The sun rises, you make your collections, and our friend in Brooklyn takes care of that thing. Well, maybe it’s because the sun is out and your friend has embers in the grill and it’s time to suit up for the event. You can still take cues from Tony Soprano, even if you can’t get some human beings into despair, constantly cheating on your wife and committing acts of senseless violence in an effort to avoid an all-expenses-paid trip to hell. Because nobody does Cookout Chic like The Skip.
The man who runs North Jersey is known for his showers, and his crew members are known for their sweat addiction. But thanks to a gift from the cyclical fashion gods, Tony’s shirts for almost all occasions — including when working the grill — are firmly back here in 2023. SeinfeldKramer, while Tony’s trademark big shirts were in style, slimming workouts and minimalism were calling the shots, but the ’90s— The ’90s—which really stretched all the way to 2004—came roaring back for all of us. Party shirts with unexpected geometric patterns? Check. Oversized bowling shirts? correct.
Flared pockets are a nice touch. Luckily the bowling-slash-lounge shirt game is going strong these days thanks to Todd Snyder. You can find more tips at Banana Republic, and Nudie Jeans has a bowling shirt design in the fabric, which is a little more adventurous. To see something like an advanced bowling shirt, check out this boy wonder:
Todd Snyder Japanese Tip Rayon Lounge Shirt
Banana Republic Christophe Cotton-Silk Knit Polo
Nudie Jeans Fabe Split Cotton-Crochet Shirt
Whether you’re looking for a quiet color scheme that says “off the coast” or “negotiate a luxury car smuggling deal to tour the Neapolitan countryside and find a new employee.”
There’s a linen number from Todd Snyder and another from J. Crew you can see. On the Marine Layer there is also a layered condition that you can perceive with the solid.
Todd Snyder Sea Soft Irish Linen Camp Col
J.Crew Short Sleeve Beard McNutt Irish Linen Shirt
Marine Layer Beach Textured Resort Shirt
Or, along similar lines: A sweater number worthy of a beach bonfire:
Another TS exclusive, the brand’s knit polo, gets you the same weight as this buckley case. Urban Outfitters has a few more beach shirts that you can check out. Better not try this with Satriale. Story MC adds a dash of embroidery to the proceedings.
But did we mention unpredictable geometries? How is this a small number?
Majestic. Then there’s this bars-and-squares ’80s number that Mr. Soprano wore to a meeting with a corrupt gambling cop turned private investigator before running into Carmella.
And you always need a shirt like this when you’re trying to get along with the local feds:
For Cardo and Caru Research and Todd Snyder and Orlebar Brown and Alexander McQueen, although you can have your own fun with geometry, these are all one of a kind.
Cardo convertible-collar embroidered cotton shirt
Caru Research camp-collar embellished cotton-jacquard shirt
Alexander McQueen camp-collar printed cotton-poplin shirt
For more uniform geometries, you can channel this while doing your scrap work.
And this is hard to repeat, but Oliver Spencer has a different kind of parallel.
Then there’s this vertical point beauty, perfect for throwing a side-eye at your up-the-wall sibling:
Another requirement for dressing like a boss is … food? It’s impossible to cook without condiments, and Tony seems to have added the extra statement that you can’t hit without food on your shirt at a live music venue in North Jersey.
Tombolo has long been in the business of finding food on shirts.
But not only the boss. You can find well-dressed cooking guests throughout the entire Soprano crew. Paulie Walnuts is primarily a sweat suit lover, but occasionally whips up a short-sleeved shirt to die for. (Given the record, it’s probably an unwise choice of words.) It’s done admirably with another Tombolo-worthy embroidered number, but our assistant Silvio Dante advises us that there’s potential in anything with panels under the roof closer to or further away from the buttons. . :
Capos and soldiers, all set to cook in 2023. Not quite the same, but Corridor is eating up Silvio’s vibe a bit here. The Todd Snyder has a vertical-panel look that probably lends itself more to layering on a white tee, while the YMC has a more subtle panel thing.
Corridor 50 camp – collar embroidered linen and cotton blend shirt
Todd Snyder Border Embroidered Camp Collar Shirt
YMC Malik embroidered cotton-jacquard shirt
But it’s the (controversial) one-time boss who brings the wisdom of age to the backyard. Check out Junior’s snappy nylon (rayon?) color-block button-up and three-button polo with underwire bra. It gives me the impression that he hasn’t worn a shirtless collar since 1962, and who’s to say he should be otherwise?
If you want to be a boss (in name only), you can enlist Todd Snyder or Celine to take care of that for you. Meanwhile, if you want to venture out into pajamaland, Todd with Orlebar Brown is there for you too. Is it near Paramus?
In conclusion, it’s time to join the family in more ways than one for your next big cooking event. Oh, and if you’re looking for something similar to the iconic Tony shirt above? You could do worse than this piece of Marine Layer. See you in the backyard.
Senior staff writer
Jack Holmes is a senior staff writer at Esquire, where he covers politics and sports. He also hosts. ApocalypseA show about solutions to the climate crisis.
