(Before: blue blazer, red cotton trousers, blue mini-houndstooth check button-down shirt and knit tie.) I’ve just finished reading “The Little Black Book of style” by Nina Garcia. She is the fashion director at Elle Magazine and […]
Conventional wisdom says dark trousers and a light shirt. Hollywood says wear all black. Turn both on their heads. For a summer evening, try white trousers (hey! it’s summer, you can’t wear these after Labour Day) […]
(“You see ’em wearin’ their baggies/Huarache sandals, too…”)
One of the more difficult things about summer is trying to look well-dressed whilst enduring sweltering temperatures. In a professional setting one resorts to seersucker, cotton, linen, wool fresco. Cars are air-conditioned as are offices. Most men remove their jackets in both. This month’s Town and Country profiles Robert Rufino, now editor-at-large for House Beautiful who gets it right. (For more on Mr. Rufino while he was VP of Creative Services for Tiffany, see this post at The Peak of Chic)
But what happens when we’re “off duty?” The temptation to “let it all hang out” is terrible. T-shirts, flip-flops and Crocs appear. On grown men. And not just at the beach or in the yard.
Mr. Rufino’s answer, quoted in T&C‘s profile, is: “When I bicycle to the beach, you’ll find me in a Brooks Brothers cotton shirt or a linen one with a pair of white, khaki or madras shorts.”
Amen, brother Rufino.
Herewith a list of items from bottom to top that would go a long way to making your off hours more elegant: