As you’ve seen, Tom Beckbe has expanded their line WAY beyond waxed jackets. I’ve taken a huge liking to their shirts. I have a few, and am going to walk you through each of them. First up: the Tidewater Shirt.
The Tidewater Shirt is actually a PERFECT shirt for warm weather here in the South. It’s an extremely lightweight shirt constructed out of half cotton, half nylon, and 5% spandex. The shirt is offered in a bunch of colors and patterns, all of which have a lot of utility. My intent with these is to wear them as a warm weather shirt either over a swimsuit or a pair of shorts, Very beer-friendly. I like the 30SPF and the classic fit. For reference, I wear a Medium in Millar and a Medium in Beckbe. However, the Beckbe shirts have about an inch extra in sleeve length, so the shirt doesn’t look like it was sewn in 1997.
I brought the shirt down to St. Barth and wore it for 2.5 days straight. It was 90 degrees during the day and 75 at night, a slight breeze, and had to handle chasing Mrs. RCS around the island. Heavy duty. While there was some sweating, the shirt didn’t get soaked at all. And it doesn’t look like a tech/fishing shirt. Much cooler.
I’m happy to report that it performed admirably. What you see below is ‘after’ of 2.5 days. The shirt held up well. Even after a couple of days, it looked fine at Le Select eating a cheeseburger and multiple Planters’ Punches. It smells like La Roche-Posey sunscreen and wore well over my swimsuits and shorts. The pleated pockets are helpful for sunglasses and for my phone when driving. All in all, this is a very stylish shirt that performs much more like a piece of utility wear.
Here are some shots:
I also got the white one, and have my eye on the red and blue plaid. Highly recommended by Team RCS.
Do you wear it with the collar tabs unbuttoned? I’ve always had a weird hesitation to do so on button-downs but think that’s a nice casual look for a shirt like this.
Thoughts on the short-sleeve versions for peak summer heat?