Welcome back to the Gentleman’s Gazette!
In today’s video, we discuss 14 Men’s Wardrobe essentials including clothes, shoes and accessories.
Don’t you love the time of the year when the sun is shining outside.
The grass is turning green.
The flowers are blossoming and you just feel invigorated.
I love overcoats, but it’s nice to get out your spring summer wardrobe.
Brighter colors, brighter accessories and just enjoy life again outside.
In regards to your wardrobe, it’s very easy to make slight changes and instantly create
a spring summer feel and look that helps you underline the season and stand out from the
crowd.
The first spring wardrobe item is loafers.
Here you can see a tassel loafer in a suede olive green.
It is quite casual.
It is wonderful to wear and combine with seersucker or cotton chinos.
On the other hand you can also get a tan loafer, something in brown, it is a little more classic.
Apart form the tassel loafer you could also go for penny loafers which are very versatile
especially during the summer.
For colors, most people prefer tan or a lighter shade of brown.
Of course, you could also go with darker browns, but I think it is a great opportunity to go
with more unusual colors such as a light blue, maybe green or something in gray.
Sometimes it can also look great to have spectators in two-tone colors or different materials
such as suede and box calf.
If you can just invest in one loafer, get one in burgundy because you can wear it with
all kinds of things and it’s a timeless investment into your wardrobe.
The second item I want you to invest in is a pair of chukka boots that is unlined which
is typical for spring.
It is soft.
It is slightly above your ankle but it is just a very cool look ideally in a tone of
sand or tan or dark brown.
You will get lots of wear out of it and you won’t regret investing in a pair.
To learn more about loafers,
please check out this guide here and for chukka boots, take a look at this video.
Number 3 are shoelaces.
It’s a very small investment, but nothing changes the look of a pair of shoes as dramatically
as just different colored shoelaces.
For example, there is green, there’s light blue, there’s yellow, or something more
subtle such as burgundy or purple.
Fort Belvedere offers over 15 different colors of boots and shoelaces and you can find all
of them in our shop.
The wonderful thing about shoelaces is that it’s not permanent and it’s reversible.
So you can take a red pair of shoelaces and put it to your black oxfords, which creates
a really different look.
And if you don’t like the look anymore, you can just exchange it and use a different
pair of shoes.
It’s probably the biggest bang for the buck in this entire list.
To learn how to lace your shoes properly, please check out this video.
At number four is the polo shirt in vivid colors.
Chance are you already have a white, a navy and a gray polo shirt in your wardrobe.
And while those are versatile, if you want to spice it up a little bit, go with something
that is vibrantly green or yellow or red, maybe orange or sky blue mottled.
Ideally, skip the floppy collars, get a dress shirt style collar.
And to learn more about polo shirts and the intricasies, please go and watch our video
series here.
Item number 5 is the spring sport coat that can also be worn during summer time.
Just like the one I’m wearing here right now.
it has linen woven into the material, it gives you the more crinkly texture.
The colors are lighter and it’s just more spring feeling, it’s more airy and that’s
what you should invest in.
To learn more, please check out our in depth video about the hallmarks of a quality spring
summer sport coat.
Number 6 are chinos.
It’s a wardrobe staple for men because it can be worn to the office or dressed down and
worn casually with a pair of boat shoes and a polo shirt.
We already put together an in-depth guide about chinos with a video, so learn all about
the details here.
Number 7, use colorful socks.
Personally, one of my favorites are colorful two-toned socks because you can pair them very
easily, because of the two different colors.
But they are not over the top and too strong that you just stand out just the way you would
do with taco crazy socks.
To learn more about how to combine your socks with your pants and your shoes, please check
out this video here.
For summer I suggest you go with lighter colors, such as pink, light blue, maybe light gray
or green or even yellow.
The 8th item you should invest in is a casual belt.
There are different kinds of casual belts.
First of all, braided belts.
They can either be made of an elastic material and personally, I am not too fond of them
because they stretch out very easily.
And although, you don’t find the exact size, I find over time they just lose their stretch
and then they are too wide and you can’t use it anymore.
On the other hand, a stiff all woven belt with Richard yarns either all leather or mixed
with cotton yarns is very elegant yet casual and it’s perfect for spring and summer time.
The good thing about it is that it won’t wear out and it won’t stretch out and you
can wear it for years to come.
Also because of the two colors, it’s easy to combine it, let’s say with a pair of
espadrilles in the summer or with a dark brown pair of loafers.
The other casual belts to look into are fabric belts.
You can have like a soft fabric belt with D-rings made out of silk or you can have
stiffer ones that are backed by leather and have this madras patterns or anything else
for that matter.
When you wear those bolder fabric belts, make sure they’re contrasting your shorts or
your pants so they create a harmonious look and don’t try to match the color exactly
to either your pants or your shirt because it will look odd.
Item number 9 are boldy colored neck ties or bow ties.
because it is spring, you want something that’s more vibrant that is louder and has a cool
contrast with the rest of your outfit.
Here, I am wearing an orange mottled silk knit tie.
I could have also worn this red madder silk bow tie or the blue and green silk knit tie.
Alternatively, linen neck wear looks quite good.
Silk always works.
Stay clear of wool because it is too warm and not summer enough.
But a Cri De La Soie Silk Knit tie really nice and you can find all these accessories
in our shop here.
Item number 10 is the open weave shirt.
It’s what I’m wearing here right now and I really love it for spring time because it
is open and airy. It has a crisp touch and air allows the air to flow through so you
don’t over heat.
When you hold it against a stark light source, you can actually even see through that show
you how open the weave is.
But when you wear it, it’s not see through and it’s not like you can see your underwear through
it because it’s just a shirt.
It looks very professional but it keeps you cool all day long.
In terms of color I suggest you stick with whites, maybe light blues or light pastel
colors, don’t go with anything dark.
Also, a lot of people like oxford shirts and while I personally like them, the weave is
usually quite tight and so it’s not open and therefore I prefer an open weave shirt
in the summer.
You can also look for linen cotton blends, because it gives you that nice mottled color
look paired with a crisper texture and it’s just wonderful for spring and summer time.
Item number 11 is a trench coat.
Its perfect for colder climates.
It’s also great for travel especially in darker colors such as black or navy, otherwise
go with a traditional khaki color.
And if it has a wool liner that you can either zip in or button in, you extend the range
you can wear it in because if it get’s too warm, you just take off the liner and you
still have something that you can wear regularly over suit or basically any other kind of classic
men’s wear outfit.
Item number 12, is the Harrington jacket.
If you don’t want to wear a trench coat, go for Harrington jacket because it is also
light weight and sometimes they come in reversible options such as this one in a navy and a madras
check.
I personally really like it because it is light weight.
I can bring it when I travel and it has a sporty feel that I like to combine with spring
summer outfits.
To learn more about the Harrington jacket, you can check out this guide here and for
the trench coat, watch this video here.
Item number 13 is the boutonniere.
You see the nice beautiful flowers outside, sometimes you can just grab one and put it
in your lapel and it looks awesome.
The problem is, you rarely find those flowers, you don’t want to steal them from someone.
Often they wilt and sometimes the pollen even stains your clothes.
To learn more about the boutonniere and how it’s made, please watch this video and you
can find our full selection of over 40 of them on our shop here.
Item number 14 is the NATO watch strap.
No matter what kind of watch you have, adding a fabric strap, just a NATO watch strap either
in a classic navy and red or any other color under the sun will instantly transform it
into a more casual looking spring-summer watch.
It's just perfect for this time of the year.
To learn more about watch straps and how you can combine them, please head over to our
watch strap guide here.
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And make sure to go to our channel where we have lots of other videos dealing with wardrobe
essentials and do's and don’ts as well as how-to tutorials.