Layers

After a long search I still only have this gilet. I've worn it on my grey jacket a few times and I'd say it works quite well. They're quite similar stylewise, and the colors play along.

This time the other pieces were a simple white shirt, slim khaki chinos and my longwings. Details include a rust red silk tie, red coral beads bracelet and a dark brown bridle leather belt. Underneath a white cotton pocket square. The cashmere wool jacket and the gilet on top keeps the warmth well and after a walk to the nearest grocery store I was actually more hot than cold.

Really love this tie, and the colors pops up nicely without being too bright. The shirt is semi-heavy cotton twill that's pretty comfortable in the zero degreeish weather. A bit sprezz knot adds a nice touch to the overall outfit.

The shoes are not the perfect shape, but the leather has been a positive surprise. When worn with slim chinos or jeans they're actually quite handsome. The thicker sole brings that bit of heaviness and roughness needed when the weather gets colder, and the colors is rather beautiful.

Tuesday's Entry

I had my grey suit with the lightweight grey cardigan vest in a post some time ago, and I liked it so much I decided to have another go not much later. Unfortunately only one picture this time.

What we have here is grey suit with spalla camicia shoulders, grey cardigan vest, light purple spread collar shirt, purple knit tie and brown brogues. To handle the rain a navy trench coat and to spice things up a pink/navy/purple camouflage pocket square.

More stuff tomorrow, so stay tuned. Also remember to like on FB for notifications when there are new posts.

Browns and Blues

So, the temperature is around -5 Celsius and it's already dark at five o'clock. Good times and not very ideal for taking pictures, so I might have to get innovative soon. Anyway, here's another a bit more casual look from some time ago.

Quite like this one, perfect for a casual visit at the shops or perhaps having a cup of coffee with your friends. Starting with the unstructured navy wool cotton blend jacket that I've been wearing a lot this season, a medium brown lightweight cardigan, soft chambray shirt and to keep up with the semi-heavy fabrics and rough textures, brown herringbone cashmere tie.

And the final touch, raw denim and espresso brogue boots. Socks underneath are light blue made of thick wool.

Post No 73

Another one from some time ago, this one was playing with purple. Looking outside it's snowing and everything is totally white now, so I'm going to try post all my old pics in the following days.

The jacket is a wool cash blend worn quite a few times before, a good jacket that will get you through the day all the way down to around 0 degrees Celsius. I've noticed an unpleasant shine on it in pictures, not sure if the microscopic fiber breakage from the cashmere shines in daylight? In real life it's more like a fuzzy warm looking fabric.

The knit underneath is a lightweight cashmere jumper I've bought about a million years ago. Now that I look at the photos there's perhaps a bit too much purple here and a white cotton square would have been better.

The chinos are my casual  navy chinos also bought years ago, socks medium-thick grey merino and the shoes from John Lobb.

My Uniform

If you've been following the blog, you've probably noticed that many of my looks play with navy jackets and lighter color bottoms. This picture is perhaps from three weeks ago, and I suppose the outfit is really my "go to outfit" for most occasions.

The jacket navy with unstructured shoulders, sky blue twill spread collar shirt, brown tie with blue and yellow pindots and a light blue cotton pocket square. This time with olive cotton chinos, brown loafers and navy socks. All of which are really key building blocks of my wardrobe.

 The Incotex trousers have been pretty solid, no complaints. Here with Cheaney loafers and navy cotton socks.

Chambray, Wool and Raw Denim

Snow promised for tomorrow and haven't seen the sun in like a week. Here's a casual grocery's combo playing with warm and rough textures and seasonal colors. Taken about a week ago.

The shirt underneath is a chambray shirt, soft as a baby's butt. The jumper on it from H&M, and I quite like how they work together. The shirt collars look better than ever as well, and all the colors are in harmony. Somehow light blue and beige simply win every time.

The raw denim and the acorn Stows add the finishing touch. Details that can't be seen, but if someone once catches a glimpse they are those small things that make an outfit perfect. This one includes a london tan bridle leather belt from Equus Leather and light blue with navy pindots merino wool socks.

Hell Yeah

This one I like a lot. It's from a week ago, and actually just put it on to take the pictures as my girlfriend was in town. It's starting to get so dark now that it's almost impossible to get any kind of shots taken during work days. So, I threw this on last weekend and I think it's one of my favorite looks. Liked it so much that I wore a similar the next day at work. Pics of that will follow soon.

The suit is my grey Cavaliere worn many times before, here with a lightweight grey cardigan vest, white spread collar shirt and a Tom Ford polka dot tie. The square is a dark brown with cream paisley pattern and white edges.

I like having the cardigan just a tiny bit over the collar points, makes them look longer. This picture looks like I'm preparing to a fist fight though.

Just love the soft shoulders on the jacket, and the way it works with the other components. I need to get a navy suit with a cut like this, preferably from cotton and with patch pockets. That would be just fantastic for spring and summer.

They're saying it'll snow next week, so this was probably be the last use for my loafers this year.

Bad Hair Day

I was supposed to get a haircut this day, but it never happened as I got caught up at work. So, a pretty normal end-of-the-week casual outfit.

So, this jacket has really paid for itself already. It's starting to be my go-to piece for this season, and I just love the scruffy texture and the lively blue color. Goes with jeans and chinos with ease. It does, however, prefer a bit heavier and rougher shirt, like the flannel shirt here.

One problem I'm starting to find in my wardrobe is the lack of winter shoes.The ones here are my first pair of handmade shoes from some years ago, a cheap Blake welted pair of Chelsea boots. Still OK, and the leather deserves a compliment, but not that presentable anymore. Mostly due pretty harsh use.

Those 200 pound Tetburys are still nowhere to be found.

Prepared for Rain

I got this overcoat from a Barney's at New York earlier this year, and the time is about right to start using it now. The last few weeks have been rainy indeed, and the wind is starting to bite as well..

An overcoat like this in navy is a piece that offers a lot of variety, and works with a suit as well as an odd jacket + chinos combination like here. The fit on this one is just perfect, slim, but with enough room to house even a thicker jacket. Here with the jacket from my navy suit, white spread collar shirt and brown cashmere herringbone tie. Oh, and a tiger's eye bracelet.

Wish I had a better camera to take a close-up from the tie, but even an iPhone makes it look seriously drool-worthy.

The trousers are the sort of faded olive chinos I've had often before, socks espresso brown merino wool and the shoes C&J Hallams in chestnut. A beautiful patina on them, and really they are just a fantastic pair for their (many, many years) age.

Pinstripes

I've had so many casual posts lately that I made an extra effort to get one a bit more formal out for a change. It is getting so dark that taking pictures is starting to be a challenging task. Anyway, here we go.

Charcoal pinstripe suit with a semi-structured shoulder, sky blue shirt with a spread collar (this is one of those looks that would have benefitted from double cuffs), navy blue E. Marinella foulard silk tie, white/navy paisley silk pocket square and black semi brogues. The scarf is a thin grey wool scarf with a herringbone pattern.

I like this one a lot, and the jacket fits better now that I had it let out a bit from the chest and along the waist. I'll try to take a fit pic next time I have it on. The way the shoulders look in the below picture is due to the scarf being underneath the jacket. One of my favorite features of this combination is the shoes, love the beautiful sleek shape, which looks all the more stunning when the shoes have a good polish.

However, wearing this made me think of two things I need. First, a good umbrella, and second, more navy ties.

More stuff coming soon, and remember to like on FB to get notifications on new posts.

Warm Simplicity

Took my family's dog for a walk around a small lake yesterday, and here are a few pictures to show for it.

This outfit was chosen perhaps more for the practical reasons, without sacrificing stylish and well co-ordinated pieces. A combination I think suits a person from an artist to a bigtime CEO for a nice relaxed strowl among fall colors and that crisp air.

The knit was warm enough for +7 (what my car was showing) Celsius, and had a white bd shirt underneath. The fit is quite slim and pretty perfect for me, and the wool is soft enough for the price. Which was just 29 Euros at H&M. I had been looking for a similar kind of flecked knit from a totally different price range, but decided to go for the cheap one. This time I don't have any regrets.

 

To cope with the semi-chunky knit and overall quite rough textures, I picked my PRL cords. They also proved to be a warm enough choice, and I have to say, that deep blue really brings out the chestnut color in the shoes.

 

Another Season Look

This one is from a while back, but fits today's weather quite well I think. Theme was a sort of a smart casual and I'm quite happy with the results.

A few components happen to be the same as in my last post here, but the overall look is quite different. I think that's something where I aim when buying my clothes - versatility. Still being a student and a person with a very limited budget, it naturally makes sense to have pieces that can be worn as much as possible. And, yes, my blue tassel loafers aren't those things.

The shirt here is the same gingham checked flannel shirt, nice and soft. The cardigan is a cotton cashmere blend in a kind of medium blue. Pocket square white cotton square to keep things simple and a bracelet for no obvious reason but my own taste.

Khaki cotton chinos from Brooks Brothers, and grained leather longwings from Meermin. The socks are merino wool.

Zero Degrees Celsius

The temperatures are starting to get close to zero Celsius, meaning I'm gonna have to start scraping ice from my car's windshield soon enough. To shudder away all thoughts of cold I went for this look the previous Sunday. Casual, warm, comfortable and street-worthy was the theme.

The jacket is the same navy parka featured in older posts, the jeans the same raw denim and the shoes the same Meermin longwings. However, I really like how it all blends together. Actually, most of these pieces I've bought to use them in combinations exactly like this. I've left the collars of the gingham checked flannel shirt unironed to keep that washed and soft look that I think works better here. Also the collar bones have been removed.

Lastly, the heavier longwings offer just the right amount of ruggedness and weight for the outfit, and the color with the grained leather is just perfect for fall and winter. When it starts snowing just I'm just going to change to thicker wool socks. Here I'm still using lightweight merino socks from Pantherella.

007 Skyfall

Yep, the wait is over. Skyfall is about to hit the theaters quite soon, and we can again enjoy the coolest agent on Earth.

Just one thought: Hopefully this will be as good as Casino Royale.

A Few Shots That Never Got Published

So, here's a few shots from the previous months that never got published.

This one's another from last weekend, but I just wanted to post it as the colors here are just so beautiful. Fall isn't too bad when you think about it!

 

This one is slightly meh. I remember leaving without the vest, then coming back to get it as it seemed to get a bit chilly. It didn't so all I did was ended up rolling my sleeves. Result, a bit of a mess to be honest. It still teaches a good lesson I think. Too much is too much. Without the vest I think the tie+knit would've been OK, and with the vest both should've been left home.

This one is simply me wearing my then still new grey suit in a more casual manner. Wide light blue knit tie, gingham checked pocket square and a spread collar white shirt. Add the bracelets and the loafers and you have a pretty relaxed suit look.

Leather Jacket Study

So, last week I decided to wear an old leather jacket I've had for a long time, bought long before my taste was even close to what I prefer today. It still fits quite well and is an ideal fall jacket warmth-wise. This whole combo was just for a brief walk to the groceries, and perhaps more to study the jacket than to look stylish.

To go with the jacket I picked my Litchfields, olive chinos (mistake) and a gingham checked flannel shirt. Now, I don't really think this one worked too well, and I'm going to tell you why. First of all, I actually quite like the jacket. It's not the most beautiful leather jacket, but it isn't terribly ugly either. It fits well and the color is rather beautiful. It also goes well with the nice (and super comfortable) shirt and the boots.

The problem here are the pants (which I chose because everything else was in the washing machine). It's not even the color, but the cuffs. Actually after taking the shots I folded them quite nicely achieving a more rugged feel to them. Still, a bit more worn and less dressy chinos or jeans and I'd say this one would be totally OK for a fall day or even not-so-cold winter day.

So, I'm definitely not a leather jacket fan, but sometimes stepping out of your boundaries and experimenting with different stuff does bring new ideas and helps you evaluate your current style better. You try new things, see if they fit you, and then make decisions whether you will or won't do the same thing twice.

I'll most likely wear my leather jackets more than once this winter.

Fall Colors

Visiting the city where my girlfriend studies, the fall colors were all over the place, both on the way and here. Here's a few shots of the outfit I threw on today.

Usually when on a business or weekend trip, I prefer to pick pieces that can provide me the most variety over the coming days, with the least amount of stuff to carry with me. A navy odd jacket is probably my favorite choice, as with a few pairs of pants and maybe another pair of shoes you can pretty much survive an entire week with ease.

So, today it was a bengal striped bd shirt with extra long collar points, silk wool blend tie and my PRL vintage pocket square. Think I had a pretty nice fold in it, but somehow messed it up for this picture. Also, didn't really plan for this, but check out how the colors in the background fit the colors in my outfit here.

The shoes are my new longwings which I think are pretty damn good for a fall combination like this. I didn't really plan on wearing them much with this kind of looks, but I think they actually work here extremely well. A bit heavier than shoes I usually wear, but here they add just the right amount of roughness perfect for this weather.

And here's me doing what I do best - drinking coffee. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday and stay sharp.

Layers of Blue

So, today was a day of work as I was visiting my University. As you've probably noticed I like adding layers of cardigans and light cotton or wool vests under my jackets to stay warm when the temperatures drop. Today the theme was different hues of blue with contrasting khaki chinos.

I'm actually a huge fan of layering these kind of clothes the way I do. It is very convenient at work, as you can just hang the jacket if it is too warm and you still won't be just with your "undershirt".  You can also create some nice contrasts between your trousers and/or your jacket. Furthermore, with different weight pieces you can pretty much work between +15 degrees Celsius and +2-3 degrees Celsius.

Anyway, today I went with my navy fall jacket, a blue (it's not as dark as it looks here) cotton cashmere blend cardigan and a sky blue spread collar shirt. Pocket square is a plain white cotton square.

Again with my favorite penny loafers, this time with quite bright blue cotton merino blend socks. One other thing I'd like to mention here is always remember to press your pants. It just adds just edge that is essential to any look.