01 Can trainers now pass as shoes in the office?

While the past 10 years have seen smart trainers make their way into even the most conservative wardrobes, Patrick Grant, owner of Savile Row tailor Norton & Sons, maintains that there is a time and a place. The weekday office, he is clear, is neither. “No trainer has ever looked good with tailored trousers,” he says. “However, a simple style in a single, solid, dark colour can be worn with a cotton chino in the same way as a deck shoe or similar.”

Over in Dover Street, father-and-son designers Joe and Charlie Casely-hayford are more forgiving. “As long as they’re designed for the street rather than the field of play, slimmer, formal trainers can work in the office,” they say. “But they must stay box-fresh. You wouldn’t turn up for a meeting in scuffed brogues, so the same standards apply.”

In other words, make sure your trainers are fresher than you on a Monday morning.

BLAZER £ 2760 ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA CARDIGAN £ 150 JOHN SMEDLEY AT FENWICK OF BOND STREET T- SHIRT £ 210 BRUNELLO CUCINELLI TROUSERS £ 170 RAG & BONE AT HARRODS SHOES £ 145 RUSSELL & BROMLEY GLASSES £ 295 CUTLER AND GROSS WATCH £ 1300 MÜHLE- GLASHÜTTE HAT...