Threads for Thought: Striped Blazers

There is nothing like reinventing an old classic and giving it a renewed vigor for the modern look. That seems to be what fashion is really founded on, with a constant cycle of old styles in updated fits, but there are still a few mainstays that haven't been touched on just yet.
Pinstripes were such a hit during the fall and continue to be in the winter, decadently fabricated into suits and over coats, but the spring months are not for such warm attire and heavy wools. These are the months for cotton and linen and lightweight blends that make it feel like you're wearing just another shirt, and all of these in beautiful stripes on the go to blazer of the season. Colors will be brighter on these pins than their cold-weather cousins, but the look is all the same, classically edgy!
This is the perfect entry level piece for anyone lacking a pinstripe suit, allowing to adopt the look without forking over the big bucks. For the most wearable option a navy backdrop to a white or cream wide spread stripe will be just as versatile as the old reliable navy blazer, but with much more character. This genre encompasses the increasingly popular rowing blazer as well, and seeing that collegiate style is always in, you can't go wrong; the bonus points come through when you pair and contrast the stripes on the blazer with the stripes of a shirt.
Gucci: $4000
Hackett London: $690
Ralph Lauren: $395
Check in tomorrow for this week's edition of my fashion faux pas and next Thursday for another fashion piece that deserves your consideration!

Wardrobe Essential: Plug in the Sweatshirt

Layering is essential for keeping warm when the winter wonderland so aptly dubbed Polar Vortex 2.0 is still afoot. But once it decides to step out, it won't me that the chill will follow suit, so it's important to have some of those layers that help with the spring transition, because it is just around the corner.
So lets reintroduce an old favorite, one that has probably seen its better days back in the collegiate days and one too many reps in the gym. Sweatshirts are a beautiful addition to any look without any of the excess formality of a true sweater, and most likely with a nifty design to boot. Most sweatshirts sport a logo or big block lettering, and then you have the one's that feature impressive geometric designs that will fool anyone into thinking it is more than just a sweatshirt.
Pairing one with a shirt and tie may be a bit overkill, but having an air tie and leaving it all untucked will maintain the casual panache that came with the sweatshirt in the first place; then throwing a top coat over that will put a look over the top on the swag-o-meter. And as the weather begins to warm up, that wool top coat can be changed out for a rugged denim jacket or lightweight leather moto rig. The true key is to play off of the sweatshirts natural casualness and add texture wherever possible to add some traction for the eyes, easy as pie!
Ralph Lauren: $225
A.P.C.: $165
J. Crew: $65
Check in tomorrow for a fashion piece that deserves your consideration and next Wednesday for another essential style piece!