Colour & Fabric

There’s a good test hiding in a silly question. Would somebody want to steal this hoodie? Warm, solid colour, no giant logo, actually fitted — that hoodie gets borrowed and not returned. The oversized branded one is safe on the shelf forever. The shirt nobody buys # The Henley is the most underused thing in menswear. Collarless, round neck, a placket of three to five inches running down from it, which pulls the eye to the chest rather than the face.

Most men past sixty aren’t underdressed. They’re wearing the wrong version of right. Chinos sit in the middle of every casual outfit, joining the shirt to the shoes, and when they’re slightly loose or slightly tired the whole thing quietly comes apart. The failure is never dramatic # A clean button-down, a light jacket, decent shoes — and chinos a bit wide through the thigh, thin enough to crease at the knee. Nothing you could point at. You just look tired.