My Summer Style Guide: Hugo Compain, Fashion, Social and Video Editor At-Large of Vogue France

Hugo Compain, Fashion, Social and Video Editor At-Large of Vogue France is here to tell you why you should never underestimate the power of ugly shoes for summer.

What’s your essential summer purchase – and why do you love it ?

I have a few: I’ve started wearing pajama pants during the day, and it kind of became my summer thing. I’ve got a few pairs of wide-leg Balenciaga (including that blue striped one pictured above), and I also love the ones from Schostal Originals, a boutique in Rome where you can find super-chic pajama sets at an affordable price—it’s one of Rome’s best-kept shopping secrets!

I also finally added a classic lightweight cotton Comme des Garçons striped patchwork shirt to my wardrobe in July—I’ll wear this for my birthday in August with wide pants or pajama pants, and also all summer long for evenings and dinners.

Orlebar Brown does the best classic resort-summer pieces, and I bought this white knitted 50’s shirt, which I love—it’s a true versatile basic that works in every situation, from the beach to dinner!

Aside from this, if you’re looking for men’s swim shorts, don’t look further: Orlebar Brown’s are the best ones on the market—the cut is perfect, and their vintage feel is so chic. I packed this white one with stripes for 2K24 Summer!

It’s also not a great fashion summer without a great vintage t-shirt, and my favorite is something I found at Dukes Cupboard in London: It’s an old souvenir tee from Isla Margarita in Venezuela, and I love its motif and colors. And I love to add a surfwear piece to my holiday look, so I bought these ERL (whose Venice Beach-inspired style I adore) checker swim shorts, which make me think about a vintage Quicksilver boardshort. ERL is only retailed at the new Dover Street Market in Paris, and I’m so happy it finally opened so we can buy all of those great young designers now.

A Wales Bonner knitted track pant from their latest collab is something that I instantly loved on the runway back in March and finally got before leaving on holidays. I love to wear it with a white linen shirt for the beach or dinner, or just with a simple white t-shirt to go grab a coffee.

Finally, because I wanted to create Y2K-inspired looks, I got these Bravest Studio shorts, which have a typical early 2000s mid-calf length—the Christ and UK flag print also reminds me of Vivienne Westwood!