Not to be all glum before the clocks have even changed, but I’m already getting a bit sweaty thinking about clothes for the Summer. If it was anything like the biblical conditions of 2018, come June, London will be hotter than an extractor fan at Maccers and twice as grubby. It’s fine for girls, they can just sling on a barely-there dress and breeze out the door (and so can you, as it happens), but for those of us that have to wear trousers to work, it’s nigh-on impossible to look cool and be cool at the same time. More on that topic at a later date, but for now – let’s just revel in the patch of sartorial freedom that is Spring.
Winter dressing is easy, if a little drab. It’s all boots and scarves and overcoats. Good for people like me who like to replace cardio with pastry when the temperature drops. And I feel like Autumn is now more of a concept than an actual season – we just go from blazing heat to biting cold in the space of a week – so Spring is really the best time of year for the wearing of clothes. Best of all, it's time to layer – a byword for the flexing of your style muscles. And no one’s seen those in months so you should relish the opportunity. Here’s how to do it.
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Colour
There are two options here: you either go tone-on-tone, or mix shades that work together. If you’re doing the former, I’d stick to relatively restrained colours. Dark blue is your safe space, but you could dabble in variations of army green or grey. A crew neck tee under a printed camp collar shirt under a navy blazer and a light mac. Bingo. The shades need to be similar but not the same, and the print will break things up.
Then, if you’re mixing colours, make sure everything is complimentary. Brown and pink might not work so well, for example, but a Bengal stripe button-down with a teal work shirt would. (I did that exact thing the other day and it looked great, if I say so myself.) Spring and summer are when you employ colour, and it feels like bolds and preppy pastels are more prevalent and trendy than they have been in ages – see Noah, Stüssy, Albam etc. – so don’t be scared, but maybe do take it easy. It doesn’t need to be all of them at once. And don’t be afraid to bring checks and stripes into the mix, too.
Tone-on-tone
Mixed shades
Albam
SHOP
£120, Albam.com
Texture
This is often the bit of layering that isn’t given enough attention, and granted, it’s more of a cold-weather concern because texture generally means warmth. But you should think of it in the same way for spring, too. I’m talking linen, seersucker, silk (even better if it’s mixed with linen), loopback jersey, chambray, corduroy, towelling, aertex – the light fabric list goes on, and they all offer nice little textural details. Seersucker in particular is a mega fabric, especially in suiting, but in a layered look it will probably work better in a shirt or blazer. Towelling has great texture, but it’s tricky to wear in a non-silly way - especially if you’re not on the beach – but it can be done. Giorgio Armani makes a brilliant blazer in navy terry, for example. I’d also suggest you invest in a fleece. For some reason, it’s the jawniest jawn a man can wear right now, but it will keep you toasty when the spring weather fails, too.
Proportion
This is the key to getting any layered look right. You could layer a polo shirt on top of another polo shirt, but that would look hateful and strange. No, you need to mix up fits, collar styles, lengths, etc. to make sure each of the layers is chipping in something that the others are not. Try tucking a graphic tee into jeans and wearing it under an unbuttoned shirt and blazer. The shirt and the blazer serve as the main event, but the hint of the shirt peeking out of the lapels and poking out the back of the jacket adds that bit of extra intrigue.
This is also where the mid-layer comes into its own. Oliver Spencer – a master of the layering arts – does a fine line in light jackets with different collars (Nehru, baseball, bomber etc.), designed to slip in between a coat and a tee to bolster any look. This is also one of the few times you can wear a waistcoat with conviction, but you’re looking for something built for utility, rather than aesthetics, and you don’t want it to have a deep V. Filson for something hardy, Patagonia for something techy.
