Hot City Lights

It's summertime and, despite air conditioning, iced tea, night baseball and jumping into the lake, most cities from Schenectady to San Diego are hotbeds, day and night. The good news is that your summer suit no longer need be a two-button sauna or a shapeless sack resembling what Paul Muni wore in I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. The tailored look that we've come to associate with the crisp no-nonsense cut of winter business attire has been translated into more relaxed summer styles and the result is a whole closetful of smart, comfortable suits (sports jackets, too) that you can live in no matter how high the Fahrenheit climbs. Other hot fashion innovations for summer months are the increased popularity of pastel accessories and the resurgence of interest in double-breasted suits. Double-breasteds in summer? Sure. The trick is to treat the suit insouciantly; push the sleeves up or wear it over a sweat shirt (not the one you save for washing the car)--anything that says you're in control of your clothes.