Wardrobe Upgrade for Spring, Part 2

I was pleased when I picked up my warm-weather blazer from my tailor last week. In addition to a few fitment tweaks that are occasional necessities from season to season, I had him apply some lovely mother-of-pearl buttons to the jacket in lieu of the traditional polished brass jobbers that I don't exactly fancy. The results are lovely, although the photograph (photo 1) does not exactly capture the subtle nuances of the lustre of the M.O.P.

I put together a casual spring ensemble as well showcasing the jacket (photos 2 & 3) to try and illustrate the versatility of the lighter buttons. The blazer can, of course, also be worn in any other circustance where one would wear a navy blazer, be it with khakis and a button-down collar shirt for an old-school preppy aesthetic, or with dressier grey trousers and a tailored spread collar shirt for more formality. As shown here, the less conventional M.O.P. buttons allow the perfect "reason" for the blazer to accompany a more casual ensemble, and dress up casual wear without appearing too pretentious.

In photo 2, notice the brightly colored shirt under the plaid button-down. This shirt accents some of the color in the plaid, but also allows for a nice layering of colors, an effect achieved by the luminescent buttons first, followed by the colorful plaid, and finally the brightly colored "under" shirt. Note also the pocket square, which, in the wake of the casual wear returns a little bit of "respectablility" to the blazer. This ensemble is not designed necessarily to be the point behind the post, but I'd previously mentioned a follow-up to the last reader's question post about spring-wear and wanted to include some images that might inspire ways to let that blazer with M.O.P. buttons shine this spring. Ultimately, I'd love to see some reader's looks that make use of white buttons as well. Send any pictures of your inspired outfits for spring on to me and we'll get them posted.

Thanks for tuning in.

Cheers!

-Paul

Style In It's Purest Form

"Do not let others look down on you because you are young, but set forth an example..."

1 Timothy, 4:12

Okay... I know, I'm reaching, here. Forsaking context when quoting scripture. But this Biblical reference popped into my head tonight when my three-and-a-half year-old son approached me tonight with explicit instructions on how I needed to help him get dressed.

It has been snowing today, you see, and my wife asked my son if he'd let her take him walking in the snow. My boy, Benjamin, required very little consideration prior to issuing his reply. "Yes," Ben said. "I'll go get dressed." Benjamin ran upstairs to his room and began preparing himself to brave the cold as my wife did the same in our bedroom. A few moments later Benjamin ran back into our kitchen where I stood cooking, and said "Dad! I need your help!" I turned and looked down to see a very well put-together young man.

I asked him, "Did you pick out your clothes, Benjamin?" "Uhh... yeah," he replied. He may as well have said "duh," but his tone of voice said it loud and clear, so he stuck with the polite response. I asked what I could help him with and Ben explained that he wanted his scarf tied by folding it in half and pulling the two ends through the loop around his neck, so that the scarf's fire truck insignia could be displayed in the empty triangle where his denim shirt was unbuttoned, and since he was already wearing mittens, he needed me to zip up his outer jacket.

I did what he asked, and then looked him over. I realized that I had to take pictures to preserve the first moment where I had been schooled by my kid. My son knew exactly how he wanted his clothes to appear on him. He had his rubber Wellies (with frog faces on them) peeking out from the bottom of his corduroy cargo pants, his denim shirt peeking out from beneath his Lightning McQueen "letter jacket" hoodie, embroidered fire truck on his scarf sitting adjacent to the embroidered car on his jacket... I was impressed.

And then I realized that this kid has grown up watching me get dressed in the morning. He's shopped with me. He's paid attention to the way I've played around with color, and with layering, and with quirkiness. And then it hit me. Damn. This kid's got style. In fact, this is what style is all about. It's not that the outfit in itself is spectacular, but he's three, and here he has assembled an outfit of various articles of clothing all purchased at different times by different people. He put them together in a way that expressed his personality and he knew in his mind's eye precisely what function every component was to serve. He even told me how to tie his scarf. And this is a kid who has no concept of labels and designer branding... just a kid who understands the essence of what works and what doesn't.

We should all be so lucky.

Cheers!

-Paul

Reader Question: Wardrobe Upgrade for Spring

Paul- Thanks for keeping this blog going. I Enjoy it very much. I am seeing a lot of advertising for the Spring 2010 wardrobe already. I feel like I just got done buying for fall and winter and am a little overwhelmed. Is there a simple way to make some of what I already have more oriented toward spring without buying a whole new wardrobe? I have a navy blazer that I wear a lot, and it's an all-season fabric. What can I wear with this to look like I'm keeping up?
Thanks, Nate P. -Auburn, Georgia
Thank you, Nate, for writing in. You pose a terrific question. I too have my regrets about the dawn of a new season. I always look forward to fall and winter, especially because of the way this time of year lends itself to layering colors and textures. I always find myself excited when spring is around the corner, because I get to break out some of the things that have just been hanging around in my closet for six months, but then I become quickly bored with the warmer weather and feel like I have to buy more stuff.

Now that we are in a recession from hell thanks to frivolous government spending and the transference of the burden onto the American taxpayer, "buying more stuff" is becoming less and less of an option. The nation is stressed and its people are strapped. It's time to "re-purpose" your already existing wardrobe. Here is one thing I have in mind, regarding the navy blazer you mentioned.

I assume when you said that your blazer is constructed of an "all-season" fabric that it is a tropical wool or a cotton blazer. I have one of these, too. Because I have a heavier worsted wool blazer which I wear in colder months, I typically reserve my tropical wool blazer for spring, summer, and early fall. When I got it it was, of course, adorned with shiny brass buttons. I'm not a big fan of brass buttons, as cheap and expensive blazers alike bear them, so I like something a little different to make my jacket more unique. My cool weather blazer sports antique silver buttons. My tailor is currently tweaking my spring wardrobe, and I'm having him add white mother-of-pearl buttons (see photo 1) to my warm weather blazer (yes, the one pictured has a hole in it where the pearl was over-polished. That's why I have it to photograph and my tailor doesn't have it to attach to my jacket!).

I suggest this for you as well. You can always change the buttons back when the weather gets cooler again, or you can leave them as is, but white buttons can be found for little expense and will completely change the look of your blazer. I will post pics of the finished product when I pick the blazer up, but for now, here is a pic (photo 2, borrowed from The Sartorialist) of a gentleman rocking the navy blazer with white buttons. As you can see, this lightens up a wardrobe staple and gears it toward the warmer season.

As far as the advertising for Spring 2010 goes, on this blog I try to focus more on enduring style rather than what is being pushed in the fashion world. Anything that I suggest is going to be geared more towards consistency and timelessness. I will talk about "Spring", but not about a particular year. We want to be able to "build" a wardrobe, and not to cycle things out season after season. Now certain colors, for example, may be used more by designers in a particular year, and at that point, wearing a tie or scarf comprised of "in the now" colors will make all of the timeless elements of your wardrobe look more current. That's cool. But trends should be avoided like the plague. The Day-Glo colors that were popular last spring? Done and gone. Popular when Back to the Future II came out, and then popular last year. Try to focus more on what will look good each spring rather than this spring. The white blazer buttons are a perfect example.

Add light colors to your ensemble by way of ties and pocket squares. A pair of white chinos would be a good thing to invest in for the spring and summer as well, as they will work with every thing from your navy blazer to a t-shirt and boat shoes (photos 3, 4, and 5 attest to their versatility... these photos are also property of The Sartorialist). With maybe one or two new purchases, what you have will work wonders for you. Start by hunting down some new buttons. Let me know how you do! Cheers!

Layers of Style

It's Fall now guys. The air is cool and crisp, and our car consoles are pumping out heat instead of air conditioning. One of the most beautiful things about Fall, aside from the lovely changing of the leaves and the smells of cold air and dying foliage (yeah... it smells good), is the ability to add some presence to our outfits by layering. It's colder, and warmth is a good thing, but staying warm in style brings an extra something special to the table.
One of the best ways to keep showing off your well selected tie and perfectly spread shirt collar is the v-neck sweater, or, for those who are slightly more daring, the zipper-neck sweater. The zipper neck allows the freedom to pop the collar as pictured, or to tuck it under for a more subdued statement. Keep in mind that tucking the collar under the jacket could cause a bit of a lump or gap at the back of your jacket collar: if this is a problem, a v-neck may be a better option for you.
Choose a sweater that is thin and delicate, constructed of a fine fabric such as cashmere or merino wool, so that when worn under a sport coat or blazer one doesn't add to much unnecessary bulk to the torso. The idea is to stay warm, but not to look like a climb up Mount Everest is on the daily agenda.
Adding such a layer allows one the opportunity to be even more playful with colors. Note the example pictured, where the navy blue sweater is echoed by the navy blue in the pocket square, and the navy is also complimentary to the blue stripes in the shirt. Textures are somewhat repeated as well; both the sweater and the blazer are cashmere, so that even with bold patterns there is an anchor of consistency by way of fabric selection.
Get creative, have fun, but use the colder months as a chance to experiment with layering.
Until next time,
Cheers!
-Paul