With its swimwear semiotics and characterisation through shirts, Luca Guadagnino’s film has the answers when it comes to your holiday wardrobe. You’ve seen the film, now get the look

Ever since its release in 1999, The Talented Mr Ripley has been the perennial menswear reference for how to dress for summer, thanks to its idyllic Italian settings and preppy wardrobe. Not any more: for 2018, the new Mr Ripley is Call Me By Your Name, the glorious Luca Guadagnino-directed film starring Armie Hammer and newcomer Timothée Chalamet. Yes, it was out last autumn, but certain images have been etched on my mental holiday moodboard ever since, from, “Oh, that shirt was a bit Martine Rose yellow” to, “I’m totally into those short-shorts with baggy Oxford shirt.”

In the brilliant novel by André Aciman on which the film is based, clothes are woven into the narrative. Elio (Chalamet) notes that, on his arrival, Oliver (Hammer) is wearing a “billowy blue shirt, wide open collar, sunglasses, straw hat, skin everywhere”. It’s a description that both reeks of the joy of a breezy summer wardrobe and sets the scene for the intensity of their relationship and the role clothes play in the story. Though it’s set in the mid-80s, the costumes for the film, created by Giulia Piersanti, who works as a designer for Céline, were not meant to be too “period-y”, she told Vogue. Arguably, most fall into one of two camps: quite-on-trend-actually, or banging classics.

Let’s deal with the trends angle first. The standout one is easily short-shorts. These are sported regularly by Hammer and are a massive S/S 18 trend, as seen at Prada, Dior Homme and Dries Van Noten. The easiest way to pull off the slashed-to-the-thigh look is to style it with something looser on top, such as a boxy shirt.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest See, effortless. Photograph: Sony Picture Classics

Swimming trunks are one of the linchpins of most men’s holiday ensembles. There is trunk action aplenty in CMBYN, from Elio’s Missoni-style patterns to Oliver’s block-coloured sporty styles. In the novel, Elio reads Oliver’s trunk colours as indicators of his mood. Red is “bold” or “almost gruff”, yellow “sprightly” or “funny”, green “acquiescent” and blue a reminder to Elio of the day Oliver massages him on the tennis court. Swimwear semiotics have rarely been so intense.

On a more practical level, if you’re looking to expand your trunks repertoire, check out Marané from Uruguay whose well-cut, short swimmers come in bold block colours (including yellow for those “sprightly” moments) and painterly prints. Chic. The choice of swimwear for men has never felt so broad, whether you’re looking for fabrics that are quick to dry (Everest Isles), something with a drawstring waist at a decent price (Topman) or a more flattering tailored cut (the ever reliable Orlebar Brown).

Lolling round a pool or grazing over a long sun-kissed lunch, what could be better than this kind of effortlessness?

Throughout the film Hammer also sports a variety of oversized Oxford shirts that have something of Balenciaga about them. The influential label is very much backing the voluminous shirt with too big, slightly square short sleeves this season. It’s a look dubbed a bit “dad” in fashion circles, but in the film it comes to represent to Elio everything about Oliver: first his breeziness, then his manliness, and finally, without any spoilers, their love.

In comparison, Elio’s wardrobe of logo tees (a trend that began last season and shows no signs of disappearing), striped sleeveless tops, Lacoste polo shirts and Ray-Ban sunglasses is of a distinctly more youthful, carefree bent. I’m particularly into the moment he pairs a roomy blue check shirt with a pair of printed swim shorts – it’s the epitome of throwing clothes on when you’re not bothering yourself with work.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Short-shorts never looked so good. Photograph: Sony Pictures Classics/ Sundance

Let’s take a moment to call out one of the other shirt stars in this film, as seen on Elio’s dad. A deep blue open-collared number with two large breast pockets, it’s very Lemaire – the chic French label whose clothes make their wearer look ridiculously charming at all times. Perfect for late-night candlelit vacation dinners.

But let’s return to where we started, because perhaps the most striking difference between the clothes in CMBYN and Mr Ripley is that the former’s are more real, less done. They chime with current attitudes in menswear around normal clothes: polo shirts, hi-tops with white socks, faded denim – the ultimate antidote to the Instagram-friendly fashion fodder and cult sneakers that have dominated of late. The beauty of these clothes lies in their ease, because when you’re lolling around a pool or grazing over a long sun-kissed lunch, what could be better than this kind of total effortlessness?

Shorts and tropical print shirts have been arriving online since January, fuelling my desire. Thus far, one pair of Maison Margiela skimpy black shorts has been snaffled up, while a rummage around my wardrobe has revealed an ancient pale blue Oxford shirt, which will be perfect come summer, worn all dishevelled and open with a pair of sassy-coloured swimmers.

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