Chinos, Chukkas, Polo: All Grays (and some brown suede)

Chinos, Chukkas, and a Polo is our ongoing series out to prove the benefits of this simple combination. There’s a million ways to do it, the benefits are numerous and significant, and it can be executed at all levels of style budgets. Head here for a further explanation as to why chinos, chukkas, and a polo works. Click here for the growing archive. Got a suggestion for Chinos, Chukkas, & a Polo? Send those into joe@dappered.com.

The Polo: Amazon Essentials Tech-Stretch Polo – $17.40. Going for a “Northern Lights” look this time. Meaning, your shirt (north) is lighter than your trousers (south). Keeping it monochrome helps knock back the loudness some northern lights looks can generate, and looks pretty sleek overall. Want to invest? Try PROOF’s “72-hour” merino blend Polo for $88. They’re extremely well reviewed, and they claim the fabric, since it’s a lightweight breathable wool, can be worn for three days in a row without picking up any sort of stink or funk. And yes, stink and funk are not the same. Stink causes immediate recoil. Funk is more layered than that. There’s a feeling of confusion first.

The Watch: Orient Ray Automatic – $143 on a Crown & Buckle Supreme Nato Strap – $34. At this point some of you guys might think we have some sort of contract with Crown & Buckle to mention their supreme nato straps X amount of times per month. That’s not the case. We don’t do that kind of thing (guessing neither does C&B), and… I don’t think we even make any sort of affiliate revenue off of them (you’d think I’d know these things, but I don’t). The supreme natos are just the best. That’s why they get recommended so much.

The Chinos: GAP Modern Khakis in Slim or Straight Fit in “soft black” – $47.70 w/ TREAT ($59.95). Gap’s flagship chino. Can sometimes be excluded from codes and promos. They call this color “soft black,” but… c’mon. It’s gray. If it’s still hot and gross where you’re at and you’d prefer tech pants, Target has you there with their dark gray All in Motion golf pants for $40. There’s also Lululemon’s ABC pants in “obsidian.” Spendy though. Those are $128.

The Sunglasses: Kent Wang Browline – $55. Just reviewed in our best sunglasses under $100 round up. Spring hinges are a nice feature at this price. Not sure what’s going on with the pics on the Kent Wang site, but on some browsers the images are looking “Squashed” to the point of looking almost cat-eye-like. They’re not. They’re clubmaster style through and through.

The Shoes: Jack Erwin Reade Chukka w/ City Sole – $188. A really nice, less expensive (and available stateside) alternative to the Sanders hi-top chukkas. Fits true to size. Made in Portugal. Nice suede uppers, with their proprietary “city” sole that offers great traction while remaining visually unobtrusive. Does take a little break in time. (At least they did for me.) Sizes are starting to get a bit scarce.

The Belt: Made in the USA Flint & Tinder 365 Belt 2.0 in Dark Brown – $85. Full grain bridle leather, made in the USA, and under a C-note. An “investment” compared to the usual $25 – $40 belts most of us have on hand for casual wear, but reasonable all the same for what you’re getting. Now that said, some guys are gonna be like “there’s no such thing as an investment belt that’s insane.” Fair enough. Go GAP then.

The Socks: Taylor Stitch Made in Italy Merino Blend Socks in Olive – $22.50 FINAL. Getting the rec until they sell out. Medium weight = great cushioning. Still breathes and wicks and keeps your feet as comfortable as possible in warm weather. Machine wash and dry helps too.

Want more of these Chinos/Chukkas/Polos outfits? Head here for the archive. We’ll be rebooting this series as the warm weather rolls on with currently available items. But this is the archive if you want it.