Casual clothes for the older man? I tend to wear tailored clothing much of the time while out and about. At home, of course, I wear knitwear, jeans, chinos, loafers. Given that men dress casually most of the time, I decided to redress the balance and put together a few off-duty outfits for the blog from the clothes I have at home.
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| Casual look ideas for the older man - styled with the help of Sarah Gilfillan of Sartoria Lab |
I've carried out similar exercises before here on the blog and have received much help from ace menswear personal stylist Sarah Gilfillan of Sartoria Lab, so to her I turned again and I'm grateful to her for rummaging in my drawers and coaxing me into the outfits you see here. She also took the photos. Links to the products are under each image, but note this feature is unsponsored.
Sarah Gilfillan writes:
Outfit 1:
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| Raincoat Cordings, Shoes Loake, Cords Spoke, Roll neck Sirplus, Socks London Sock Co. Scarf can't remember. |
This was one of my favourite looks [Sarah writes]; very classic and elegant, but casual. A lot of men will have a raincoat in their wardrobes but tend to save it to wear with more formal outfits. Drag yours out of the cupboard if that's you and give it an airing with your jeans and jumpers too.
Roll necks are very 'of the moment' and if you have a long neck like David [ed. do I?], then a chunky roll neck like this is likely to look good on you but if your neck is shorter, then I'd switch to a crew. We chose navy cords for this outfit which make a change from denim and are an easy alternative.
The scarf really shows that David is in tune with what's going on, it just wouldn't be the same if he had a scruffy, bobbly acrylic black one on would it?
Outfit 2:
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| Jacket Grenfell Tourer, Roll neck Sirplus (as above), Trousers E. Tautz, Shoes Hotter. |
Confession time! I wasn't 100% sure about this look to start with. I actually think it looks good in this image though, so let's go ahead and dissect it.
We started with the trousers as we wanted to see if we could style them in a more casual way so they could be worn in everyday situations and not saved for best. We put them with a chunky roll neck jumper and casual jacket, which I think they work with as the trouser cloth is a heavy wool and the pattern renders them a little more casual.
The Chukka boots he’s wearing are "Hotter", traditionally know as classic 'older man attire' [ed. I am an old man!] but though I would have preferred a less squared-off toe, we liked them. David reported, as to be expected, that they're super comfy to wear.
The black Grenfell jacket is classic and will look good with jeans too. The vintage Tootal scarf adds some colour and personality to the outfit.
Outfit 3:
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| Corduroy jacket Kestin Hare, Linen shirt Flax London, Jeans Community Clothing Co, Shoes Crockett & Jones Cravat Cravat Club |
Although David frequently looks city smart, he has a tendency towards what I would call an 'earthy' style. He loves natural, rough textures and fabrics and they suit him too, which shows in this outfit.
We started with an off white, heavy linen shirt. Linen is usually thought of as a summer cloth but the weight of this one makes it perfect for cooler weather too. Not everyone can work a Fairisle tank top like David can but this one (vintage) was the perfect thing to layer on top. Then we added the casual jacket which has an element of the country style he likes and is in the trend driven fabric of the season - corduroy.
The dark slim cut jeans with turn ups keep it looking contemporary, and the shoes are a tad smarter which make the look appropriate for town so he doesn't look like he's off for a hike with Harry in the Lake District.
Outfit 4:
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| Jacket vintage Grenfell shooter, Fine roll neck Mr Quintessential, Trousers Susannah Hall, Shoes Loake. |
This outfit was inspired by the Pitti peacocks who mix tailoring with casual and wearing workwear style jackets with formal trousers. The vintage jacket is in a stiff, fairly structured cotton which keeps a good balance with the trousers. Grey flannel trousers would normally form part of a smarter look but dressing them down gives more versatility in your wardrobe.
We added a navy fine knit silk/cashmere roll neck sweater. Knitwear keeps things casual and if you don’t like roll necks you could also wear a half zip or polo style instead.
The scarf and the shoes tone together and finish off the outfit nicely, along with the subtly patterned green socks.
Outfit 5:
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| Jacket Pajotten, Shirt Grove & Co, Cord trousers Spoke, Shoes Billy Tannery x Crown Northampton |
We’ve gone for a much more casual outfit here. David doesn’t normally tend to wear trainers but he wears these plain goat leather ones at weekends. We went with cord jeans again to make a change from chinos, and put another workwear style jacket on top. Finished off with a green flannel shirt, which is a cosy alternative to a sweater for mid-Autumn temperatures. We went for more Fairisle in the scarf , which brings all the colours together nicely.
Outfit 6:
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| Jacket Yarmouth Oilskins, Shirt Jaeger, Knitted waistcoat Woolovers, Jeans Spoke, Shoes Loake as before. |
When you mention a denim shirt to people they automatically tend to think of a Western style and ageing rocker comes to mind. But David looks far from ageing rocker in this denim shirt, which is a classic cut from Jaeger and is great for casualwear. We added layers of a sleeveless knit in toning blue and then contrasted it with the tan cotton worker style jacket.
Light grey chinos add another contrast and alternative to denim and the tan brogues keep a little bit of formality and tone in really well with the jacket. Again, we’ve used a scarf to bring all the colours together really well.
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I'd like to thank Sarah Gilfillan for her help. As a menswear personal stylist she's without equal - you can contact Sartoria Lab here.
Note: this feature is unsponsored - I give supplier information above but note that some may be out of production.
