Style Scenario: Late Winter Northern Lights

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. So what are the “northern lights”? Aside from Aurora Borealis, in menswear it means when the usual dark jacket/lighter pants combo is flipped. So that means a lighter jacket up top (“northern”), combined with darker trousers. It looks a bit different to the eye, but just different enough is probably what a lot of us could use during these dark, cold, doldrums of late winter. Here’s one way to do it:

The Sportcoat: Bonobos Italian Knit Blazer – $298. The Bonobos unconstructed Italian Wool blazer would 100% work here too (or any medium to lighter gray blazer), but the knit option feels a little more… late winter? If sportcoats just aren’t your thing or just aren’t in your budget right now, you could easily replicate this look with a lighter gray V-neck or cardigan sweater.

The Pants: Target Goodfellow Slim Fit Hennepin Chino in Blue – $22.99. And here we have the darker trousers. A standard trouser/blazer combo that you’ve seen a million times before is khaki chinos and a navy blazer. “Yawn” right? This Northern Lights outfit flips the contrast, puts the darker shade on the trousers, and instead opts for a cooler, sharper gray up top. Khaki is a fine enough color for clothes, but, Jake from State Farm dominates in that area. Usually.

The Shirt: Banana Republic Slim-Fit Non-Iron Dress Shirt – $50ish when 40% off ($79.50). Or whatever your go-to white dress shirt is. BR does solid quality, good trim but not skinny fits, and they’re always on sale.

The Pocket Square: TheTieBar Solid Twill Hunter Pocket Square – $12. A little color goes a long way during the last weeks/month of winter. Bit of green against the gray stands out with another shot of contrast.

The Watch: Timex Milano 38mm Leather Strap Watch – $79.20 w/ LOVE20 ($99). Just mentioned yesterday in the Simple Daily Dress Watches post. Big fan of this watch. Love the case. Classy. And it’s a TIMEX!

The Belt: Banana Republic Bombay Leather Belt – $35 ($59.50). Holy cow a belt that’s NOT the GAP classic? Be still our collective hearts.

The Socks: Bombas Merino Socks in Navy – $19. Perfect level of warmth and cushioning for late winter, without looking out of place with a slightly dressed up outfit.

The Shoes: Jack Erwin Rubber Sole Suede Chukkas – $110 FINAL ($220). Made in Spain. Stitched sole. Subtle, studded rubber sole to keep you upright. Hit ’em with a little suede protector and they should be fine, as long as you aren’t knee deep in a snowbank. Final sale here. No returns. Which is a risk with shoes. Be careful.

The Briefcase: Made in the USA Boarding Pass Flight Briefcase in Black – $175. For when we all start to move about again. Subtle. Made in the USA. Waxed canvas and leather handles. Full review of a different colorway of this briefcase can be found here.