Our resident stylist Andrew Porter waxes casual on men’s and women’s must-haves.

With summer “officially” in full swing here is Part One of my Summer Essentials list. A wrap-up of some past items and some new one’s that you might have overlooked. Take in the vitamin D…

Hanes White T-shirts
I may write a lot about colorful tops, but at the end of the day nothing is better than a crisp Hanes white t-shirt—a real summer essential. The tagless crewneck is the move. Leave the V-neck to the fedora-sporting guy in the drapey summer scarf. I recommend buying these at the dollar store. They always have “slight imperfections,” but don’t we all?

Go-To Shorts
Printed shorts are great, but most days I don’t want to draw a lot of attention to myself. For this reason, I always keep a pair of go-to shorts on deck. I like J. Crew shorts. They’re affordable, unassuming, and fit well. Get a basic blue or khaki pair and you can pretty much roll out of bed everyday and throw them on with whatever—no thought necessary. Heck, you can probably sleep in them and hit the town without looking like too much of a bum. (Been there. Done that).

Vans Authentics
I was off the Vans team for a few summers, but now I’m back on. White Vans Authentics with boat-shoe laces are my current tops, with the red ones coming in a close second. They come in every color of the rainbow, so get loose and express yourself.

Seersucker Something
Seersucker is pretty much as summer as it gets. I have an old LL Bean rainbow-striped seersucker shirt that I keep in heavy rotation. I can also stand by seersucker shorts or even seersucker pants—if you feel like getting really Great Gatsby on it. I found this rainbow jammer for $10. As far as I’m concerned, this is a deal you can’t pass up!

The Beach Blanket
Obviously, the beach is a summer must, thus, the beach blanket is a summer essential. My incredibly chiseled physique attracts a lot of attention on the sand. For those of you sans abs of steel looking to attract a little beach attention of your own, I would like to recommend the serape-as-beach-blanket move. Bright, colorful, tasseled, and guaranteed to turn heads. Added bonus: You can sushi-roll yourself up in one of these if push comes to shove and you need to sleep on the beach.