Capsule
A Toronto summer wardrobe: 12 essentials for May through August
Toronto summers swing from cool May mornings to 32-degree humidity in July. The 12 pieces that actually handle both.
By Fetchi Editorial
6 min read
Toronto in May is fifteen degrees, sometimes wet, often windy. Toronto in July is thirty-two degrees with eighty percent humidity, sometimes for a week at a time. The city's climate is officially classified as humid continental, which is academic shorthand for: pack twelve months of weather into four. A summer wardrobe that actually works has to handle the soggy May commute and the August lake-day in the same closet.
The list below is twelve pieces, plus a few notes on what to skip. It is opinionated. The point is not to dress like a magazine; it is to walk out of your apartment in any of these months and feel comfortable for the rest of the day.
The four anchors#
First: a mid-weight trench. Toronto's spring is too long and too wet to skip a real raincoat for, and a 280-340g cotton-blend trench reads as a coat in May, a layer in June, and protection through July's pop-up storms. Cream, stone, or navy. Brown is fine but reads slightly dated.
Second: a pair of straight-leg trousers in linen or a cotton-linen blend. Our covers the construction details to look for; the short version is 240-300g weight, half-canvas waistband, and a slight viscose blend if possible. Tailored, not slouchy.
