Summer fabrics... Often we find when people think of summer suiting cloth they think cotton, which isn't necessarily incorrect. However there are many other options & blends that can give you just what you want (and often need) when being dressed in warmer temperates...
Tropical weight wool- This is the dressiest option of warm weather cloth. Wool is lighter in weight than most cottons in general & tropical weight wool is lighter still. This gives you the look of a crisp & dressy suit while having on a very light & cool cloth. The main trade off with tropical weight wool is it does wrinkle more than a regular weight due to the inherent lightness of the cloth.
Cotton- This is probably the most casual option for warm weather suiting. The look of a cotton suit or jacket will provide the most casual look to your suiting wardrobe. It does tend to wrinkle, especially at points such as elbows & knees when wearing. However, the wrinkles lend themselves to the over all casual look the cloth is intended to provide.
Linen- This cloth sits right in between cotton and wool as the second to most casual fabric option. The linen fibre itself is a fairly heavy one. The reason linen itself is such a good fabric for the heat is in the way in which it is woven. The looseness of weave allows the wearers body heat to pass through the cloth as well as a breeze it pass through in the opposite direction. Irish linen in particular with its heavier crisp weight cuts well for suiting. Again this cloth will wrinkle just like cotton, but this is all part of the casual look of the overall piece.
Linen/Silk/Wool blends- This has fast become our most popular of warm weather cloth. There are different types of blends, some with more linen in them for a more casual look, some with more wool to make a less casual look. We find this particular cloth provides a more casual look while offering fewer wrinkles. We utilize this cloth most often in warm weather sport jackets but it does translate well to a more casual suit as well.
Lightweight Cashmere- For luxurious summer jacketing we now offer a very lightweight summer spun cashmere options from mills such as Ariston Napoli & Loro Piana.
Summer Shirt Cloth- We bring in lighter-weight cotton for our summer shirt options alongside lightweight linen which provides that same airy feel. The most popular summer shirt cloth however is fast becoming a linen & cotton blend. This cloth provides a lightweight and airy feel to the wearer, but is also the softest shirt you will likely ever come across.
Also as a side note, we decided to call this Warm Weather Fabrics rather than Summer Fabrics as it really doesn't matter so much the time of year, especially if you say travel to say South America in November. Rather just focus on when the weather gets above say 60/65 degrees. That's when you should transition from your Fall cloths into Spring/Summer ones.