Forget all that “Memorial Day to Labor Day” nonsense. We wear white pants year-round at Trunk Club HQ, and encourage you to do the same. Still, we’re always happy to see more white pants popping up around Memorial Day, and although they make a strong option for colder months, white pants are essential for spring and summer. Below you’ll find our suggestions for incorporating them into your warm-weather wardrobe.

If you’re familiar with our Six Essentials, you know that versatility is a key factor when we choose clothes for our inventory. That’s part of the reason why we’re big fans of white pants, which you can dress up with blazers, or dress down with casual shirts and sweaters (as we’ll see later in this post).

Every six months or so, our friends at Oak Street Bootmakers create a few pieces of limited-edition footwear exclusively for us. Below you’ll see our collection for spring, available only at Trunk Club. 

We’re big fans of Oak Street Bootmakers for a lot of reasons:

At Trunk Club, we believe that guys should avoid jewelry unless they’re married or enjoy telling time. On that latter point, watches might be unnecessary in the age of the smartphone, but they still go a long way in expressing a guy’s personality. For proof, look no further than the Jack Spade Conway 38 mm watch.

As we recently told Valet magazine when talking about our top clothing picks for Memorial Day weekend, we like the military-inspired Conway because it’s stylish yet rugged. Of course, it also helps that Jack Spade chose Trunk Club as one of only three places in the entire U.S. to carry the watch.

The Kentucky Derby takes place tomorrow at Churchill Downs, and parks all over the U.S. will host Derby-related events to start their seasons. Nearer to Trunk Club HQ, jockeys will be in their saddles as early as tonight when Arlington Park opens. Track season, we’re pleased to announce, is officially here. It’s time to break out the seersucker, bow ties, and boisterous trousers to celebrate the Sport of Kings. 

Whether you’re looking for a few tips for tomorrow’s Derby outfit, or you plan to take a date to the tracks later this season (a move that we wholeheartedly support, as explained below), here are our thoughts on dressing for success while watching the ponies.

The Statement Piece 

We recently talked about why Eton shirts rank among the most popular items in our inventory. With spring finally here, we’re keeping the theme going, with an eye toward the ideal shirt for warm weather.

Last year we asked our friends at Culturata if they could make the world’s best oxford shirt. We got our answer, loud and clear, when the new Trunk Club–exclusive Culturata oxfords arrived at our HQ. 

To understand how Culturata perfected this spring-and-summer wardrobe staple, we got on the phone with the company’s owner, Jacques Haggiag, who shared the following thoughts:

This week we received a visit from Erik Wilkinson, who works at Eton as Director of Sales, North America. Eton is the 85-year-old Swedish shirtmaking company that creates some of the most popular items in our inventory.

During his visit, Erik gave a presentation to our stylists on what makes Eton superior, from the 14 stitches per centimeter—thus the shirt’s incredible longevity and superior performance—to the fact that Eton offers the only naturally wrinkle-resistant shirt on earth. (Erik says, “There’s more chemicals in a fresh cup of British tea than an Eton shirt.”)

After his presentation, which appropriately enough came one day after Earth Day, we caught up with Erik for the following chat:

With your intense travel schedule, what items do you always make sure to pack?