Tombolo is a brand fueled by imagery. If you visit their website or pop into their Nolita flagship, you’ll certainly feel something.
How deeply their aesthetic resonates with your subconscious depends on whether or not your grandparents were Florida snowbirds.
Mine were, and any time I peruse Tombolo’s website that reads like a vintage postcard, I’m transported back to moments in Venice, Florida golfing with my Pop-Pop, throwing tangled gobs of seaweed at my sister on the beach, or running around the pool deck catching lizards.
Few labels manage to push all of their chips into one ethos without becoming a one-trick pony like Vineyard Vines is with pastel prep or Kith and their cash-grab collaborations.
Their ocean devotion is, dare I say, fluid—like water. By slapping sardines onto one of their signature terry-cloth shirts, they put a European spin on it. Agave plants and a bottle of gusanito mezcal imply it’s best worn under a palm-fringed Mexican beach with iguanas chilling beside you.
If the Drea de Matteo modeling their legendary Sopranos collaboration isn’t enough proof of Tombolo being on a 80s-era MJ run, maybe my latest fixation will lure you for a toe-dip.
But here’s the thing: the majority of their merchandise relies heavily on graphics, screen printed or embroidered, to serve as the garment’s main focal point. It’s all elevated, thus avoiding a “glorified print shop” schtick, but I’m equally impressed by cut-and-sew excellence.
Tombolo’s Easy-Going Jacket and Pants are precisely what I’m talking about.
The 2-piece set (sold separately) incorporates all of the key points in an outfit for looking handsome, unlike anyone else, but also like I didn’t put much thought into it.
The colorways are on point. White, navy, brown, and jacquard stripes align with the Tombolo’s sea-faring ideology without a “yacht club only” look that a baby blue and white pinstripe suit would, for example.
Everything about the top and bottom whispers pure leisure. The fit itself is obviously relaxed with dropped shoulders and a completely unstructured design.
Proper Cloth recently treated me to a summer suit very similar to this one. Both are linen, and while I could’ve gone with minimal canvassing, linen loses its unruly charm. Tombolo had the right idea here.
Nothing about the Easy-Going Suit feels like seaside schmaltz akin to a captain’s hat from Party City, either.
The coconut buttons are peak “tailored tropical.” Varnished wood stoppers on the waistband drawstring (which still has a button fly, by the way) evoke images of a sailboat’s wood-grain cabin. A double-breasted front closure draws reference to Service Dress Blue of the US Navy.
They know what they’re doing over there.
If I wasn’t legally required to remain in Sicily while I wait for my citizenship application to pan out, I’d be wearing it as I write this tribute piece like some sort of yuppie Hemingway in my old NYC apartment.
I’ll keep fantasizing about wearing the sand linen set in Castellammare del Golfo with a Campari Spritz in hand until I can duck obscene import duties.
The Easy-Going Suit Jacket and Pants retail for $298 and $148 respectively, but Tombolo offers $50 off when you buy both.
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