08 March 2010

Neutrality

I'm a sucker for the trappings of the proverbial peacock. I like my cords in colors brighter than the sun. I'm a sucker for yellow socks. Don't forget about my less than subdued favorite scarf. But sometimes, you gotta take a cue from the Swiss and remain neutral.

A Barbour jacket in muted olive is dead perfect with a rumpled white oxford and a grey knit tie. (side note: dig that collar pin. I recently nabbed a Harrington style jacket by Lacoste, 1980s vintage, in teal {told you I was usually anything but neutral}. It wasn't until I got it home and went to wash it that I even noticed the enamel pin of the Italian tri-color.That thing is magic pinned to a Barbour corduroy collar, ain't it?)

And all that is perfect with some dark rigid Wranglers, cuffed, tan socks and brown Sebago campsiders.

Neutrality comes in especially handy in these hard-to-dress-for in between seasons. Today, the sun shone bright, and we hit 62 degrees. Downright balmy for Boston in early March. Believe me, I wanted to go all bright colors and sockless. But after dark, we fell back into chilly...not cold, but chilly. This neutral outfit, with one foot in nice weather and the other in foul weather, bridged the gap just so.



I am, however, far less than neutral in my baseball loyalty. Call this cap the element that nodded most affirmatively toward Springtime.
p.s Longwing is back, and better than ever. Your turn next, Heavy Tweed.

7 comments:

jeremy said...

love the hat. baseball hats are so underrated and you pull yours off well. keep it up

BadScene said...

What a coincidence, I also just found a mid-80s Lacoste Harrington. Could you post some pics? I'm curious about the plaid lining. Are the bright Spring-ish colors, or more subdued?

The Enthusiast said...

Picked up a pair of Wranglers from Sheplers after seeing your post a few weeks ago. They're wearing quite nicely and are considerably heavier than soft denim of department stores. Good call on the Wranglers.

Charles said...

Giuseppe, Thanks for the compliment and link. You must have a lot of readers - you're pegging my stats.

Young Fogey said...

Teal? Teal? That is the stereotypical 80s color--still dated, IMO.

Even so, I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do with it.

Doug Richardson said...

Can't find wide-wale go-to-hell britches anywhere. Point me...please!

Old School said...

Giuseppe,

"Neutrality" is so uncommon today, that it frequently attracts people's notice in a postive way. (In a world of polyester pajamas, the unremarkable has become remarkable). I was wearing a charcoal herringbone tweed jacket and a blue oxford cloth with a solid dark navy knit tie today and got superior service everywhere I went.

(Yes I was wearing trousers--charcoal flannels (of course)--and oxblood bluchers, as well).