Style Scenario: Not quite sweater weather yet

What are you going to wear? Sometimes it’s good to look at a few suggestions then add your own tweaks and ideas. That’s what these are for. This type of weather happens when there’s a bit of a breeze, the harsh light of summer has started to fade, and you want to wear jeans… but it’s still plenty warm out. Not exactly sweater weather, and not late enough in the year to be an Indian Summer. Here’s one outfit that’ll  have you plant one foot in fall, yet still be comfortable outside on a patio for happy hour.

The Blazer: Express Deconstructed Gray Cotton-Linen – $88. If you’re lucky enough to still have an INC Ultra Light (from Macy’s… that’s a major throwback) still lurking in your closet, then use that. This option from Express isn’t half bad either. Barely there, half-lined, and lightweight. You’re looking for less structure here due to the still lingering heat, and it’ll also look better with a polo.

The Polo: UNIQLO Button Down Collar Dry-Fabric in Navy. Currently sold out, but any navy polo with a less-than-limp collar will do. The button-down is ideal though, since those collars stay vertical and help frame your jaw line.

The Watch: Antoine Arnaud Spirit of St. Louis Chronograph – $245. That’s a lot for a quartz chrono with mineral glass (and the price has gone up on Huckberry?) but man… seen this thing in person, and it’s a looker.

The Jeans: Levi’s 505 in Tumbled Rigid – $39.99. REMEMBER JEANS?~?!?!R#? … Right. Well, see, a pair of regular, inexpensive Levi’s like these are nice around this time of year. Rigid, heavy selvage might get you points in the denim-head treehouse, but regular ol’ Levis aren’t so dang heavy. Whatever fit you choose, look for something close to the “tumbled rigid” shade shown above.

The Sunglasses: Ray Ban New Wayfarers – $95 – $115. The center of the sunglasses matrix.

The Belt: J. Crew Factory Washed Tan Leather Belt – $34.50. Hang out for a code and you should be able to pick this up for $20ish. The nice thing about suede shoes is that you don’t have to really match the belt (the risk is it can look too “match-matchy”) so a lighter brown option like this will do quite well.

The Bag: KNOMO London “Lincoln” Briefcase – $99.50. Softer corners on a casual waxed-cotton briefcase, but that stitching sure gives it a modern look. Ships & returns free via Nordstrom. $89.95 through KNOMO direct, but it’s out of stock at post time.

The Shoes: Aston Grey Suede Single Monk Straps – $89.95. Have worn the begeezus out of these this summer, and they’re holding up surprisingly well. They do real well with all sorts of lighter summer wear, but they also excel with jeans.

The Beer: Sam Adam’s Octoberfest. Not going to impress beer snobs. But y’know what? It’s not Natty Light for crying out loud. So to those holding their nose at this pick, try and pry that cellar aged quad out of your tuckus. Still awfully tasty, and a pleasure to drink. Lighter bodied but still good fall-flavors. So basically it’s perfect for an 85 degree day as the sun is setting and you were wishing it were more like 60 degrees. Plus, it won’t wallop you over the head with an excruciatingly high ABV. Prost.