Are you struggling to make your summer fits sing? You’re not alone. After spending three months layering and enjoying a wide range of garments to choose from, warmer weather brings with it a distinct lack of options that can make it tricky to keep things fresh.

But before you resign yourself to another summer season of wearing the same old tired T-shirt-and-shorts combo day in and day out, we urge you to consider adding a statement shirt or two to your wardrobe to spice things up.

Now, don’t be put off by the term. A statement shirt doesn’t have to be some garish, heavily saturated Hawaiian-print monstrosity. In fact, we’d argue that the best statement shirts are the ones that don’t need to shout to be heard.

We’re talking different enough to create a focal point within an outfit and give the eye something to focus on, but not at the expense of tastefulness. Think interesting textures, subtle prints and bold block colours. Intricate, brightly coloured patterns aren’t off the table entirely, but they need to be handled with care. So, allow us to assist you.

This guide is designed to help you navigate the misunderstood world of statement shirts. Our goal is to give you the tools to handle a garment that can often end up looking tacky and tasteless with style and sophistication. Stick to the options below and you can’t go wrong.

Knitted Short Sleeve

A common mistake when dabbling in statement shirts is leaning too heavily on colour and pattern. There’s a fine line separating eye-catching and migraine-inducing, so if you’re in any doubt, using interesting textures to your advantage is a much safer option.

Knitted short-sleeve shirts are a great alternative because not only are they comfortable and breathable, but they bring something a little different to the table without making a big song and dance about it.

Jazzy Camp Collar

Of course, we’d never suggest you avoid patterns entirely. After all, summer is the perfect time to experiment with playful prints you might not otherwise wear, and a camp-collar shirt’s laid-back nature makes it ideal for this.

As a rule of thumb, we’d advise going for either bold colours or an intricate pattern. Either on its own is fine – it’s when the two meet that things can quickly take a turn into tacky territory.

Embroidered

Embroidery is great, as not only can it add a pop of colour, but it brings some texture to the table, too. An embroidered pattern will always have the edge over a print, and they’re trickier to produce, which usually means you’re getting a higher-quality garment.

There are countless styles of embroidered shirts to choose from, but we’re particularly fond of anything white with coloured floral embroidery. The crisp backdrop really makes the embroidered designs pop, resulting in an attention-grabbing garment that doesn’t have to try too hard.

Portuguese Flannel and Wax London have some great options that fit the bill perfectly.

Bold Stripe

Stripes are hardly the most daring of patterns, but that’s part of their beauty. They can be as subtle or as striking as you choose, making them a great way for those who might otherwise avoid prints to liven up their summer outfits.

We’re big fans of bold stripes in high-contrast colour pairings – think navy and white or cream and ochre. They work nicely on short-sleeve shirts and command attention without being overly ‘out there’ or too intricate.

Simple, striking and self-assured.

Crocheted

Taking summer shirting textures to the next level with some crochet is an on-trend way to breathe new life into your summer wardrobe.

This hand-knitted fabric is having a bit of a moment right now thanks largely to New York’s Bode and the emergence of so-called ‘cottagecore’ as a microtrend. But you don’t have to be a daring dresser in order to pull it off.

Steer clear of wacky colours or wild patterns, and instead let the texture of the fabric do the talking. A crochet short-sleeve shirt in a plain off-white colour is unusual enough to add character but not so much that it’ll have heads turning for the wrong reasons.

Dark Florals

When you think ‘florals’, your mind probably wanders first to bright colours and intricate patterns. But floral prints don’t have to be like this. In fact, they can be subtle, understated and even a little moody.

Dark florals are what you should be looking into if any of the above seems appealing to you. These muted floral prints are often sparse and set against a black backdrop.

They’re great for adding a focal point to an outfit without going too wild, which makes them ideal for more restrained dressers.

Vacation Print

At the other end of the spectrum, vacation prints are unashamedly vibrant, playful and a little bit wild. They’re often bright and feature flowers, palm trees and other tropical motifs.

They’re probably not the best option if you’re heading anywhere dressy, but for BBQs, informal parties and chilling by the pool, there’s nothing wrong with embracing the colourful campness of a classic vacation print.

If you are going to dabble in this style, we recommend keeping everything else in your outfit subtle and understated. This will help ensure there are no clashing prints or patterns, allowing your shirt to be the main event.

Towelling

Towelling is absorbent, breathable, soft, comfortable and a little out of the ordinary. This combination of characteristics makes it perfect as a summer shirting fabric… and one you probably hadn’t even considered.

The unique, highly textured look and feel of towelling fabric is enough to add some character to simple summer outfits without having to resort to bright colours or patterns.

Polos and short-sleeve button-downs can both work well in this stuff, so check out the likes of Orlebar Brown, Aurelien and The Resort Co. for some of the best around.