Menswear Monday: The Summer Uniform, Part 5

The Oxford It’s date night, so you can’t look like a complete schlub.  Put on something with buttons, and for goodness sake, do something with your hair.  Still, just like hair gel and chest hair, wearing a loud shirt is going to make you look like a Miami Vice extra, not a regular dude.  So get basic: buy an oxford.

Cotton oxford cloth is woven loosely (compared to dress shirt poplin), making it more breathable.  So it’s ideal for warm weather.  Like khakis, they look better when they’re a little wrinkled and worn-in.

There’s nothing here to say that you need to buy a white oxford to match your white tees, but it wouldn’t hurt.  Light blue and white are the classic colors for a reason, but there are some other hues that work well, including grey, pink and yellow.  Stripes are also cool, as are contrasting white collars.

If you’re not wearing a tie, leave the collar buttons undone.   Look for one with a shorter collar if possible, so the collar points don’t get all disco fabulous when they’re spread out.  Also, since the Oxford is a pretty set style, look for cool details like contrasting cuffs and monograms to add some individuality.  If you want to get extra fancy, find a club collar; it’s an older style than the point collar, but if Ol’ Blue Eyes can rock it, then it’s definitely cool enough.

We’re particularly fond of the cuts and fabrics at Land’s End Canvas, Billy Reid, Brooks Brothers Black Fleece (designed by rock star designer Thom Browne), and Gant Rugger.  Since you can dress this shirt up to wear to work, too, you add some versatility that justifies paying a little extra for quality.

- Rob Hays

More 2011 Spring Menswear

My trend predictions still stand for 2011, but I did want to share with you some other looks that are coming off the runways. Let me know what your feedback is. Do you like the where menswear is headed? I know I do!

Menswear Monday: The Summer Uniform, Part 3

The Slip-Ons Since Alex has already ably discussed boat shoes, let’s get your dogs into something a little more casual.  The whole goal of this series is to be 1) comfortable 2) effortless and 3) stylish, pretty much in that order.  These elements should become outfits simply by grabbing a pair of pants, a shirt and shoes, nothing more.

Shoes don’t get any easier than slip-ons.  After all the effort your mom spent on teaching you to tie your shoes, forgo that effort and slide into something with elastic instead of laces.  The color can be basic, like these Vans Classics, or more flashy like the Zuriick Ake.

This is where you get to bring some color and character into the previously monochrome proceedings.  Patterns and stripes are definitely in-bounds.  For some real individualized style, Vans and Converse both offer customizable slip ons, in the aforementioned Classic and timeless Chuck Taylor and Jack Purcell styles, respectively. - Rob Hays

Menswear Monday: The Summer Uniform, Part 2

The White T-Shirt No. More. Skulls.  Please.  If you’re not an actual MMA fighter with billboards, a reality show and an energy drink to call your own, leave the Affliction and Tapout where they belong at Buckle.  Since we’re focusing on easy summer clothing, let’s go and find the anti-Affliction shirt.  It’s not on the rack; it’s wrapped in plastic and comes in threes.  Yep, the basic white t-shirt.

For the purposes of the discussion, though, a few ground rules.  Like the khakis, you’ll need to throw away your assumptions about “undershirts”: make it fit you, not float around you; make it v-neck, because it’s more interesting than crewneck, and more classy than a wife beater;  and most importantly, no logos!

Paired with khakis, shorts or jeans, you can’t go wrong with a white shirt, and you would be hard pressed to find a more comfortable shirt than a cotton t-shirt that’s been washed a few times.  (A note on washing: to keep the shirts a brilliant white, use bleach.  And don’t wear the shirts by themselves once they start to “turn”, color-wise.)

A few brands to look for: Calvin Klein is still the gold standard here, but higher-tier brands like 2xist and Burberry make fantastic first-layers, too.  Why not buy quantity and quality at the same time?

(Sorry for the dearth of pics, but c’mon: you know what they look like.)

-Rob Hays