Style Scenario: The First Day it Feels like Spring – Dressed Up

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. If you haven’t gotten your first taste of spring yet, it’ll be coming soon. First we hit casual, then we went smart casual. Here we’re swinging for the fences, while still keeping it in check. Easy, comfortable, and spring-worthy. Here’s to the sunshine. Now go do something fun, you handsome devil.

The Sportcoat: Suitsupply Navy Havana Jacket in Italian Wool – $449. Or whatever your favorite modern navy blazer (no gold buttons) happens to be. This one, as spendy as it is, is light in weight and construction (totally unlined back!) and made from crease resistant Italian wool from Vitale Barberis Canonico. They also make matching pants for $199. Full suit separates can be found here. The Cheaper Alternatives: Try Charles Tyrwhitt’s “Perfect” navy wool blazer, now $239.20 w/ the code SLAMDUNK. If you want something super-light, try J. Crew’s “unsuit” suit-jackets for $198. They sometimes go on sale. Not often, but sometimes.

The Shirt: Nordstrom Extra Trim Fit Non-Iron Solid Stretch Dress Shirt – $49.50. Or whatever your favorite white dress shirt happens to be. Nordy = good quality from a dependable source. Ships & returns for free.

The Sunglasses: Sunski Astra – $98. One of their newest designs. Modern, slightly angular aviators, but still timeless. 52mm lens width means they won’t look oversized on most faces.

The Pocket Square: TheTieBar Line Art in Jade – $14. New, subtle, classy, and versatile. Wear it as a solid w/ border pocket square by folding it, or add a little sprezzatura by tucking it in and poofing it out a bit on the leafy-pattern part. Yes, poofing. I said poofing. You know what I mean.

The Pants: J. Crew Factory Slim-fit Flex Khakis in Overcast Blue – $40. Dark navy + steel blue = a far underrated combination. Trends are leaning warm with lots of earth tones this year, but let’s cool it down for this one. Alternatives would be J. Crew mainline stretch chinos in “Dusty Navy”, or GAP’s modern khakis in “Blue Pearl.” If you want to go a bit brighter, try BR Factory’s version of the core temp in “Arctic Ocean”. If you want to get spendy, Lululemon’s Commission pants in Iron Blue are tough to beat.

The Watch: Seiko SRPB43 “Cocktail Time” Automatic – $319. “Cocktail time”? Don’t mind if I do! Sounds like a nice way to spend an early spring afternoon/early evening. Sharp. Clean. A favorite of enthusiasts. The Cheaper Alternative: The Orient Bambino is always a can’t miss.

The Socks: Bonobos Navy Pindot Socks – $15. Or go sockless if it’s warm enough where you’re at. Socks with loafers. It used to be pretty standard.

The Belt: Nordstrom Newman Reversible Leather Belt – $49.50. A reversible brown to black. “Two belts” for the price of one. Because it is one. Sleek and dressy. Ships and returns for free.

The Shoes: Nordstrom Pryor Penny Loafer – $99.95. Just featured in yesterday’s Most Wanted. Rich-looking Italian style on a mid-shelf box spaghetti budget.

(Top Photo Credit: Wei Fukuyama)