How our new clothes will embellish your sunny days

The rising temperatures in spring warm our hearts, but among clothing lovers, we know there is a catch. The same one that awaits us every year: more heat = fewer layers of clothing on us = fewer possibilities to create outfits that make us vibrate.

And when the summer heat is in full swing, we easily find ourselves in an ocean of shorts/t-shirt and shorts/shirt combos. Add in the shoes and that means we can only count on three pieces to express our style. These latter ones have an interest in making us stand out from the crowd. To fill us with sartorial happiness all by themselves.

This is the ambition of our new clothes and I will begin the presentations with a shirt that we have produced in three materials, each with its own charm.

Fabric #1: To shine in a sky of blue shirts

Sky blue shirts are among our first loves. It is one of the very first colors we turn to for a simple reason: it is easy to wear. As a result, everyone wears them and the sky blue shirt in poplin or linen, striped or not, we are starting to know by heart.

But do you necessarily have to turn to stronger colors to stand out with a shirt? Not necessarily and I think this fabric reminds us of that. It shows that you can very well take advantage of the versatility of sky blue while having fun stylistically. It does it with a certain subtlety and that makes it all the more interesting.

As I lingered over it in the office, I noticed one thing: it's not the usual sky blue. Our product team is talking about a Celadon blue instead. Although it's worn like a sky blue, it's slightly more pastel and almost green. In fact, Celadon was originally used for a green-blue, close to jade, that was found on traditional Chinese porcelain. The latter were all the rage in France at the beginning of the 20th century, when the shepherd Celadon, a character in a novel published in 1910, wore green ribbons. Hence the choice of this name in France at the time.

The second thing you notice is that these shades of blue alternate with shades of white. The two blend together like scattered clouds blending into the sky. As if it were a plaid shirt that had been diluted. It brings a visual richness that we don't get tired of anytime soon. Even less so with this waffle texture. The most observant among you will have noticed: this is a seersucker fabric, whose small reliefs come from a difference in tension between the weft and warp threads. Except that unlike most seersuckers, the reliefs are more irregular here. A little summer poetry written by our Portuguese weaver Somelos (and his team can be proud of it).

A poetry to be appreciated even beyond 30 degrees, because seersucker is known for limiting contact with the skin and it is light as a feather. 80g/m2. It's like wearing air. And its composition makes it all the more pleasant: 98% cotton for softness and 2% elastane to move freely.

In spring, you can also wear it layered with a white tank top and a navy jacket or blazer for example. It's unrelated, but if it happens, please do me a favor (and Al Pacino too): let that beautiful bowling collar show over the lapels of the blazer.

Fabric #2: Mother Nature as Personal Stylist

When you like wearing blues but the usual navy is starting to get boring, you can turn to storm blue. It's a nice alternative but it doesn't work every time.

Personally, I admit that I struggled with this shade for a long time. I think I often found it too bright, artificial and therefore difficult to match because it didn't feel natural to wear it. I also know that many men don't try the adventure because they don't really know what to wear storm blue with.

There are solutions to this and they are ultimately the same for any color. The first: a soft and natural shade. Hence the development of this slightly faded blue by our product team. An exclusive shade that does not overpower the others in an outfit. It is reminiscent of the blues of the horizon and, thus, coexists as harmoniously with green shorts as the sky and water coexist with vegetation (the photo above illustrates this rather well).

I also find this faded shade more pleasant to look at. It looks like it has been worn by time and it gives it a little extra personality.

And speaking of personality: a storm blue is also better worn with a natural texture. Here, small irregular streaks that almost make you think of the movements of the sea with this blue tint. It seems as if the fabric appeared in nature and suddenly, its presence in an outfit is just as natural.

This time, it is the work of an Italian weaver that has left its mark on us. His name is Bel&Co and he has managed to obtain a cotton gauze with particularly marked reliefs, by using threads of different thicknesses and playing on their tensions.

And the high temperatures won't stop you from wearing it either. On the contrary, it will even become a reflex in these moments because this 100% cotton gauze is very airy. And light: 129g/m2.

In spring, I recommend you try it with a white t-shirt and a bleach denim jacket to create a monochrome look. Ecru chinos and black derbies to finish off beautifully would also be good.

Fabric #3: Stripes that highlight your difference

To stand out from the crowd with a striped shirt and do it with a certain naturalness, the formula is the same: natural colors and texture.

No optical white weave, but a soft ecru that recalls warm sand. No bright red or burgundy stripes, but a terracotta that recalls the earth. No smooth poplin, but the small irregular asperities of linen (57% for 43% cotton) and stripes with an equally irregular grain. A little extra pleasure when you look at it more closely. And the result of the work of the Portuguese weaver TMG, to whom we once again take our hats off.

The stripes, meanwhile, are alternated for better visual entertainment as well.

You can wear it as a layer in spring (under a brown jacket for example) and alone in summer, even when the sun starts to show its teeth, thanks to the naturally breathable, absorbent and low-odor linen.

I really like the idea of ​​sky blue pants in summer.

First reason: I like to enjoy the elegance of pants even when it's hot. Keep a little mystery when everyone is showing off their calves. I'm not banning shorts, but I want to be able to vary when the temperatures don't leave us much choice in clothing.

For this, you need a rather light material that skims the leg rather than sticking heavily to it. 182g/m2, for example, is not bad for wearing in summer or spring and I'm not saying that because these pants have precisely that weight (yes).

You also need a material that wicks away heat, absorbs heat when you sit for a long time and doesn't absorb odors. You probably know this cheat code and it's up to you to decide whether or not to reveal it to your friends in shorts who wonder how you do it: the natural properties of linen. 70% here, for 30% silk (we'll come back to that).

And of course, its comfort must rival that of shorts, so a slightly straight cut that lets the calves breathe, an elasticated waistband and a drawstring that allow you to always be comfortable at the waist.

Once you have that, you no longer shy away from the idea of ​​wearing pants in the summer. You even start to enjoy it.

The second reason is that you don't come across men in sky blue pants every day. Almost never, in fact, and I think that's a shame, because it's one of the easiest colors to pair: with a white t-shirt, with a navy or storm blue shirt (obviously), with a khaki jacket, beiges... there's plenty to do.

But you probably noticed what made the biggest difference on these pants: their texture is just magnificent.

It has everything we love in it. The well-balanced speckling with alternating threads of different colors, the irregular grain of the linen and even a little extra that we rarely see on this type of pants: it catches the light very nicely. A beautiful spotlight on an outfit, without being too eye-catching. Just what is needed thanks to 30% silk and the expertise of the Italian weaver Emmetex which gives a fluid and luxurious drape to these pants.

In the water, and not only!

At the seaside, I like a pair of swim shorts to make me presentable enough to wear in town too. Very practical when I don't feel like changing to go and feed my chronic ice cream addiction.

To make these swim shorts your go-to shorts, our team added premium details that make them more sophisticated. And more practical too:

• beautiful metal eyelets to dress their white cords (in polyester, to dry faster),
• two Italian pockets on the front,
• a back pocket with flap and hidden Velcro to close it properly (no XXL ice cream if you lose your credit card) and a metal drainage eyelet,
• an extra small pocket inside for your change,
• a small loop on the front to hang your keys.

And this high-end feeling will not just be a surface impression: the team has taken special care of the interior as well, with a polyester piping lining including 50% Seaqual recycled polyester. The latter is renowned for its resistance almost equivalent to that of new fibers, and includes 10% of plastics recovered from the waters. But we'll come back to that!

Being presentable in swim shorts, even in a coastal city, is cool. Being presentable with an interesting style is better and for you, each material does it in its own way. With patterns and colors that remind us that we are on vacation (except when we are a lifeguard).

Fabric #1: soft green and crisp texture

A little crush on this jade green in the team, more unique than a khaki green and nicely diluted in these white stripes. Which also makes it more harmonious alongside a white t-shirt or a sky-blue shirt for example.

But what makes it really interesting is its typical seersucker embossing, woven by our Portuguese supplier Lemar from 75% polyester (for quick drying after swimming) and 25% cotton (for a natural and pleasant hand). As nice to look at as it is to touch.

Fabric #2: Camo Like No Other

Our team developed it exclusively for you. And also a little for Benoît, who wanted to rework this historical pattern. Which makes it visually richer than a classic camouflage pattern and gives it a personality of its own, with subtle references to the Basque Country so dear to the heart of our co-founder.

And if we're going to pay tribute to nature, we might as well give it meaning on our scale with 70% recycled polyester from the Seaqual label. Of which around 10% is plastic waste recovered from the sea for 90% of plastic waste recovered from dry land. Seaqual is a license with demanding criteria, which makes it possible to obtain fibers with a quality almost identical to that of new polyester (which constitutes the remaining 30% of the material to ensure its durability).

We wanted to offer you a pair of versatile sneakers for sunny days, because they can be combined with all colors, without being boring.

And with the small irregularities of linen that dot this canvas, we don't get bored.

Here again, the idea is to have a natural rendering so that they can be worn just as naturally in your outfits. You know that moment when you have a pair of white sneakers so new and bright that they clash a little with your outfit? When you can't wait to get them a little dirty so that they take on character? With a pair of ecru or greige sneakers, you skip this step. Hence the choice of this second color for our pair, whose irregular texture reinforces this reference to nature. Here again, it's almost as if the canvas had grown somewhere.

But the truth is that it grew on the machines of Libeco, a local weaver in Belgium who grows Belgian and French linen. For spinning, there is still very little in Europe and most of the linen is spun in China but we were able to find some spun in Poland (my homeland <3). Its traceability and quality are certified by the Masters of Linen label. It is also guaranteed to be free of harmful substances (Oeko-Tex) like most of the pieces in this collection.

We also wanted you to be able to wear this pair all summer long, and the following summers. For that, it had to be comfortable to wear, even when it's very hot.

Hence the choice of linen , whose natural properties will keep your feet cool, dry and limit odors when you take off your shoes at your mother-in-law's. And this is true even for the inner lining, which is made from recycled linen certified by GRS (Global Recycled Standard).

Hence the choice of a soft and thick cork insole, which adapts to the shape of your feet and absorbs their moisture (for mother-in-law too). For this, we have, as always, trusted the Portuguese manufacturer Trofaconforto, a big name in the world of soles.

And as for the next beautiful season and those after, we have done our best to ensure that this pair continues on its path with you thanks to:

• a rubber sole sewn AND glued in Portugal,
• a microfiber lining to limit the appearance of holes at the heel.

Junco Caps

To create cool outfits with few clothes because it's hot, you can rely on beautiful materials but also on accessories. All the more so if they are themselves made of a beautiful material, like this Italian fabric with a micro-embossed pattern that is discreet from afar but very intriguing up close.

Our team loved the finesse of the grid. It makes these caps refined as it did for our Santorin shorts (released in the first part of this collection). Our weaver TFM obtained it in Italy from a pique weave, with two weft threads and two warp threads. It is a classic thickness to wear all year round, without lining for more comfort in summer.

So we made 3 colors of cap, on our Junco baseball cap shape.

The Atlanta Khaki Cap

This one has two particularities compared to the new Junco caps.

The first is that its micro-grid comes from the Japanese weaver Rokal. It is slightly more marked, with a crisper hand, more supple and lighter for when it is very hot.

All this gives it a more raw side that goes well with its second particularity: a 5 panel shape, originating from California and iconic in the skate culture of the 80s. Perfect for a change from the usual baseball caps, even if you stopped your international skate career in high school (the crusaders, I know, me too).