When confessed style hoarder Adrian Clark hit 50, he knew the camouflage trousers and Conversed needed to cross. He stocks his age-appropriate style suggestions for men.
Speaking from non-public revel in, 2017 changed into a hard 12 months. It changed into bookended by main activities that could exchange my world forever. In January I became 50 (for those who have yet to hit the half of-century milestone, let me make clear one aspect: age is not simply a range of) and in December, has been a Londoner for greater than 30 years, I moved to the Kent coast in pursuit of a more rewarding and peaceful existence. OK, so in the beginning look, you may well say the 2 are obviously intrinsically linked. Fair enough. As we get older, we all hanker after a slower pace of life, proper? Correct. But the collision of these two occasions opened a can of worms that I, for one, didn’t see coming.
Working as a style editor for more than three years comes with a lot of bags, pretty literally. There is no means-finishing strain to hold up with traits. And it comes at a price if, like me, you’re a hoarder – and, in my revel in, maximum men are. After four days dividing up my spoils into “action” piles – one to hold, one for charity, one to re-home, one to sell on eBay – it became clear to me that fifty was not the brand new forty. It turned into a time to downsize and, in the pastimes of each age-appropriateness and keep away from having to ebook an even larger removal truck, to edit my out-of-control cloth cabinet. It turned into, traumatically, the completing line for half of what I owned and, if I am brutally honest, became nevertheless wearing.
Crossing over to the wrong side of a half-centenary seems to be a pivotal junction: you are compelled to decide what you ought to no longer, in preference to must, be sporting. Many men entering their 50s fall into one among camps (with a minority bridging the divide): the ones who’ve given up and people who don’t understand while to offer it up, with the vintage me falling uncomfortably into the latter. I get that now.
My fight trousers were first to hit the deck, which appear to reproduce if left on my own in a darkish closet. I lived in combats through the 1990s and 2000s, quietly phasing them out and only giving them the ordinary visitor look in recent years. In fact, any oversized trousers with too many pockets or zips or too much surface decoration are a specific no-no. And while we’re almost about cloth cabinet staples with a military background, something in camouflage print also needs to bow out gracefully.
My recommendation is to maintain matters within the trouser department simple and simple, with an informal/formal edge – that’s fashion talk for extra laidback than a suit trouser however extra presentable than a pajama. I am questioning right here of a traditional jean cut made in a luxurious fabric, rather than denim or a chino that has a burdened vibe and isn’t too field-fresh or preppy. Margaret Howell makes a mean trouser (a washed cotton twill chino will set you to lower back approximately £a hundred sixty-five) as does the Swedish high-avenue mecca for basics, Arket, whose trouser providing tiers from £55 to £90 (I’m a massive fan in their secure hopsack slacks).
Another personal item I regarded in abundance was Converse Jack Purcell shoes, preserving a pair in nearly every plausible coloration. Having spent years thinking those had been a more appropriate opportunity to a trainer for an older man, they all of a sudden became a caution sign of someone desperately seeking to dangle onto their youngsters. Reaching 50 doesn’t imply it’s the end of the road for shoes – the way ahead is to exchange up to and choose a great pair of non-branded footwear from a make like Common Projects, Harrys of London (you couldn’t pass wrong with the Nimble at £295) or Grenson, all of whom have mastered the smart-shoe-to-sneaker hybrid. You can also, at a push, get away with an Adidas Stan Smith to help soften the corporate edges in case you want a sneaker that works with tailoring.
A philosophy to adopt throughout your complete dresser is that less is greater (each stylistically and in terms of amount). Now that the time to comply with developments has luckily come to an end, it’s miles higher to have a choice range of investment gadgets that fee a chunk more and could be ultimate longer than a landfill of inexpensive options.
Another mistake guys make to preserve directly to matters for many years, inside the perception they’ll come lower back into style. In principle, this is true – we are having a chunk of a 90s revival as we talk. But a word to self: those revivals are intended for a younger era. The buckets, anoraks, and fleece track-tops that appear splendid on children need to be given an extensive berth. You received’t give off the vibe of a man with their finger on the pulse – you’ll genuinely look like that man who got stuck inside the Britpop technology. Baseball caps (I’m simply going to mention one aspect… Forrest Gump), thin jeans, parkas, and Hawaiian shirts are all also on the “to ditch” listing. Channel your inner Richard Burton alternatively and make friends with rollneck knits, Harrington-style jackets (Oliver Spencer is the grasp of those), pea coats, and softly constructed tweed coats. Private White VC is a logo that is aware of how to make the latter well. Comfort is essential however doesn’t imply hitting the default transfer and sporting age-inappropriate sportswear or, worse, searching like you’ve got given up on fashion altogether.
Another age-inappropriate alert: something on an e-commerce internet site prefixed with the word “Dad” – which includes Dad trainers or Dad jeans (cue Balenciaga) – isn’t a green mild on the way to get the credit card out. The phrase is used ironically to describe something your dad might have worn and must be prevented. The impact you need to be giving is a man of the sector who has lived and made clever and experienced picks: a person who doesn’t need to jump on to every bandwagon, however, is in control, satisfied with his lot, and assured. Moving to the coast became my choice, turning 50 become inevitable – however, at least, cloth wardrobe edit inside the bag, I can control how stylishly I determine to live it.
