SIRPLUS SS21
Ever since Henry Hales upcycled his first pair of boxers from the off-cuttings of a few shirtmakers, SIRPLUS has been on the up and up. Celebrating their first decade last year, the original Portobello Road market stall has become seven Central London stores; the brand has established partnerships, environmental charities and local artists and, most importantly, expanded above and beyond boxers.
A good part of that appeal over the years has been the kind of innate quirkiness you’d expect from a brand like SIRPLUS, with cool, quirky elements like jokey ties and eye-catching prints. However, all of those bits can only exist because of a stable of seriously well-made, considered wardrobe staples.
Story Island Cuban Shirt, £125
For SS21 SIRPLUS is helping us forget for a second or two that travel is an impossibility with some fantastic lightweight, warm-weather shirtings inspired by tropical climes. That means the big, oversized collars and bold prints of Cuban shirts, practical and lightweight but still very much the fashion statement. Sunshine yellow, sage green and an absolutely fantastic toucan print, they’re eye-catching, breathable and most importantly, fun. Our favourite is the Story Island shirt, which uses Tana Lawn cotton from Liberty covered in hand-illustrated myths, fables, plays and poems. Open at the collar over tailored shorts, it’s a look that demands a bit of summertime jazz and a daiquiri.
Blue Striped Grandad Shirt, £95
For something a little more subtle yet no less lightweight, look to a SIRPLUS signature, the humble Grandad shirt. The cool, collarless style is a mainstay of the label’s collections no matter the season but here particularly suits the linen, seersucker and cashmere constructions in pale springtime pastels. A versatile twist on your usual warm weather shirt, they range from more formal oxfords to sandy-coloured cotton numbers, perfect for the beach.
Of course, the summer range still includes plenty of staple shirts with collars of less Miami sizes, again in plenty of cashmere for that soft, breathable feel, along with a selection of solid, more hardwearing overshirts for that extra layer when evening’s beginning to settle in – including a particularly cool zigzag-weave cotton blend number, complete with sustainable corozo nut buttons.
Green Toucan Print Cuban Shirt, £125 (left) and Mosaic Print Ecovero™ Cuban Shirt, £110 (right)
It might be a while before we can actually go anywhere with warm weather for more than a week in July, but that doesn’t mean you can’t expand your summer wardrobe. You can’t be wearing a heavy winter shirt in the warmer months and formal numbers have gone out the window with the new working from home normal.
Plus, it’s not the end of the world if they don’t get all the wear this year; SIRPLUS clothes are designed to last, and last they shall, even if you wear your new Cuban shirt at every opportunity.
More details at SIRPLUS.
