 ith forests and city parks cast colourfully ablaze alongside heaps of withered leaves delightfully scattered asunder, the return of rugged tweeds and all manner of heroic plaids, checks and tartans, and the invigorating thrill of that quintessentially cool nip in the air that at once enlivens the spirit, tightens the skin, and signals the turning of the seasonal tide, it should be rather quite evident as to why autumn makes for the favoured season of many a gentleman worldwide as well as a visually striking and romantic natural tapestry unlike any other that continually stands as one of life’s simplest and most revered visceral pleasures to actively take in and dress for. |
To wit, you could say that it is indeed the most bountiful of the four seasons as well as a time of year in which it is nye impossible to not be (nostalgically) moved nor inspired by all its accompanying perennial hallmarks: the gracefulness in which the aforementioned feuille morte fall yet linger in the air; the striking richness and reassuring warmth of Mother Nature’s palette (from carnal maroon and bold gold through refined camel and natural moss) and its subsequent reflection in our preferred state of seasonal dress; and (of course) the considered nuances, textural layering and enthralling transitional wardrobes put on enterprising display by ladies and gents alike — it is, suffice it to say, the highlight of the year for many, both young and old alike.
In view of that, autumn (or fall if you prefer) is indeed a season ripe with a seemingly contradictory sine qua non of natural evolution and change being stylishly framed by what you could call a perennial contingent of reassuring sartorial familiarities (i.e. tweed blazers, handsome topcoats) and nostalgic comforts (i.e. Thanksgiving, walking in the park, et al).
It is, as such, not only “the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” (as Keats poetically proclaimed) but also an eagerly anticipated event that is marked by its call for a transitional changing of the sartorial guard to which its demands are always heralded in with insatiable fervour by the (style-conscious) masses at-large — it is the years final style swan song, as it were, before the cold, muted and dreary doldrums of winter settle in.
That having been said, I do believe that it is high time we all hastened ourselves to returning to our sartorial roots and reintroducing into our daily styling repertoire those select few true blue (seminal) wardrobe staples — those in which keep us warm and looking sharp year-after-year — that we have come to dutifully revere and adore for their abilities to effortlessly marry form and function in a timeless and aesthetically pleasing manner that makes all those dwindling daylight hours and frozen nights much more colourful, bearable, and fashionably framed.
In view of that, autumn (or fall if you prefer) is indeed a season ripe with a seemingly contradictory sine qua non of natural evolution and change being stylishly framed by what you could call a perennial contingent of reassuring sartorial familiarities (i.e. tweed blazers, handsome topcoats) and nostalgic comforts (i.e. Thanksgiving, walking in the park, et al).
It is, as such, not only “the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” (as Keats poetically proclaimed) but also an eagerly anticipated event that is marked by its call for a transitional changing of the sartorial guard to which its demands are always heralded in with insatiable fervour by the (style-conscious) masses at-large — it is the years final style swan song, as it were, before the cold, muted and dreary doldrums of winter settle in.
That having been said, I do believe that it is high time we all hastened ourselves to returning to our sartorial roots and reintroducing into our daily styling repertoire those select few true blue (seminal) wardrobe staples — those in which keep us warm and looking sharp year-after-year — that we have come to dutifully revere and adore for their abilities to effortlessly marry form and function in a timeless and aesthetically pleasing manner that makes all those dwindling daylight hours and frozen nights much more colourful, bearable, and fashionably framed.
A sampling of how to dress and layer with tastefully understated ​panache ​whilst going about town throughout autumn & winter…
To that end, I believe it warrants particular note that for many dressing well (i.e. in a practical albeit stylish manner) in the city (rather then country) as the mercury drops and permafrost rears its head is not as cut-and-dry, streamlined nor as simplistic a task as it is often made out to be by tastemakers, style manuals and many a fashion publication alike. On the contrary, for many it often proves to be a dreadful lesson in sartorial futility that is plagued by not only an overwhelming overabundance of choice (i.e. brands/retailers really take to heart the spirit of 'harvest season' as is evidenced in the sheer amount/variety of clothing made actively available to the consumer during the season) but also unpredictable weather and persistent ‘how to layer and dress’ conundrums.
Inasmuch, mastering the art of (smart-casual) layering in the city, so as to be capable of effortlessly cutting a transitional dash in the cold and office, indeed requires considerable tact and skill and is something that becomes considerably easier to come to terms with managing as the years go by and we instil better habits, become more experienced, and ultimately edit down our wardrobe stable of seasonal essentials into a smaller yet more dependable and arguably ageless contingent of wears that we can draw from (and rely upon) with unwavering confidence.
Be that as it may, a finely curated wardrobe can only take a man so far given he is otherwise deprived of a discerning eye in which he can put to good use in immediately taking stock of what in his wardrobe is, and is not, appropriate to wear in both town and at the office (rather then at leisure or in the country) seeing as the way a gentleman takes to dressing in the city (as well as for business) will indeed vary quite vastly in its prescribed occasional specificity, comportment and social discourse then that of the manner in which he takes to attiring himself to better suit a more laid-back bucolic lifestyle.
Taking that into consideration, on one hand you have that quintessential lineup of romantic, nostalgia-tinged, natty heritage country wears — or as I prefer to call them ‘The Legends of Fall’ — that all make for a very warm, casual, and comforting wardrobe which is traditionally designed (in structure, colour and texture) specifically with the principle of aesthetically blending into the vibrant yet homely palette of the countryside and its accompanying life of leisure in mind; And on the other hand you have a smartly considered, structured, sartorially understated, and dystopian-hued contingent of specialized city and business wears whose styling and richness in fabrication are apt reflections of the cosmopolitan landscape and (formal) lifestyle they are tasked with accentuating.
Inasmuch, mastering the art of (smart-casual) layering in the city, so as to be capable of effortlessly cutting a transitional dash in the cold and office, indeed requires considerable tact and skill and is something that becomes considerably easier to come to terms with managing as the years go by and we instil better habits, become more experienced, and ultimately edit down our wardrobe stable of seasonal essentials into a smaller yet more dependable and arguably ageless contingent of wears that we can draw from (and rely upon) with unwavering confidence.
Be that as it may, a finely curated wardrobe can only take a man so far given he is otherwise deprived of a discerning eye in which he can put to good use in immediately taking stock of what in his wardrobe is, and is not, appropriate to wear in both town and at the office (rather then at leisure or in the country) seeing as the way a gentleman takes to dressing in the city (as well as for business) will indeed vary quite vastly in its prescribed occasional specificity, comportment and social discourse then that of the manner in which he takes to attiring himself to better suit a more laid-back bucolic lifestyle.
Taking that into consideration, on one hand you have that quintessential lineup of romantic, nostalgia-tinged, natty heritage country wears — or as I prefer to call them ‘The Legends of Fall’ — that all make for a very warm, casual, and comforting wardrobe which is traditionally designed (in structure, colour and texture) specifically with the principle of aesthetically blending into the vibrant yet homely palette of the countryside and its accompanying life of leisure in mind; And on the other hand you have a smartly considered, structured, sartorially understated, and dystopian-hued contingent of specialized city and business wears whose styling and richness in fabrication are apt reflections of the cosmopolitan landscape and (formal) lifestyle they are tasked with accentuating.
In view of that, dressing for the (cold weather) season(s) often plays off as a bilateral tale of two distinctively polarizing sartorial realms that, while historically divided, are (in my humble opinion) at their (transcendent) peak when each is freed from its restrictive parameters and cultural restraints so as to be able to aesthetically mix-and-mingle with one another in due course of crafting what is ideally a best-of-both-worlds sartorial smorgasbord of flattering rugged yet sophisticated options whose sartorial palpability is seemingly limitless in its infinitely versatile smart-casual (re)purposing.
Framed as such, it is only appropriate then that autumn — the harvest season — is when the year’s most varied, enterprising and bounteous crop of menswear trends and garments surface in magazines and line shelves worldwide to both the equitable delight and dismay of men everywhere. In speaking specifically unto the latter and of dressing both appropriately for the season and in a stylish manner so as to maintain ones standards within a professional environment in the city, it is certainly understandable how this varietal overload can (as such) become quite problematic for those who are not innately equipped with a discerning eye who simply just want to look good and keep warm during lengthy commutes to the city, days in the office, and nights out on the town — and all with minimal effort.
For those individuals, sometimes its difficult to know where to begin or rather where to draw the line when the options tabled are near boundless and the traditional borders broken down and never (relatively) redefined.
Being safe (yet never boring), investment worthy and always in fashionable vogue, my advice to just such a man would be to pay heed to what follows below as this feature is seething at the edges with versatile accoutrements of the highest order that will both maximize any cost-per-wear investment ratio presented and help the aforementioned style-conscious gentlemanly urbanite better navigate his fully-dressed (as in besuited), metropolitan domain with ease.
Framed as such, it is only appropriate then that autumn — the harvest season — is when the year’s most varied, enterprising and bounteous crop of menswear trends and garments surface in magazines and line shelves worldwide to both the equitable delight and dismay of men everywhere. In speaking specifically unto the latter and of dressing both appropriately for the season and in a stylish manner so as to maintain ones standards within a professional environment in the city, it is certainly understandable how this varietal overload can (as such) become quite problematic for those who are not innately equipped with a discerning eye who simply just want to look good and keep warm during lengthy commutes to the city, days in the office, and nights out on the town — and all with minimal effort.
For those individuals, sometimes its difficult to know where to begin or rather where to draw the line when the options tabled are near boundless and the traditional borders broken down and never (relatively) redefined.
Being safe (yet never boring), investment worthy and always in fashionable vogue, my advice to just such a man would be to pay heed to what follows below as this feature is seething at the edges with versatile accoutrements of the highest order that will both maximize any cost-per-wear investment ratio presented and help the aforementioned style-conscious gentlemanly urbanite better navigate his fully-dressed (as in besuited), metropolitan domain with ease.
Each is, after all, arguably an exclusive member in that rarified grouping of transitional foundation wears that can not only be easily sussed up or down with ones comfort, considered comportment and understated style in hand but that will look good for years (if not decades) to come — trends and glorified impulse purchases be damned.
Taken in as a whole, you could say that these traditional, tried-and-true yet sensibly styled menswear basics were borne from a mystic sartorial Pit of Lazarus in that they gave an enduring agelessness and popularity that never truly wanes — their iconic forms are simply just reinvented and purposed to better reflect the tastes of each successive generation.
All that having been said, it warrants but one final note that what rests before you today is but an introductory preview of what is to become an ongoing series of fully-fledged features on M+E spanning autumn/winter that will be artistically fashioned with the educated aim of helping you become better acquainted with the enduring merits of each piece as well as why each respective “essential” truly deserves your all due consideration (and hard earned money).
In sequitur, these “Essential Ten(+)” are what I would refer to as timelessly well-rounded, tastefully candid, subtly refined, classically understated everyday sartorial gems rather then ‘flash in the pan’ throwaway trendy wears of the distastefully crass, overtly daring, or ostentatiously postured statement making variety.
Howbeit, here’s to channeling the elusive romantic sartorial élan of gentlemen of the days of yore, modernizing quintessential wardrobe basics that punch above their class, and enjoying this sartorial epithet to the cold weather seasons that both champions and extols upon the simplistic virtues, sartorial nuances, and lasting benefits of adopting a purposefully understated (albeit elegant and timeless) manner of dress that never shouts for attention but rather subtly commands it through its endearing characteristic merit, flattering cuts, and impeccable styling.
True style, after all, is classic, slightly understated and never dates.
**This post will be periodically updated over the coming months with the
accompanying 'Style Dossier' links for each of those below as they go live…
Taken in as a whole, you could say that these traditional, tried-and-true yet sensibly styled menswear basics were borne from a mystic sartorial Pit of Lazarus in that they gave an enduring agelessness and popularity that never truly wanes — their iconic forms are simply just reinvented and purposed to better reflect the tastes of each successive generation.
All that having been said, it warrants but one final note that what rests before you today is but an introductory preview of what is to become an ongoing series of fully-fledged features on M+E spanning autumn/winter that will be artistically fashioned with the educated aim of helping you become better acquainted with the enduring merits of each piece as well as why each respective “essential” truly deserves your all due consideration (and hard earned money).
In sequitur, these “Essential Ten(+)” are what I would refer to as timelessly well-rounded, tastefully candid, subtly refined, classically understated everyday sartorial gems rather then ‘flash in the pan’ throwaway trendy wears of the distastefully crass, overtly daring, or ostentatiously postured statement making variety.
Howbeit, here’s to channeling the elusive romantic sartorial élan of gentlemen of the days of yore, modernizing quintessential wardrobe basics that punch above their class, and enjoying this sartorial epithet to the cold weather seasons that both champions and extols upon the simplistic virtues, sartorial nuances, and lasting benefits of adopting a purposefully understated (albeit elegant and timeless) manner of dress that never shouts for attention but rather subtly commands it through its endearing characteristic merit, flattering cuts, and impeccable styling.
True style, after all, is classic, slightly understated and never dates.
**This post will be periodically updated over the coming months with the
accompanying 'Style Dossier' links for each of those below as they go live…
 t is often said that with clothing, as with most matters in life, that it is always best to begin with the basics and to build for yourself a solid, failsafe foundation of essentials (and accentuating accessories) that you can always rely upon with unwavering confidence to make you feel as warm (or cool), calm and collected as you look good and appear (professionally) capable. Be that as it may, I’d wager that you would be hard-pressed in finding a more reliable, specialized, and true-blue cold-weather seasonal wardrobe capsule of elevated basics suited for life in the city/office then that of the one resting before you today whose illustrious roll call of tried-and-true foundation pieces have all become both beyond reproach and (arguably) immune to the trends and fallacies of fashion due in no small part to their storied characteristic personas, refined yet understated designs, and flattering classic forms and silhouettes. |  River Island. $110 | Cockpit USA. $590 | Zara. $299 Belstaff. $4000 | Schott NYC. $380 | AMI. $675 (Clockwise From Top Left)  |
Inasmuch, these revered icons have never cowered to the newest kid on the block or catered to the latest flash in the pan trend (i.e. fleeting, empty throwaway garments such as striped track pants) but rather stand resolute in the face of any such contested adversity so as to continually safeguard their gilded positions in the menswear pantheon from the steady stream of wannabe usurpers.
To that end, you could say that this fine, transitional collection of city, street and office bridging garments is cast from that rarified sartorial cloth whose individualistic components each make for an equally comforting, utilitarian and pleasurable affair in wear that many of us have come to eagerly anticipate once again turning to year-after-year whether to accentuate the vibrant, crisp days of autumn or to help marshal us through the frigid doldrums of winter.
They are, inasmuch and to that effect, long ago established in their enduring merit and amongst the finest sartorial accoutrements available today — goldilocks pieces, as it were, that have come to symbiotically marry the discerning tastes of the sartorialist with the explicit environmental needs of the seasons — whose sharply cut albeit hardy silhouettes and elegantly poised yet reliable characters have fully ingratiated themselves into the very spirits and reflective undertones of both the autumnal and winter scenes.
To that end, you could say that this fine, transitional collection of city, street and office bridging garments is cast from that rarified sartorial cloth whose individualistic components each make for an equally comforting, utilitarian and pleasurable affair in wear that many of us have come to eagerly anticipate once again turning to year-after-year whether to accentuate the vibrant, crisp days of autumn or to help marshal us through the frigid doldrums of winter.
They are, inasmuch and to that effect, long ago established in their enduring merit and amongst the finest sartorial accoutrements available today — goldilocks pieces, as it were, that have come to symbiotically marry the discerning tastes of the sartorialist with the explicit environmental needs of the seasons — whose sharply cut albeit hardy silhouettes and elegantly poised yet reliable characters have fully ingratiated themselves into the very spirits and reflective undertones of both the autumnal and winter scenes.
To wit, you could say that what they ultimately do best is make getting dressed (in style that is) and mastering the art of layering during both winter and what John Keats poetically referred to as the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” a considerably more simplified, visually appealing, and pleasurable daily affair rather then one that plays off as an overburdened sartorial minefield disconcertingly plagued by a seemingly never-ending conveyor belt of ‘must-own’ trendy styles, fresh (i.e. fashionable) cuts, and the lingering spectre of substance (i.e. warmth), or worse yet fashion, being prioritized at the direct expense of form, taste and style.
All that having been said, the only question that remains is whether or not you are willing to answer their heroic call by coopting them into your wardrobe arsenal so as to take full advantage of their ability to instantly instil confidence, enhance your sartorial persona, and prove in kind just how enduring the draw of a tastefully nuanced expression of simplicity and understated elegance in dress is.
With that in mind, and given that many amongst us likely spend roughly five days a week in the office/city, it is my hope that this feature (and each subsequent “Style Dossier” to follow in kind) can not only help better position (for many seasons to come) and round-out the wardrobes of style-conscious professional urbanites everywhere but also be a steady voice of (sartorial) reason in a world that (I feel) is slowly teetering in the wrong direction and generally (gulp) lacking in a sense of taste or occasion.
All that having been said, the only question that remains is whether or not you are willing to answer their heroic call by coopting them into your wardrobe arsenal so as to take full advantage of their ability to instantly instil confidence, enhance your sartorial persona, and prove in kind just how enduring the draw of a tastefully nuanced expression of simplicity and understated elegance in dress is.
With that in mind, and given that many amongst us likely spend roughly five days a week in the office/city, it is my hope that this feature (and each subsequent “Style Dossier” to follow in kind) can not only help better position (for many seasons to come) and round-out the wardrobes of style-conscious professional urbanites everywhere but also be a steady voice of (sartorial) reason in a world that (I feel) is slowly teetering in the wrong direction and generally (gulp) lacking in a sense of taste or occasion.
Howbeit, here’s to stylishly navigating those shortened yet precious days ahead with ease, coming to better terms with mastering the art of layering in the city, making a proper ritual of getting dressed in the morning, and too channeling a distinctively timeless and genteel form of sartorial savoir-faire that will all but render you capable of both comfortably fending off the chills and consistently hitting the sartorial high-notes all season(s) long.
Beyond that, well I would just like to remind you to remember to unplug when possible, to step away from the chorus (i.e. newspapers, social activities, et al) when it all seemingly gets to loud (or brazen), and too enjoy (in the moment that is) the autumnal warmth, foliage, and styling nuances in dress of ladies and gents from Toronto to Tokyo seeing as we could all surely use a little more peace, pleasure and quiet in these otherwise rather quite unpredictable times.
Beyond that, well I would just like to remind you to remember to unplug when possible, to step away from the chorus (i.e. newspapers, social activities, et al) when it all seemingly gets to loud (or brazen), and too enjoy (in the moment that is) the autumnal warmth, foliage, and styling nuances in dress of ladies and gents from Toronto to Tokyo seeing as we could all surely use a little more peace, pleasure and quiet in these otherwise rather quite unpredictable times.
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