris Ahluwalia – jewellery designer, actor, and chum of Mr Wes Anderson – presents a primer on how to rise to the occasion. A suit this softly-crafted, sharply-fitted and serenely-shaded needs no shirt; it’s just a snappy tee (Mr Ahluwalia has opted for navy, but white, or a navy/white matelot-style stripe would work just as well), or, at most, a knitted polo. Mr Ahluwalia has added a semi-formal twist with the pocket square and a finishing touch with his tiger-stripe espadrilles. Unceremonious, yes. Unkempt, never.

It’s “aloha” all over again this summer to what Americans call the vacation shirt. Even if the nearest you get to Hawaii is a tiki bar in Torquay, you’ll feel the heat as designers follow the souvenir-jacket trend and present their own takes on the camp-collared, pineapple-printed statement piece. Handle with care – much like this gentleman does – make sure the fit is impeccable, and tone the rest of the outfit down while dialling the colour and pattern up. This is one instance where, as the old saw has it, you go big or go home.

_Shop The Trends here _

The men featured in this story are not associated with and do not endorse

MR PORTER or the products shown