Style file: Crew’s Caribbean-inspired collection

Get into the spirit of summer with Crew’s Caribbean-inspired collection, writes Lee Holmes

When you live on an island in the North Atlantic, the summers are, for the most part, chilly. We may be surrounded by mile upon mile of beautiful coastline, but who really wants to spend their summer holiday dodging rain clouds while building sandcastles on a grey windswept beach? Even stalwart British labels such as Crew – which was founded in 1993, selling nautically-themed fashion from a shop in Salcombe, Devon – has decided, for this year at least, to look to warmer climes for inspiration.

So, for summer, the brand takes as its sartorial muse the islands of St  Vincent and the Grenadines, which lie in the Caribbean Sea. On first sight, this might seem like a strange collaboration, but St Vincent has, as well as an abundance of sun-kissed beaches, a rich nautical history that tallies nicely with the Crew ethos.

The core of the collection is made up of traditional polo shirts, shorts and chinos, the go-to basics for a summer wardrobe. And any tailoring and shirting is relaxed and informal; perfect for living island life at the required hassle-free pace. Colours are bright and punchy and the quirky embroidered boat motif that runs through the collection anchors Crew’s heritage with St Vincent’s sailing roots.

Unfortunately, holidaying on a yacht while floating around the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean is only ever going to be a pipe dream for most of us; a wet week at a British resort is probably much more likely.

Still, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dress the part, and Crew’s collection will brighten up almost any grey day by the sea. Of course, wearing a “Kiss Me Quick” hat – a wardrobe staple of commercial seaside meccas – is entirely optional.