A menswear mash-up worthy of my most loyal fan
Iwill never forget the parents of a school friend, who would coordinate their outfits, appearing at each drop-off and end-of-term concert in matching sweaters. If she wore lime green, he would adopt a pistachio tone, if she wore a roll neck, he donned a cable-knit roll neck… even at the age of 14, it didn’t go unnoticed by the budding fashion fan in me. My husband and I are quite the opposite to the couple mentioned (who I’m pretty sure are divorced by now). It took a lot to bring today’s shot together… a lot of begging and bribery. But since he is the most loyal fan of the VCHStyle “empire” I simply had to include my husband, Ollie, as part of this evolving column.
How would I describe Ollie’s style? A healthy combination of traditional, up to date, informed but not excessive. You won’t find him in a Schoffel, you will find super-classic Gucci loafers in his wardrobe. You won’t get him in a Chelsea boot, or a fitted shirt (he wants to tell you, Nick Wheeler of the Charles Tyrwhitt shirt empire, that he loathes your iron-free shirts “because shirts should be ironed!”). He hunts incessantly for a great pair of jeans for his tall frame and, most recently, a cardigan. We still debate Becks’s fashion choices, we loved the Gareth Southgate M&S waistcoat moment at the World Cup, and recently Ollie went “full fashion” (I was away with girlfriends) and not only “drifted” on to the Matches Fashion website but also succumbed to a pair of (vegan) trainers by Veja. “How sweet, you copied me,” I said. He looked so sheepish.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. My husband works for Waitrose and Partners as a (superb) buyer (my words, not his). The role is clientfacing and he’s also in a minority of men at the office. Ollie insists on wearing a suit because he is adamant he works better when smartly turned out. Dress-down Friday is his nemesis. He has an unhealthy obsession with Ferragamo ties (“Do you think they’d do an olive-patterned tie for the Waitrose olive oil buyer?”) but he is also the father of two, nearly three, who maintains that “Prince Charles is the best dressed man on the planet.” I kind of agree with him.
For men out there not sure of how to inject some new-year pizzazz into their casualwear, I’ve combined some favourite finds into one mash-up. No suits or Ferragamo ties, as it’s the weekend. We start with the vegan trainers by Veja. Not too midlife crisis, and a virtuous addition to a trainer collection. The chinos of choice are from good old John Lewis in a lovely navy, but absolutely “no fussy Shoreditch cuts”.
At 6ft 3in and trim, my husband could go full “Shoreditch skinny” but both of us wince whenever he veers into any territory other than straight cut. So that’s one way of saving time on the annual shopping trip. The shirt is
Olive moleskin coat, now £182, Boden (boden.co.uk); brushed cotton shirt, £95, Dundas (dundaslondon. com); straight-cut chinos, £55, John Lewis
Perfect pendant
(johnlewis.com); trainers, £115, Veja (matchesfashion. com); burgundy scarf, £90, Pantharella (pantharella.com); belt, £180, Gucci (gucci.com)
Positivity Pendant, £320, theodorawarre.eu
Tweed coat, £255, Really Wild Clothing (reallywildclothing. com); boots, £180,
vchstyle.com
Aigle (aigle.com); maternity leggings and tunic, Ginnie’s own
from my new find, Dundas London. A great brand for anyone wanting to branch out from the Crew/Gant club. This is a fresh approach to men’s casual shirting (exceptional brushed cottons), the website feels easy to navigate and the prices won’t leave you rolling your eyes. And it’s logo-free, which Ollie has adopted as his new style rule – suddenly the Ralph Lauren polo pony is dropped in favour of Arket or Turnbull & Asser. The coat is a deep racing green moleskin city coat, now in the Boden sale. “Isn’t it a bit David Cameron?” asks Ollie. (No, that would be the Boden swimming trunks look.) This is a great all-rounder if you already own a formal overcoat for London, a shooting jacket and a puffa or anorak. No man needs more than four coats. The scarf, by Pantharella, is a thick merino wool knit that has a bit more clout than the moth-eaten Edinburgh Woollen Mill scarf Ollie still has from school. And he’ll be teased mercilessly at work about the Gucci belt, but this is a man who recognises the timeless classicism of such a brand. Timeless usually means low-maintenance, leaving the high-maintenance fashion moments to me, his very proud wife.