Keeping It Simple (sort of...)

The "in-between" season, as I call it, is as tough as it is fun to dress for. While I do have more than a slight tendency to "push it", even I realize that there are times when the best policy is to just keep it simple.
Today it was sunny and temperate. Perfect weather for a cotton sweater. I've really been digging this pale yellow number lately (Polo, $3.99). It works well in many guises. Earlier today, I wore it with jeans and a white tennis shirt, no socks and penny loafers, for dropping the boy off at pre-school and taking the girl to the playground. Later, I find it cleans up nicely with grey slacks and a button down collar. Simple and classic. The hat is perhaps a touch of bravado, rendered in periwinkle blue pinwale corduroy, by Sackville & Jones of London, $175 marked down to $8.oo, at the long lost Filene's basement.

The trick here is color. Yellow and purple is a combo best saved for the Joker, but in soft pastels it adds a bit of interest, anything but boring.

Below, the dirty white bucks make the first of many post-Labor Day appearances, with grey wool slacks and socks in pale green (sea foam green? I guess so, but I always hated the term 'sea foam'. It sounds like it smells bad.)

I nearly added an ascot or bow tie to this one, but in the end I felt it was best to just keep it simple and let the colors and textures do the talking. I fully realize that these days many people see this outfit as a bit much, maybe even affected. The neckwear would have pushed it straight into costume territory. Funny how thin the line between well dressed and costume can be sometimes.

Be confident and enjoy yourself, but when in doubt, keep it simple.