I'm Building My Whole Summer Wardrobe Around This Shirt

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I've got no problem with summer. By and large, the three hottest months of the year are my favorite because I spend as much of it as I can next to, or in, a body of water. My issue with summer comes down to clothes. In New York, where I live now, I feel the need to be in a suit, but linen can only do so much and too much of it makes you look like a wannabe Neapolitan. I love a Lacoste polo shirt when it gets hot, but it doesn't make up for the pocket situation that comes with a loss of a jacket—I need somewhere to store sunglasses, a lighter, and tobacco products. And most of the time it's too hot to wear anything more than swim trunks.

So, my checklist for a summer shirt has always been: good looking, hard-wearing (for beach days and frequent washes), semi-breathable, and at least one pocket. My go-to has always been, and will always be, a Ben Davis half-zip.

Florence Sullivan

It's Got a History Other Workwear Brands Dream Of

Jacob Davis, grandfather of Ben, patented the original rivet jeans with Levi Strauss in 1871. Ben Davis started is his own San-Francisco based company in 1935, and it was a longtime favorite of union workers and longshoremen. From that working class background, the brand became associated with the Chicano and Black communities in San Francisco and L.A. When West Coast rap hit the mainstream, so did Ben Davis. And when skate followed rap, you got kids like my older brother in middle-of-nowhere Georgia asking their hardware stores to special order it before passing it down to yours truly a decade later.

Since then, the internet has made it easier to buy. (I get it on Amazon.) But if you want to buy it at a brick and mortar store, it's still West Coast heavy. And if the brand ever sells out of an item, you'll have to wait a year for sizes to come back. But I love that. Ben Davis has a core audience of blue-collar guys and West Coast OGs (plus little ol' me), and it's not trying to continuously expand. It's a breath of fresh air.

Shop $45, amazon.com

Florence Sullivan

Nothing Looks as Cool

Funny enough, for all the clothes I spend a lot of money on, a Ben Davis shirt is what I get asked about and complimented on most. I'm not buying it three-sizes big and starching creases down it, so apologies to the purists that say that's the only way to wear it. I buy it in my regular size and throw it on with swim trunks or a pair of jeans on the weekend, and I'm set for the next 48 hours. The colors are great. I love the classic hickory stripe, but it comes in a hi-vis orange that's fun. The monkey logo is, like the brand itself, unique and cooler than the competition. And the wide cut has that laid-back West Coast je ne sais quoi that I'm always chasing.

The only thing I could say is that it's a little too laid-back for certain occasions, but summer is about slowing down anyway. I'm living in my beach shoes and avoiding real work events. Plus, it's not stretchy or "sweat-wicking." At the very least, I look better than the guys going to a nice dinner in golf polos.

Shop $45, amazon.com

Florence Sullivan

Nothing Wears as Hard

The other thing about a summer shirt is that I'm going to beat it up. I'm wearing it to the park and taking it off to use as a ground covering while I tan. I'm wearing it to the beach, taking it off, and throwing it in the sand. I'm wearing it to a cookout and getting mustard stains. It's getting washed often and worn directly on my skin. Yes, a Ben Davis shirt is stiff to start, but that twill breaks in beautifully, and soon you have one of the best fitting shirts you'll ever wear. Add the practicality of the two roomy front pockets, and you've got the only shirt you'll ever need.

Now I'd never assume that I'm going to blow up the spot of a 90-year-old brand, but immediately after Covid sizes were tough to get because Ben Davis doesn't operate at the clip of the bigger multi-national workwear brands. If that happens again, I'm sorry to all my fellow diehards. But I simply cannot keep the half-zip, the world's best summer shirt, a secret any longer.

Shop $45, amazon.com

Photographs by Florence Sullivan