cashmere jacket solito denim shirt
 
In response to a couple of requests from readers, here is that photograph from the Asprey workrooms in colour.

Navy cashmere jacket from Solito. Dark-brown horn buttons that I bought myself from Weldon’s (Italians rarely have matte horn). One-button cuff – a rather old traditional style in Naples for sports jackets.

Denim shirt by Satriano Cinque. We’ve lengthened the collar slightly on my button-downs from Luca at Satriano, so that they both curve nicely around the jacket collar when unfastened, and around a tie when fastened. The Thomas Mason denim has pin dots, and is from a range designed to fade with washing. It’s not quite stone wash, but it’s a start.

Fresco trousers are my old Gieves & Hawkes ones cut by Kathryn Sargent when she was there. Still the perfect formal summer trouser. And sunglasses from Cutler & Gross.

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twitter_Greedanddisgust

That denim shirt looks fantastic. Is the colour accurate though? The lighting is making the jacket look green, rather than navy.

Andy Liu

Hi Simon:
Very nice denim shirt!!
Have you worn Drake’s shirts before? I have try their shirts, it seems very good quality and fit. Their MTO is all finished in England.

Regards

Andy

Anonymous

Simon
Nice outfit particularly the shirt. Can I ask two questions? Do you tend to favour button down shirts for casual wear? I hate to wear normal corners and especially spread collars without a tie.
Point two, I am heading back into the job market after several years and am confused about what to wear for an interview. I feel happiest in a traditional cut, dark navy two piece, plain shirt (white or blue) and a silk tie (I prefer Hermes to Drakes but it could be either) plus my trusty Lobbs polished to an inch of their lives and of course a linen hankie in the top pocket. I have attended interviews recently for senior management roles in industry (and not the arts but metal bending sort of stuff) where I was the only person in a tie in the room – and had one where I was the only person in a suit in the room. Have I missed some sort of boat?

Rob

No pocket square to an interview – it looks like you’re trying too hard. May I suggest you wear a navy knitted silk tie and blue shirt? I find that combo works in any context…

Rob

I could have sworn your jacket was green Simon – lovely cut and cloth though.

Jerrell

Jacket definitely looks green.

And what’s wrong with a pocket square to an interview? I think trying too hard/showing poor taste would be arriving with a MATCHING tie and pocket square.

Jerrell

Addendum:

Simon, is that a new Solito jacket that you are yet to do a write up on?

Anonymous

Hi Simon
Regarding the sunglasses, are they the Cutler and Gross/Sunspel offering in a smoky grey colour ?
Looking forward to the post on the new Solito jacket.

Jerrell

Hello again Simon,

Are you commissioning more jackets than full suits these days?

Regarding interview attire, I agree with you that it varies for the type of job one is applying for. But there are other complications. I live in a ‘tech heavy’ area, meaning that t-shirt and jeans is fine 365 days of the year. Thus, when wearing a suit, you are always looked at as if you are auditioning for ‘Mad Men’ or something. I interviewed at a start-up and the CEO greeted me in Diesel jeans, cowboy boots, and a button down. I think he felt he looked stylish, compared to the rest of the staff. I was wearing a Huntsman suit and Purple Label Keaton spread, Kiton cashmere tie, Rubinacci pocket square. Did I feel overdressed? Slightly.

Anders

I like the one button cuff. It’s exactly like the suit Vittorio De Sica wears in the opening scene of “It Started in Naples”, which is a great movie if you like the “traditional style in Naples for sports jackets”. (The suit he wears in the cafe scene is even more beautiful.)

JD

Dear Simon,

I have a question about the expected life of dress pants. I have 4-5 pairs of black dress pants that I rotate and wear to work regularly (from purple label and Armani down to department store branded trousers, such as Nieman Marcus). I have them tailored by a good Russian seamstress. I hang them immediately (from the bottom with clip hangers so they fall full length) after removal. I typically go 3-5 days between wearing any one pair of pants.

My wife believes I am doing something wrong to make my pants wear out “too quickly”. I was having great trouble at one point from the mesh on my Aeron chair tearing up all of my pants, but I placed a pad on the seat about five years ago and that has stopped that issue.

The latest pair started getting quite thin in the crotch and eventually tore, but I have worn them at least 200 times. I am happy with that amount of use, but my wife has suggested that my expectations should be higher.

What do you think and do you have any thoughts on maximizing the life of dress pants.

Thank you.

Anonymous

Simon and all those that posted regarding what to wear at an interview
I can’t do it! I would like to think I can but I can’t. Not wearing a tie to work – and not in these techie type areas where I understand anything goes – just wouldn’t work for me. I would feel uncomfortable and so not present as well. I think I am too old (58) to change my ways and while cut and colour I can see changing I just don’t want to look like a 12 year old after school. I have never seen a suit/shirt no tie combo that I thought wouldn’t look better with a nice bit of printed silk under the top button. I remember you wrote about pocket squares and how they could take over from ties in some instance – so would no tie with a dramatic hankie in the top pocket be OK? Gosh this was a lot easier 20 years ago!
Good idea for an article Simon, how to dress for an interview.

J

I hope I don’t come across as patronising, but I see nothing wrong with a man in his 50s dressing smartly for an interview with a tie and subtle pocket square (key word is subtle of course, small overflow, preferably white).

Worse would be to take a “mutton dressed as lamb” approach (again, forgive me for using a shorthand expression) and try to dress like them in cowboy boots and some band t shirt. They know your age and experience, why try to ‘hide’ it or be something you’re not?

I think even if they feel you are “overdressed” for the interview, surely all reasonable men will understand that you are dressing to impress on the day and forgive you for erring on the side of caution, sticking to what has always been interview protocol in Britan (suit and tie).

Until you work in a place, you are never going to be 100% certain WHAT the dress code truly is, so better to err on the side of caution and dress your best. Then, when you get the job, you email HR or your new boss and ask what is standard dress code and then adapt your style to it.

Good luck!

BespokeNYC

Love the denim shirt and looking forward to seeing how it ages.

As for interview attire, if it’s in the tech industry, you could always go for the “California tuxedo” and pair a navy blue cotton blazer with tan chinos. Not the most imaginative outfit but, provided both elements fit well, you can still look polished without appearing stuffy (which, lamentably, is how you risk being perceived if you turn up to a casual office in a full suit and tie.) A knit silk tie or a wool blend pocket square can add a touch of style and a great pair of brogues or monk straps (or loafers if you’re American) will finish the look off.