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What are you going to wear? Sometimes there’s an easy answer. Sometimes not. Sometimes it’s good to look at a few suggestions then add your own tweaks and ideas. That’s what these are for. All designed to get you in some stuff that’ll make you look and feel great, then get you out the door and off to do things other than thinking about your clothes. Look for these with no regularity. Want to suggest a scenario? Send those in here. Photo: Chris McClanahan
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The Blazer: Target Merona Kensington Blazer – $35 – $44.99
If you’re hitting a patio for after-work drinks, chances are a stiff breeze might kick up and you’ll be wishing you had on more than a polo. If the afternoon happy hour drifts into an evening out for dinner, you’ll really want long sleeves. A lightly structured or completely unstructured navy cotton blazer is the answer, and the Kensington from Target is excellent for the price. It might need tailoring, but it’ll be a go-to for when you’re relaxed but want to look sharp.
UPDATE: This is now available on the web. Credit wsgm in the comments for the tip.
The Pants: Off white or not quite white 5-pocket denim-like chinos
These are not bright white jeans. And yes you can wear them with confidence. They’re a bit of a hybrid. Look for colors like stone, light grey, maybe very light khaki, in a mid-weight fabric with a rougher texture than chino. That’ll create a nice visual border between the pants and the blazer above. The 5-pockets also keep it real casual, since a dressed-up and pressed pant might look wonky with the very casual blazer. The perfect example is last spring’s BR 5-Pocket canvas pant. A few to consider now, with hopefully cheaper options showing up as the weather warms:
- Bonobos Rawhides Bull Denim – $98.00 (could use a groupon here)
- Levi’s 514 Slim Straight Twill in Pewter – $44.00
- J. Crew Tompkins 5-pocket – $96.00 (ouch on the price)
- L.L. Bean Signature Five-Pocket Natural – $69.00 (fit could be bad here)
- Old Navy Slim Straight Jeans in Natural – $39.94 (but there will be sales)
The Shirt: A bright, white, poplin with a good sized collar.
You want it bright enough and white enough that if the jacket comes off there’s a noticeable difference between the off white of your pants and the bright white of your shirt. So no dingy shirts here. Bust out your best white dress shirt if you need to. Keep that collar in line with some wurkin’ stiffs, and feel free to unbutton the second button if that’s your thing. Shirts from left: Nordstrom Trim Fit, Calibrate Trim Fit, Target Merona Ultimate Dress Shirt.
The Shoes: Suede Something: Ciro Lendini Double Monk – $155.00
Ciro Lendini seems to be an Italian Made brand on par with the DSW house brands Mercanti Fiorentini and Mike Konos. Italian made, great looking shoes that are of above average quality, and the brand did well during the wingtip boot search. Other options: Last year’s Mike Konos Lace Ups if you got em, or the all but gone Florsheim single monk. Bass Suede Chukkas could work as well.
The Belt: Something subdued and not too bright. Different if you’d like.
A bright, striped, grosgrain or web belt might be too obvious here. That and you risk starting to look like you’re following every damn trend ever (hat tip to the double monks). Keep it grown-up, dressed down, and darker but not necessarily all matched up with your shoes. Grey is just fine here. And that old casual brown leather belt that you’ve got? That’s more than just fine here as well. Belts from left: 1901 Nubuck, Martin Dingman.
The Slight Risk: Fossil “Nick” Polarized sunglasses in rust – $70.00
Not everyone looks good in keyhole style sunglasses. Some look downright goofy. So if you’re attached at the hip to your aviator Ray-Bans or AOs or REs, or even your new-wayfarers, then carry on. These aren’t as aggressive or sloped as some keyholes, but still… these would be for the guys who like to take more risks. Certainly retro without going full bore Clubmaster. Good price for polarized too. There is a small “fossil” branding at the temples.
The Watch: Timex Q Dial – $80.75 w/ WINTER12 | Citizen Eco Drive Chrono – $240.00
The Timex is a bit on the small size, and the Citizen leans quite a bit towards beefy. The perfect play here might have been the silver dial / blue hands Skagen, but that’s once again seemingly impossible to find. The Citizen is a bit of a beast, but it’s a stunner. Powered by Citizen’s Eco Drive movement, and the dial is actually a deep navy. More on the Timex with an in-person over here. Citizen photo credit
The Pocket Square: Fifth&Brannan light chambray – $30.00
This is optional. The 5th&B one is obviously a bit of a small-company made in the USA splurge, but the fabric is pretty incredible. (And yes, our pal Barron from the effortless gent is part of 5th&B. But the fabric on these is something else.) Might be too many different shades of blue if you’ve got the Q-dial on. Much cheaper $8.00 version from TheTieBar can be found here.
I missed out on the Konos last year. Seems like there aren’t any affordable brown suede oxfords ever since that konos sale. Hope you keep a look out for more if any pop up this season Joe!
Out of curiosity, are nantucket reds a little too conspicuous for spring and summer time wear? I know J. Crew tried to introduce the pants to the mass market several years ago, but I still feel as if they would attract too much attention. I’ve only ever seen red pants worn once (at Ohio State Univ., red sweat pants are ubiquitous but red chinos, etc. are quite the opposite) and I have to say that I’d have an even harder time imagining red pants being worn at work, than at college. Perhaps it’s more prevalent on the East Coast and is a regional thing? Any thoughts?
Nuttin wrong with bright pants bro. Just gotta remember to tone down the rest of your outfit, that way your not blinding anyone.
My red Bonobos (Cracker Jacks) with a white or navy polo is my go-to in summer. They’re super light and get tons of compliments.
Off white pants with a solid white shirt may make you look like the Good Humor man if you take your jacket off.
ohhh, im in love with that smallish watch!
http://goo.gl/qkFQW
I very well might be missing the joke, but that link is for a GPS.
I’ve been keeping an eye on the Konos / Mercanti for awhile now, specifically for more suede options and my fingers are crossed…
Great timing Joe! For us in the northeast, today is that day. I went with a tattersal shirt, light gray chinos, and a light blue blazer from J Crew factory.
I’d kill for some 60 degree weather. Florida hasn’t dropped below 72 in a couple weeks where I am.
Maybe it’s just because I’m desperate, but we already had our first spring days here (60° and sunny), and I wore a polo, linen shorts, and boat shoes.
That was the only thing throwing me off too. Just need a bit more contrast for me. I would opt for a light colored tint of pretty much any color for a shirt if wearing off-white pantalones.
citizen watch isn’t actually a deep navy, more like black. it’ll only look navy when it catches reflection because the watch face is a solar panel.
I’ll concur with the white shirt/off white pant combo critique. It’ll look weird if the jacket’s off. I think a light khaki would do just fine and be more versatile.
And we in the northeast feel sooo badly for you 😉
Oh, and in Chicago we celebrated Dayltight Savings Time with a beautiful 60+ degree day. =)
Oh, and in Chicago we celebrated Dayltight Savings Time with a beautiful 60+ degree day. =)
Yea seriously, it’s been in the 80’s for the last month or so here in Miami. Layering is no longer an option, unless you want your blazer glued onto your shirt with sweat.
Tried posting this before, disqus ate it. Sorry if it appears later as a double post
Navy cotton blazer duel:
LL Bean Signature Plain Weave Blazer – http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/65146?feat=505931-GN3
versus
J Crew Factory Thompson – http://www.jcrew.com/mens_factory_category/avacationshop/PRDOVR~38647/99102615204/ENE~1+2+3+22+4294967294+20~~~205+16+4294966725~15~~~~~~~/38647.jsp
The J Crew is cheaper and two button, but I like that the LL Bean has matching pants available and the good reviews are a bit of a reassurance. In general I’ve liked LL Bean’s quality so I’d expect the LL Bean to be a bit better constructed and so forth. Anybody got a recommendation either way?
Allen-Edmonds is coming out with a double monk (Neumora on 4/01). Finally a double monk for us EEE width guys. Hope it also comes in black. I’ve too many brown shoes as it is.
I tried on the Merona blazer today. I must disagree with the love it gets around here. The shoulders are pointy and don’t lay properly. They look weird. While they are “trim,” this includes the chest, so athletic builds need to look elsewhere. The chest on the medium was significantly tighter than size 38 jackets I have tried elsewhere. I can often wear smalls in many brands, but the medium allowed for zero arm motion in this jacket.
“While THEY are trim this includes the chest…”
replace “they” with “the jackets”
It’s worth noting that the sport coat is now on the Target website for $44.99.
I actually had the same experience — i always wear a small, but had to opt for a medium. But the shoulders were sculpted particularly wide, so it ended up looking a bit pointy. I tried on about 5 different ones at different stores [they said fit could vary from jacket to jacket?] but no dice
Interesting. Apologies that you guys went off on what ended up being a goose chase for you. Can’t say I had the same experience. I’m between a 38 – 40 jacket (40 in BR Tailored Fit, 38 in just about everything else) and the Medium in the Kensington fit me pretty darn close to perfect. I would have needed a little bit of work done on the waist, but other than that, it was a steal for me for $40.
Indeed. Something like these would be great:
http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=67535&vid=1&pid=897351&scid=897351022
And the price can’t be beat, even if they are one season throwaways.
No seersucker, boat shoes, or pink? Why are half of these items white? Does no one put on some bright colors when the weather gets nice?
Half the items? So… the shirt and the pants? It’s a balance. The sunglasses are a stretch as it is for some. It’s a different line for everyone, but there is a line between brightening up a look for warm weather, and looking like you’re wearing some kind of costume (good humor or not)
DAMN STRAIGHT! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeUzcoAnXEA&feature=related
I had a similar issue. I usually wear a 46L and the XL fit me ok, but While the chest fit fine the arms were sewn in such a way where I couldn’t reach to even shoulder height with one button done
No I totally agree about balance and I guess rereading my comment it may seem a bit harsh. I guess I was just surprised you didn’t recommend adding a pop of color to the outfit. Maybe I’m alone in my love of pink, yellow, and light blue.
Out of curiosity… St Patricks Day being this weekend, it’s due to be around 55-60ish where I am. I was thinking light brown topsiders, green polo pants, a belt matching the shoes, with a madras print shirt (blues, greens, pinks, etc…). Too much color?
*Just discovered this site. Loving it so far!
I went and tried on several of the same size because they do vary a little. snagged one that is closest to the shoulders but not 100% satisfied. should try ’em out soon but if shoulders still bother me I am returning them. the ultimate dress shirts were on sale too by the way, 16 bucks a pop. nice eh?
No worries Cesar. Probably some internal bias on my end from being a bit of a minimalist. But I think in 5 or 6 years, some of us might look back at our crocodandies https://dappered.com/2011/05/would-you-wear-it-not-so-subtle-green-pants/ and think: “the hell?” 🙂
No suggestion for socks?