the pieces I want to buy for spring/summer

Welcome to clipboard, a weekly newsletter about fashion, hospitality and Tāmaki Makaurau, by Reilly Hodson. Last week we looked back on a year of clipboard, this week we’re looking ahead to the warmer months, and the things I’m looking to add to my wardrobe. If you enjoy clipboard, chip in financially by clicking below.

it’s getting hot in here, so buy some cool new clothes

Every year, once it hits August, I start looking forward to the sun coming back. The weather is not summery yet, but the sun is at least still out when I leave work in the evening. It might be a universally acknowledged truth that you can dress better when it’s cooler (layers!), but I truly love summer looks. I love to wear shorts, hats and sunglasses, and I’m getting more comfortable with breaking out a bit of skin.

This summer will be my first with a full time job, so I’m looking to put the finishing touches on a great warm weather wardrobe. Here are the pieces I’ll be looking for to fill out my SS21/22 looks.

polo shirts

The polo is a classic example of a garment that is ruined by its association by the worst people you have ever met. For me, it’s all of the head boys of my prestigious all-boys public school (yep, that one). I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t let the bad people win, classics are classics for a reason, and polo shirts can be very sick. My plan is to wear them with Patagonia baggies or jeans, white socks (see below) and loafers for a “your dad works for my dad” type vibe, freaked with my jewellery and socialist political views.

My picks: this merino long sleeve from Thom Morison, this James Bond special from Sunspel, anything by Drake's

gorpy sneakers

This, I tell myself every summer, will be the summer I actually spend quality time outside. What I’d like to do is get out of the city and do some walks, and what’s the point of going for a good walk if you haven’t bought some sick gear to do it in? These will also come in handy once I make my inevitable career change to creative direction.

My picks: Salomon (pictured), Hoka One One

a cool hat

I’m on a perpetual search for a cool cap that fits my huge head, and I’m always taking recommendations. The vibe I’m aiming for this summer is vintage or vintage style, either dirty as hell or appropriate for dressing down a blazer.

My picks: Braino Draino from Brain Dead, anything from Percy’s Headwear if you’re a sports fan, the beaten up one from your dad’s old work

white socks

White socks get a bad rap, but they’re actually very cool. Particularly in summer, I wear them with everything: loafers, docs, sneakers (I do not go sockless). The right white sock makes everything look a bit cooler and cleaner, and they’re the perfect accompaniment to the short shorts I wear every day I can. The best white socks are these ones from Uniqlo, but you can’t buy them in New Zealand, so these Porter James ones are probably your best bet (they appear to be a direct dupe, and at an alright price for a two-pack).

big shirts

Regular readers will know I am a big fan of a big shirt. This summer is going to be a time of me hitting turbo on my big shirt obsession, throwing my business shirts on with shorts, or open over a tee or tank top. It’s a cool, laid back, weather appropriate silhouette that you can wear from the beach to the wine bar (RIP lol), and you’ll see a lot more of it once I can put my jumpers and fleeces away.

My picks: Seersucker from Thom Morison, a not-so-classic Oxford cloth button down from Checks Downtown, crisp white goodness from the new Kowtow unisex collection

sweater vests

Last summer was an all time season for the sweater vests, but I didn’t jump on the train. This summer, I’m not ashamed that I am looking to throw myself in their direction. If you want to go full sexy, go with nothing underneath, I’ll be wearing mine with a white tee tucked in underneath.

clips

• Buy everything from Kowtow’s new unisex collection so that they keep doing it forever, this stuff is the absolute goods.

• Ensemble Magazine joined the Stuff team just before their first birthday, very cool news for Zoe Walker-Ahwa and Rebecca Wadey, the only people to ever pay me (apart from my two Substack patrons, shout out Christine and Isaac) to write about clothes. Now, they’ll get to pay themselves, too!

• Checks and Gochu are cooking up a collab, watch this space.

• Speaking of collabs, I’m hearing rumblings out of Kiosk Store and the Platform guys; whatever that leads to, I’m in.

• Kanye’s new album might never come out, but this GQ review of his album listening party is probably better than the music, tbh

• This profile of Lorde, or Ella, if you’re a showoff Aucklander (my claim to fame is remembering her tea order in a previous life as a waiter), is excellent Sunday reading.

• If you missed last week’s clipboard annual, get in touch and I’ll send you a digital copy.

a brief note

You all will have received the clipboard annual last week, a celebration of a year’s worth of regular dispatches about clothing, food and wine with a distinct local lens. I started clipboard because it’s something I wanted to read, and wasn’t finding elsewhere. A year on there are more people reading this every week than I could fit in the last cafe I worked at, and there’s even a semi-regular guest column from vintage king Mitchell Tan.

I hate promoting myself, mostly because I’m never sure I deserve it, and I feel uncomfortable drawing attention to myself. That said, I’m really proud of this little newsletter, and the micro community that has grown around it. Every message I receive from a reader is like a little pat on the back, telling me to keep trying at this thing. Now that I have a year under my belt, I’m keen to blow this thing up into something truly exciting and big, but I need your help to make that happen.

If you enjoy clipboard, there are three things you can do to show your appreciation:

• Send it to your friends! The more people that read this thing, the better, and there’s no better endorsement than showing something to a trusted friend. Forward the emails to your friends, or send them the Instagram page (which is finally coming to life).

• Get in touch! I love hearing recommendations from readers, or sharing my recommendations with you. If there’s something you’d like to see in the newsletter, all you have to do is ask. Reply to this email or find me on the internet, I can’t wait to hear from you.

• Pay me! It’s gauche to ask for money, but writing this is an extra part time job on top of the “real” full time job I have, takes up about half of my weekend, and yet I make a very small amount of money doing it. I’ll never put the main newsletter behind a paywall, but you can contribute monthly or annually through Substack by clicking the button below if you’re in a position to do so, and I’m eternally grateful to the people that do.

That’s all for clipboard this week, thanks for reading! You can find clipboard on Instagram, and get in touch with me there or by replying to this email. See you next Sunday, same time same place!