Is this changeable weather confusing you no end as to what to wear? Yep, me too. The answer though, is layering and I find a lot of the guys I take on shopping trips, like the ease of a cardigan so they can whip it on and off as the sun goes in, out and shakes it all about.
Though I frequently buy navy and grey with clients, I thought I'd step away from the defaults for a minute and take a look at some at the lighter brown end of the spectrum. They lend themselves particularly well to cotton and linen textures which is what I've chosen here, and it also means they'll be warm as an extra layer but still breathable and won't look too wintery either
As fashion turns towards the 70s for inspiration, there's been a lot more 'brown in town' and particularly this rich tobacco shade. It works perfectly when crossed with a "Talented Mr Ripley" style of higher waist trousers, cool linens and knitted polo shirts.
It also complements the pale blue and white that fills most men's summer wardrobes, making a welcome contrast without being too 'out there'. And of course, it looks excellent worn with other earthy tones of khaki, beige and cream, which will look particularly good on you if your colouring is a little softer (ie: you don't have much contrast between your hair, eye and skin colour.
Smarter than a cardigan, more relaxed than a structured blazer, the casual unstructured blazer is a great item to have in your wardrobe for the summer season.
Here, I dissect three options that I've seen whilst out and about, and highlight why they might work for you dependent on body shape and lifestyle:
When I go to clients houses to do a wardrobe edit I'll often find a distinct lack of shoes. They will probably have some smart black Oxfords to wear with suits and some sport trainers and perhaps some hiking boots, but quite regularly I'll find there's not a lot in between, so they struggle putting together a smart casual look.
So I often find myself looking for this style when we go on a personal shopping trip. As well as buying smart leather trainers (you can see the sort of style I mean here though they don't have to be white), we also look for ones that can be a little more formal and be worn for work and / or going out.
There's a definite 1970s influence to the things in the shops at the moment and perhaps that's why there are lots of printed shirts around.
When clients ask me to take them shopping, we might stock up on some basics but they're often looking for something slightly different from what they would normally choose and different colours and prints are a good way to do that. So I thought I'd share with you some of the printed shirts that I've bought with various clients over the past couple of weeks and how we styled them:
A few clients recently have asked me to take them shopping for their holiday wardrobes, so I've been seeking out some lightweight things for them, which I share with you here. As you can see it's mainly bottom halves as shirts and t-shirts are lighter anyway. I hope this is useful for you and points you in the right direction if you're off on holiday, and if you'd like some help, please do get in touch.
If you stick to mostly plain colours or one pattern because you’re afraid of getting it wrong but would like to experiment more, then here are some simple guidelines on how to successfully mix your patterns:
Last week I was asked to be on the podcast of fellow stylist Lisa Gillbe. It's always lovely to connect with other stylists, and Lisa is one of the people I often recommend for women.I jumped at the chance to be on The Style Stories podcast where we discussed why men and women book personal stylists, plus which 5 pieces we would choose for a smart casual capsule business wardrobe for men or for women.
Taking your mum out for lunch on Mother's Day on Sunday 22nd March? You probably haven't thought about what to wear yet, but this is exactly the sort of occasion that you need to master the tricky smart/casual scenario so you can look smart but not as if you're going to the office.
Here's some style swaps for you, so you can make your mum proud this Mother's Day and that you can put into rotation for other occasions that require a similar dress code too.
Just like Steve MQueen & Starsky & Hutch, I do love a shawl collared cardigan. I was searching for one for a client a couple of weeks ago and found one in J Crew and then when I went to visit another client, he happened to have on a great one from Timothy Everest (see below) Since then it seems the 70s trend is really kicking in and I've found the ones below too.
As Spring is coming (I think?!) it'd be nice to lighten up a little with the outerwear. There are lots of checks around at the moment and if you tend to wear plainer colours as your basics, this could be a great way to reinvigorate your wardrobe for Spring. I urge you to at least try one on when you're next out shopping and who knows, you may even like it.
Backpacks have become so popular as more and more guys carry their laptops around, but I'm still amazed at how many men look like they might be going rambling, rather than to work.
So, I decided to take a hike around the internet for you and gather some images of smart sleek backpacks that I often recommend to clients, which are are suitable for work. Some are from favourite brands of mine that I've known for awhile and a couple are from new ones that I was excited to discover.
