Intelligent Ways To Cover Menswear

The weather has broken, though alas, far too many hours after my spirit did. For all the “what to wear in a heatwave” stories I’ve compiled over the years, this week’s heatwave was a reminder that when the temperature is hotter than the Sahara, all sartorial advice feels superfluous. Priorities shift from looking good in a breezy linen dress to working in your underwear, an ice pack wedged under each armpit. Well, for those of us WFH, at least.

The fashion pitches I received this week made me wonder whether men are under-served during a heatwave, at least beyond the dedicated menswear platforms. Maybe PRs don’t have me down as covering menswear, and don’t pitch it accordingly, but if this is the case, it’s worth addressing. Dividing fashion and lifestyle journalists into menswear and womenswear specialists feels like an idea whose time has passed. Even if they have a preference for one, most cover both, and although the bulk of my output is womenswear I’d still have liked to receive more newsy menswear pitches. Even if this week’s extreme weather isn’t repeated, we’re still in summer style season. Since broadsheets are always crying out for intelligent ways to cover menswear, clever summer style pitches will never not be appreciated, particularly if they come with visuals of stylish (or even unstylish) male royals and politicians. Whatever the weather, they need style tips more than women.