Sprezzatura At Its Finest

Lapo Elkann exudes style. He makes bold statements with his outfits and always seems to own the looks with a cool confidence. I love the outfit captured here by the Sartorialist. Lapo wears a bold colored odd jacket that is impeccably tailored with a even bolder pink shirt. He adds a dark pink knit tie and linen pocket square for good measure. Elkann also adds some sprezzatura to the outfit by unbuttoning the cuffs on his sleeve, twisting his tie slightly and haphazardly wearing the pocket linen.

My favorite element of the outfit is the sartorial contradiction of the chunky motorcycle boots. The boots balance and ground the bright pink worn on top. They are interesting, have vintage appeal and anchor the look. It is the addition of the boots that really make the outfit memorable and manly.


This is an outfit that not all men have the confidence to pull off, but Lapo does it with a rebellious cool that makes us all wish we could.

Evening & Weekend Blazer

Every well dressed man should have a few items that really make him stand out in a crowd...

Most men's wardrobes consist of suits and other more formal clothing for work and more casual clothing for weekends. The very well prepared also have some clothing for black tie affairs. Then on weekends and evenings when he needs to dress nice, the outfit will consist of a mix between the work items and weekend items. Most of the time, this is acceptable and actually encouraged. As a well rounded wardrobe should allow for such versatility.

But what happens when a man wants to stand out from the crowd? Wear something daring, with style and character. The evenings and weekends a man is allowed and often expected to show off his peacock feathers. This of course does not mean he should wear embroided and studded jacket with "Attitude" or "Dangerous" across the back. Any man with an Affliction or Ed Hardy jacket needs to stop reading this blog... I'll wait for you.

So how does a man appropriately strut his personal style without looking like a douchebag or a baffoon, or worse? He invests in a few stand out jackets.

Take this Tallia blazer for example. This is sold at Macys for $275, is classically designed but has bold colors, a modern slim fit and is not commonly seen adorned. Wear it with a crisp white shirt, raw denim jeans and a pair of well polished black boots and every woman in the room will notice you, and not because your jacket declares you as "Badass".
 
A few other options that will make heads turn, in a good way:
 

Indochino Metallic Suits - $369 full suit - Comes in either Midnight Blue or Silver
 

J.Crew Velvet Jacket - $275 - Slim "Ludlow" fit
 

Plaid Jacket - Top photo: Ashton Kutcher in charcoal plaid (a similar jacket sold at Express for around $100).  Bottom photo: John Varvatos light gray plaid
 

Express Satin Shawl Collar Blazer - $148 - Shawl Collar jackets are a great look.  Vintage, modern and fresh all at the same time.  Get one for nights out, you will not regret it.
 

Velvet Satin Trimmed Jacket by 2am - This jacket is available at Nordstroms for around $275.  I am cautious with satin trimmed jackets, they are becoming "fashionable" and not in a good way.  I like the look on this jacket, but if your are fearful of looking too fashionable, stay away from this jacket and opt for something less "in".

Odd Jacket & Corduroy

I enjoy wearing odd jackets, they are slightly more casual so for my business that works well.  Don't get me wrong I love a great suit, but I don't have the occasion as much as some.  The other benefit of odd jackets is the range of acceptable colors.  Odd jackets can be in colors that would just look obnoxious in a full suit, but they look great in an odd jacket.

As was the case with the jacket I wore the other day.  It is a microhoundstooth and in a great color that falls somewhere between: yellow, orange & tan.  It also has fine pinstripe checks in blue & red.  The jacket goes with a lot of color pairings and is one of my favorites, even though I have had it for at least 5 years.

In the outfit pictured I am wearing it with navy blue corduroy slacks & brown wingtips.  I added a light blue shirt with a faint tan check, a gray tie with yellow & blue college stripes and a navy pocketsquare with small white dots.

Weekend Brunch Fashion

Weekend brunch is great time to kick back, enjoy a meal and some good friends. It's a time to eat plenty of good food, chowing down on anything and everything from well cooked lamb roast to giant waffle with strawberries fresh whipped cream and plenty of honey. What other meal are you allowed to mix two great foods like that?  Plus it is socially acceptable to enjoy a few mimosas or adult beverages, all before noon. Could there be a better way to enjoy a three hour meal that starts before noon?  A weekend brunch always begs the question: "what to wear?"

For a weekend brunch I want to look nice, modern and successful, but also look relaxed and use the bright day to my advantage. During the summer, a brunch is the perfect time to wear a linen suit or your favorite white/off-white suit.  Fresco also works great in the summer as well. But now that we are in the fall and heading to winter, how do you dress appropriately for a nice weekend brunch?

I think brunch is a perfect occasion to break out the odd jacket. The jacket that comes in an interesting color, fabric or texture or all three. It is the least formal blazer that you own. It is the one that you wear on occasional Fridays to spice up the wardrobe. The odd jacket you choose should stand out in the crowd for its great combination of colors, without looking gaudy and out of place. The odd jacket should also utilize some fun colors that work well in the early afternoon sunlight. I always love an odd jacket with a great accent color like: light blue, purple, yellow or pink. It can be further accentuated with a playful and colorful pocket silk.

The Weekend Blazer from Indochino is the perfect brunch jacket. It has a classic check design with a yellow/goldish accent color.  It has two front patch pockets to make it more casual. It is also single
breasted three button, roll to two button design, which I think rock and look very Sprezzatura.  Wear the odd jacket with crisp dark raw denim jeans, a pair of well polished boots and a button down shirt that accents the jacket.

With the Weekend Blazer I would stick to a plain white shirt, or a white shirt with a pale orange check or stripes, as the orange would work well with the yellow in the jacket, without coming off as too matching. For the area of the country that are little colder wear a v-neck sweater over a crisp white shirt for extra layering. The sweater could be a mid-gray, pumpkin, brown or a light yellow.

For a good weekend brunch, let the jacket be the stand-out piece.