Easy and Elegant Life

The Search for Everyday Elegance and the Art of Living Well.

The Casual Uniform

I have a failsafe uniform for those casual evenings. I always feel appropriately dressed in it — not over dressed, never underdressed. At the risk of being thought a one-trick pony, I highly recommend having several mix and match pieces that will see heavy action through the coming party months.

Here is mine:

Sweater: Black silk cable knit (and getting ready to be replaced, soon. But where to find another? Until then here are a couple of offerings in other yarns.)

The Spencer Sweater in Wool by J. Crew
The Spencer Sweater in Wool by J. Crew
Cashmere Cable Knit Sweater via Sierra Trading Post
Cashmere Cable Knit Sweater via Sierra Trading Post

Ivory, grey pencil stripe, or white shirt. (The classic pinpoint button down works well here as the collar holds up under the sweater or I use the collar bones to help prop up the collar points.)

The Sloane Model Shirt by Ralph Lauren Black Label
The Sloane Model Shirt by Ralph Lauren Black Label

Flat front super 110’s worsted wool medium grey or charcoal trousers. If you must buy clothing this season, buy a pair of flat front grey trousers, they are genius. Mine are the Todd model by Zanella.

Zanella\'s Todd Model Trouser via Nordstrom
Zanella's Todd Model Trouser via Nordstrom
Incotex\'s Luxury Wool Flat Front Trouser in Black and White via Sierra Trading Post
Incotex's Luxury Wool Flat Front Trouser in Black and White via Sierra Trading Post

Belgian shoes, Venetian or penny loafers. In black. It’s night.

Mr. Casual in Calf by Belgian Shoes
Mr. Casual in Calf by Belgian Shoes
Gravati\'s Suede Loafer via Zappos Couture
Gravati's Suede Loafer via Zappos Couture
A. Testoni\'s Penny Loafer via Zappos Couture
A. Testoni's Penny Loafer via Zappos Couture

Opt; neckerchief in black and tan, or black, white and red. For the colder evenings.

Ralph Lauren\'s St. James Spots Silk Square
Ralph Lauren's St. James Spots Silk Square

With no time to dress or a need to travel light, my uniform gets me through any number of situations. After all, if a variation of it is good enough for this guy…

7 thoughts on “The Casual Uniform

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.