The Beyoncé effect is real. Cowboy Carter has turbo-charged the craze for giddy-up styling, from rough-riding Levi’s to classic western shirts. Everyone, it seems, wants to dress like an extra in Kevin Costner’s upcoming epic Horizon—and summer is the perfect time to do it. Sure, we’re still enjoying spring (or, in some parts of the country, dealing with a fall throwback), but I’ve already found the shirt I’ll be wearing all season: Wythe’s western number, an absolute doozy from one of the raddest indie labels in New York City.
But wait, you might be thinking: a long-sleeve shirt…for summer? Friends, I can sense your skepticism from here. So bear with me for a moment, because this isn’t any old button-up. (And c’mon—haven’t you ever heard of rolling up your sleeves?) When GQ spotlighted Wythe’s supply-chain struggles during the height of the pandemic, Max Berlinger noted that the brand, founded by Ralph Lauren alum Peter Middleton, “specializes in classic menswear fare, with an eye on textiles.” A few years later, that’s still true—and a big part of the reason I feel confident touting these shirts as honest-to-goodness summer essentials.
Tencel is the brand name for lyocell, a synthetic fiber made from eucalyptus that you might be familiar with if you’re a hot sleeper. Its presence here makes Wythe’s western shirts inexplicably lightweight, a huge plus if you ever actually find yourself at the rodeo. Every year, Wythe revamps its selection in a variety of colors, but this season, the sherbet-hued assortment looks especially drool-worthy—and makes the whole bunch feel perfect for summer, extra sleevage be damned.
During one trip to LA, I brought Wythe’s button-up to the motherland it’s never known. I faced typical West Coast weather—warm days, and in the case of this one-week trip, unseasonably frigid nights—and my trusty western shirts helped me through it all. Rolled-up sleeves and a slightly exposed chest saved me from overheating in the California sun; buttoning-up—gasp—and baring those forearms kept the summer-night chills at bay. No matter what Mother Nature threw its way, the silky-smooth tencel fabric draped over my body like a flowy cape, swaying in the breeze like I was being personally targeted by a tower fan.
Given the stranglehold western style has on the menswear psyche these days—bootcut jeans are back, bandanas are all kinds of cool—it certainly feels like more people than ever are dressing for a cameo in Yellowstone. Which makes Wythe’s tencel joints perfectly primed to wrangle countless credit cards out of the sweaty palms of stylish fellas across the country. Order a few for yourself, give them a whirl, and end your journey to summer shirt nirvana looking like John Wayne in The Searchers—or, in my case, Steven Yeun in Nope.
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