So a lot of people think that the secret to an old money summer style wardrobe is
the clothing. Classic pieces like blazers, polo shirts, linen shirt, jackets, linen trousers,
chinos, tailored shorts, and, of course, accessories like pocket squares, neckties, and
classically styled sunglasses. But gents, having the right clothing is only part of the equation.
Seriously, gents, you got to know how to mix and match, how to put the pieces together. So
what are the rules for building a classic old money summer wardrobe for men? Well, gentlemen,
that's the subject of today's video. Now, today's video gents is brought to you by John Henrikh.
If you want simple, if you want clean, if you want elegance, go over and check
out their website. Now, the company was founded by two best friends that had a
love for classic menswear. These guys are all about quality, craftsmanship, and what I love
is a bit of creativity, because they've taken the classics and they've improved upon them.
And you guys know I pay attention to the details. As a former custom clothier,
I look at the fabric, I look at the material, I look at the fit. And what I love about John
Hendrik is simply everything I get seems to fit almost perfect right off the rack.
And even though I'm a classic style guy at heart, I do like it when they bring in
something new. And this is what I love about John Hendrik. When you go over to the website,
they're always dropping new styles, new looks, new colors.
And another thing I love about John Henrik, all the patterns. Right here,
I've got a Glen check in the jacket, beautiful blue. In addition, look at this shirt right here.
A little bit of floor right in there. Really a simple color combination, but
the pattern really makes it pop. Wearing it with a khaki pair of chinos, a classic combination.
I really like this look. What do you guys think? And even with that pattern shirt,
I can change it up by going with a darker blue,
solid double breasted jacket. I think it's absolutely beautiful.
And again, you can find this over at John Hendrik. And of course,
I've got the best deal on the web for you. Use that link in the description of today's video.
Go over to John Hendrik and check them out. Now, to have an old money style this summer,
these are the seven rules that you need to know. First up, quality over quantity.
It's better to spend more and get something you wear 100 times and you absolutely love
than to be able to get something on sale that you never wear. Next up,
timeless style over trends. Old money is not about getting into the latest fashion.
It's about wearing something yeah, was in style ten years ago and will be in style
ten years from now. Next up, focus on fit. Seriously, guys, it is that simple.
Make sure everything is adjusted to fit you or when you're buying it off the rack, it fits you
really close to perfect. And seriously. Gents this is the biggest mistake I see so many guys make.
They go out there and they spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on expensive clothing,
and they don't get it adjusted to fit their body. Spend that extra bit of money,
or do it yourself and make sure that the clothing
fits if you want that old money summer aesthetic. Next up, embrace subtlety.
This means understated elegance. You're not wearing clothing that's screaming for
attention. Everything you're wearing is high quality, but it just simply looks good on you.
You look great. In fact, the compliment you want is that people don't remember exactly what
you wore. All they knew is that you were well put together and that you just exuded class.
Well, how to specifically do that? Well, make sure the clothing you choose has a conservative
color palette. Basically, the majority of the clothing in your wardrobe is going to
be made up of neutral and versatile colors. We're talking navy, beige, gray, and white.
Now, of course, you can bring in other colors to add a bit of spice,
but those four hues right there are going to work really well with each other,
and they're so interchangeable, and that's what we're shooting for here. Versatile clothing.
You can spend a little bit more money on that at the same time, exudes elegance and class.
Next up, you want to accessorize wisely. Think of your accessories as links in a chain,
and a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If you mess up
on the accessories, it can ruin the entire outfit.
So if a tie is required, don't go cheap. Make sure to get a silk necktie. When
you're wearing a jacket, make sure to go with a simple pocket square fold.
You don't have to be over the top here. Right here a simple, clean,
presidential fold with white with your sunglasses. They don't have to have a big logo on them.
No, just go for a classic design that works for the frame of your face. And finally,
you're going to build confidence through practice.
This means simply putting in the reps, getting used to wearing the clothing.
So many guys think that jackets that dressing a little bit nicer,
going for that old money aesthetic somehow means the clothing is going to be uncomfortable. Gents
it's not uncomfortable. It's just unfamiliar, especially when you go for higher quality pieces.
In fact, I find that dressing well is more comfortable than dressing down. I
almost feel naked dressing down nowadays. And when you get to that sense of point,
you know you've put in the reps, it's like going to the gym.
Initially, you feel out of place there. You don't know what all those machines
are. But once you put in the reps, once you've been to the gym a few dozen times,
you just know where things are and it feels good to go.
Now, here in a second, I'm going to show you a variety of outfit combinations and why they've
got that old Money Summer aesthetic. But before I do that, I want to share with you
a secret to the Old Money Summer aesthetic, and that is understanding patterns. You see,
when it comes to Old Money style, there's a bit of a language here, a lot of clothing.
And the history on this is about separating classes. I know,
unfair, but that's just simply the history on this. Nowadays, though,
it's actually knowing the terminology and the language and how pieces go together.
And one of the most confusing parts, I think for most guys is patterns. How do you match?
What do you go with? So the simplest rule I can tell you with pattern is to keep it
simple. When you're starting off, the majority of your clothing should be in solid colors.
That being said, in a typical combination of a jacket, shirt and trousers,
bringing in at least one pattern can really enhance the overall look. Now,
for the majority of men out there, I'm going to say we start with simple patterns in the shirt.
You want to look for a variety of stripes going up and down, usually keeping the shirts blue white.
Then bring in blue stripes on a white backdrop. You can bring in a variety of other colors,
but usually the stripes going up and down is the simplest pattern to first add. Another
easy place to bring in a pattern is going to be the necktie in the pocket square.
We're also going to see a lot of unique patterns in these particular items,
such as dots, as paisley's and other simple repeating small geometric patterns. But if
you're watching this video, I know you want to take it to the next level. So how to start
bringing in patterns on jackets? Understand the various patterns you're going to see out there.
First up, we've got herringbone. Now, what I love about herringbone is it adds a bit
of visual interest. From a distance, it looks like a solid in most cases,
but as you get up closer, all of a sudden it's got this very subtle bit of texture to it.
Basically, what it does is adds a bit of interest to the clothing without being
overwhelming. Now you'll find it in a variety of different jackets. You'll even find it in suits.
What I love is herringbone is incredibly versatile. You can dress it up to a degree,
you can dress it down. If the herringbone has a variation, kind of a high contrast with it, you'll
see this with a little bit of gray and black or black and white and that type of combination.
But you also will see it in shirts as well. Now, Nor, normally a herringbone is going to
be a heavier weave. So if you do see it, understand it's not always going
to be great for summer unless the jacket is unlined, which I'll get into a second.
But on shirts, sometimes it can be too heavy of a weave to wear during
the summer. That being said, it's a beautiful pattern that every man
should look to add into his wardrobe. I mentioned earlier unlined jackets.
Let me go ahead and show you on the inside what we mean by
an unlined jacket. So an unlined jacket, notice right in here there is no lining
on the back. And this is important because it makes the jacket cooler.
Perfect for the summer. Just allows you to be able to wear it and be able to breathe,
and it's going to feel cooler. In addition, I want to point out that unlined jackets in
general are rarer because they're more expensive to manufacture.
Basically, you got to make sure it looks good on the inside, which costs a manufacturer time. And
it really is just something you see on higher quality garments. Next up, we've got Glen pad.
Now, this is a woven pattern featuring small and large checks, typically in muted colors like gray,
beige, or blue. Now, you'll occasionally see it in shirts, and what I like is these shirts
are oftentimes lightweight. So great for summer, especially if you're not going to
be wearing a jacket and roll the sleeves up just to really gives a bit of texture to it.
But I love it in jackets. Again, it's going to be usually a lighter weave. So it's great for
summer wear and just simply adds texture with, again, not overwhelming the eyes.
With this pattern, you get sophistication and depth. If you want an old money type
of summer look, definitely find a sports jacket,
maybe even a shirt in this pattern. So that being said about patterns, let's get into outfits.
First up, we've got this brown linen jacket with a white cotton shirt. Notice the pocket
square isn't grabbing a whole lot of attention. Got a small subtle pattern.
And then we've got the light colored cotton chinos. Love the jacket here.
Gives a bit of contrast, brings the outfit together.
And right here, this is just screaming old money aesthetic. And if you can't tell,
this is the outfit that I have put together as well. And similar to
the model we see in the photo, I've got the brown hair, the brown jacket.
When you can repeat colors like that, it just simply brings the outfit together and makes it
look really good. Now, what if you've got a little bit darker complexion? You wanted to
change it up? Let's look at that same outfit. But let's bring in a necktie and a blue linen jacket.
All of a sudden, see, you hit the higher contrast. Pretty much got the same trousers. A pocket square
now has higher contrast, and that higher contrast right there is going to make the formality of the
outfit dress up a bit, especially with that jacket being darker but look right here.
This is still a perfect summer, old money type of feel outfit. Now,
what if you want to keep it really simple? You're not about jackets.
It's way too hot for that, and you don't need to dress up for it.
Guys, look at this brown linen shirt here. Again,
we've got the same trousers he's wearing. It untucked, which is fine for this combination.
He rolls up the sleeves a bit. Just simple, clean, elegant. Now, really quick, you may be wondering
what's the difference between linen and cotton? Cotton is the most common material out there,
and it's got a lot of great properties, but both of these come from plants.
Linen is actually older, been used by man for a longer period of time. But one of the issues
with linen is that it wrinkles a lot. This is because of the shape of the actual fiber.
That being said, it does have the amazing property of actually wicking away moisture,
and it's more breathable. Hence why so many people love linen for the summer. Now,
what if you want the hybrid of a jacket and a shirt? Well, look at shirt jackets.
And right here, we've got a linen shirt jacket. What I also like about
this combination is he's going with a light color on top of a light color.
Notice this t shirt is simple, very similar in color to the linen jacket.
And then he's got those dark colored trousers. Me, I really like keeping my trousers dark because,
just practicality purposes, I've got seven kids in my house. Think we're all over the place.
A baby. You sit in things. Darker colors are just easier to wash stains out of.
That being said, I love lighter colors up on top because they do a good job of reflecting
off the hot rays of the sun and keeping me cooler. Now, what if you wanted to flip that look? Okay,
look at this combination right here. We've got that linen shirt jacket in a blue.
Then we've got a little bit darker of a blue. So I like
that combination. There not too much contrast.
And then he's got the lighter trousers on the bottom. This really works for
this gentleman's complexion. And overall, again, a great summer look.
If this is you, if this is what you want to go for, yeah, run with it. But again,
you don't have to overthink this. Again, you want a classic white shirt with blue stripes.
That is a classic look, as you can see here. Very elegant. This
guy holding the jacket over to the side because it's obviously a little bit hot.
You can roll the sleeves up. Still look good to me. It has a little bit more of
a business aesthetic to it, but I think anybody could pull this off.
That being said, with the right confidence, the right attitude, the right sunglasses, I think you
could pull this off. Now, what about polos? So these soft collared shirts that derive from the
Henley are going to be, in general, more casual than dress shirts or even casual button downs
because of the length of the sleeves. That being said, you've got a lot of great combinations here.
And when I'm looking at a polo, I want to make sure it's the right length so
I can wear this untucked, which is how most polos should be worn. In addition,
I love it around the sleeves when there's a bit of an elastic. Now,
the most common colors are going to be whites and blues, but don't sleep on greens or browns.
Again, depending on your natural complexion, you may find that these
color combinations just help you stand out from the crowd. And they'll work with a lot
of the jackets I talked about earlier, and you probably noticed that these polo shirts
are a bit more elegant looking. That's because they're made from a merino wool.
This enables them to have a really beautiful drape. Just make sure that you clean and you
take care of them properly. Now, what about Terry shirts? So, these are very casual.
They're made from a toweling fabric,
oftentimes coming from cotton. But the overall styling of them really sets them
apart from a lot of other shirts. They don't work for every type of body build.
So you need to make sure that, hey, you have either the guns or you've got a slim profile.
If you're carrying a bit of weight around the midsection, probably not a great look for you,
but for a lot of thinner, or maybe if you're really well built, this particular style can look
great on you. Now, as that we're talking about summer style for old money, why in the world would
we talk about sweaters? Because you're spending some time maybe out on the boat, out on the water.
Let's face it, even if you're out in the desert at night, things get cooler. What's nice about a zip,
three quarter zip, maybe even a full front zip, is this is easy to take on,
put off, and it's a lot more flexible for a lot of people than a jacket. Worst case,
you're with a woman, you can loan her your sweater.
Point being is you're going to come off as a gentleman. So sweaters are
also great for creating that layering look, and they do a good job of bringing
the outfit together. And even the simple T shirt can get an old money treatment.
This T shirt right here, made with a combination of cashmere, wool and cotton,
that blended combination, what does it do? It gives a bit of thickness to the T shirt. It
also gives it a beautiful drink. Now, that may not sound like much, but when you put this thing on,
you are going to feel the difference and you are actually going to see.
And that's the key with money style, is it's not just the individual items,
but it's how you put them together, the materials that they're made from,
and just the overall presentation that you're able to create when you combine things properly. Now,
Jens, if you enjoyed this video, you want to go check out the other video
we did on how to dress old money style. That one is a foundational video where
I go into more detail about color palettes and how to put different outfits together.
So go check. Check it out. Click on the video right here.