The Summer of Denim

I spent part of my Sunday evening clearing out my computer folders. Over the years I've piled up a lot of editorial and street style images and I like to go through them every once in a while to keep the ones I still like after years and get rid of the rest.
With hundreds of pictures gone it was pretty clear that I always have been very drawn to denim. Yes, we all wear jeans pretty often but I do genuinely never leave the house without denim on my back. Luckily for me the experts (?) predict this summer to be very denim-based even encouraging us to go for the much-dreaded double-denim, which I've actually always loved.
There are two ways of wearing denim. The first, to include only one piece, be it jeans, a jacket, a shirt (chambray counts) or even this season trendy piece – the work jackets. Oxford shirts, blazers and cardigans are much welcome for combinations. Especially in white, black and beige or, my two favourite, khaki and navy.
The second, less safe, way is to double your denim. You can hardly go wrong by wearing your blue jacket with your grey or black jeans, or vice versa  (see Fig.1) – you need to really suck to make this look bad. But it becomes trickier when playing with different shades of blue. My personal advise is to keep washes classic. Avoid too many sand shades and and crotch side lines and try for either the jeans or the jacket to be a tad darker than the other (see Fig. 2)

I bought my new favourite pair of classic jeans recently in Paris by my current favourite brand AMI. They have a slight air of 80's, which gives outfits a really easy feel. For a denim jacket I would recommend All Saints. Their slim (not tight) fits and timeless washes make them perfect to go with you through the year. But for the picture below I chose a Levi's Vintage Clothing style with some very cool distressed detailing.

Shopping the Mr Porter Sale Inspired by 'Risky Business'

I couldn't believe myself when last week I decided to watch 'Risky Business' for the first time and absolutely loved it. It's not just a great fun coming of age story of kids in the 80's but also a brilliant lesson in style, which seems to perfectly matches with today's offering of menswear fashion. We have transformed 80's basics into contemporary classics we simply can't live without.
Coinciding with the launch of the Mr Porter Sale this week, I decided to find pieces inspired by 'risky Business' keeping in mind any of these buys should be go-to pieces anytime of the year.

First up, the perfect classic blazer. You might have bought it as a two-piece suit for work or formal occasions but have you thought of cooling it up with a basic tee and sunnies for the weekend?

Below: Rag & Bone unstructured cotton blazer, NN.07 chalk-stripe blazer, Acne sunglasses.

Raglan-sleeved t-shirts and sweatshirts have made such a comeback any of us have more than a few in our wardrobe. They're perfect for lounging, doing exercise and looking cool and casual at dinner.

Below: Orlebar Brown sweatshirt, James Perse baseball tee.

I see such atrocities committed with polo shirts. Most men either go too basic or too crazy. The best option when going for a pattern is to keep it simple and modern with a dash of retro. A slim fit is recommended – if you can pull it off.

Below: Junya Watanabe striped polo, Michael Bastian striped cotton-jersey polo,
Canali striped polo.

Now, bomber/baseball/varsity jackets have been around for a while now and even though all sorts of 'cool kids' have claimed them as theirs there are endless luxurious chic options they can't afford or pull off but we can (...?)

Below: Sandro slim quilted varsity jacket, Levi's Vintage suede bomber jacket.

Just like with polo shirts, most men seem to struggle finding nice patterns for jumpers. My rule is to never go for more than 3 strong colours at a time or for too many gimmicks. 

Below: Rag & Bone striped linen-knit jumper, A.P.C. striped jumper.

He's Fly: Daniel Radcliffe, Le Geek c'est Chic

JustJared

I am really impressed with how much Daniel Radcliffe's style has improved in the last few months. After quite a few mistakes on red carpets and appearances it looks like he's finally found a style that suits him. I understand that this took a while because –and this I know from experience– getting dressed when you're a short man it's not an easy task. It takes years to figure out which exact length of trousers and tops is best for you. Simple things like sleeves have to be just right or you look silly. But Daniel's got this figured out now.
For one of his latest appearances on TV during the press tour for his new film he went for a brilliant all-blue outfit. The smart blue shirt contrasts with the jumper –the highlight of the look– which injects a geek/70's/casual vibe into the outfit. The almost unwashed dark jeans are a perfect fit and because they're really slim the two rolls up the bottom look great and add to the look. The final spot-on touches are the suede shoes that are somewhere in between being Vans and a smart shoe, and the old school haircut.

For a similar look in a different colour palette –perhaps sandy colours– I found this awesome Levi's Vintage wool jumper on Mr Porter. Radcliffe (or I) could rock this with a beige Oxford shirt, a pair of mustardy brown chinos and brick-coloured desert boots.

MrPorter