Samuel Wines
“Many a man has read the rules and seen the signs along the way, patterns should never clash, was what one would once say.”
— Yeah Right
The Man of Style official crash course in clashing clothing
It’s 2018, we’ve long since thrown out the rulebook, replacing it with our own doctrine of dressing with dissonance. This new era of anything goes if you wear it with confidence is well set in stone. With the likes of Nick Wooster and Tomoyoshi Takada walking the streets you’d be mad not to give pattern clashing a go.
Country Road is a classic brand that is known for its no-nonsense workwear and well made Country Road Heritage Workwear Sweater, so when they decide that it’s time for pattern and print, the Aussie bloke listens. I personally was so excited by this exciting new move from the team at Country Road. I could see Italian sprezzatura written all over the clothes, everything from the lining right the way through to the wider 9-10cm lapels—just like I have seen in Florentine shops such as Fortela Fatta a Manno for the past two years. It’s good to see this style hit our shores, I think its a perfect fit for the Australian Market–just the right amount of panache.
A big thing that I found fascinating about my trips abroad to Italy—to visit Florence, Milan and Rome—over the past few years along with my three-month stint with the lads over in London was that the men there were bold and brave, they wore colour and they wore it well. So it is exciting to see Country Road jumping on board the colour train; bringing in all the wonderful textures and captivating patterns that originally got me hooked on the European style of dressing. Infusing a little bit of Italian flair and the bold British dandy. Joachim Murat would be proud.
I threw together a few looks from Country Road to showcase my best rendition of ‘styling like a sprezzatura’, and as you can see from my selections, I really have gone all out with the range; putting together everything with what understanding of pattern clashing I possess, in a way that doesn’t seem wanky. To me, I feel like they play with colour palette coordination and accessorising in a way that is truly reflective of the Australian man. Squarzi would be proud!
The blue glen plaid blazer paired back with a Bengal stripe, cotton-linen, semi-spread collar shirt is a no-brainer. It’s smart, elegant and can blend in with the crowd if you don’t want to be mown down by Australia’s tall poppy syndrome. Well, that is if you don’t pair it back with a Hawaiian shirt-worthy tie that in my opinion is my favourite tie that I’ve come across in Australia this season. Anything Hawaiian, you’ve sold me. Whether it’s an Italian-made Albibate Hawaiian print shirt or Emmatex shirt, you know you’re sorted for quality fabrics. The linen from Baird Mc Nutt was the real stand out in my opinion and a great introduction to the fabric market, building awareness around some of the worlds finest mills, should the Aussie man turn towards custom tailoring at a later date.
This article is one part of a paid collaborative project with Country Road.