Polo and sneakers

A more casual take on a jacket during a trip to Katowice.

My quite conservative view on dressing myself properly has changed considerably since the time I started to get interested in menswear. Two years ago or so I probably wouldn’t have worn white sneakers with a jacket. Why, if there are so many other nice options? Maybe brogues, or suede loafers?

Turns out those sneakers are really comfortable. And sometimes that’s enough of a reason.

Of course I still want the whole outfit to look good. But it doesn’t always have to conform to the classic rules, not really. Take this case: it’s a weekend trip to another city, a lot of walking involved, and it’s quite warm. So I grabbed the most comfortable shoes I have. And other stuff is just made of light, breathable fabrics.

At the same time, I like what they’re doing with my silhouette. I’m a rather skinny fellow, but that doesn’t show that much in these clothes.

The jacket is rather short, and with a high button stance. It’s not the best possible cut, I’ll grant you. Doesn’t flatter many body types. For me, though, it’s not that bad: I’m trading some of my apparent height for an illusion of being a bit wider in the whole torso.

Since the jacket is short, it makes my legs look longer – so I wear trousers that deal with that, to keep the whole silhouette balanced. They are a pretty straight cut, with a 19cm leg opening (I usually wear 18cm), quite short, and with a 5cm cuff.

I like this jacket – navy unlined linen. Bought it three years ago, and tinkered with it a bit. I’ve taken it in at the waist, for example.

After some wearing, I’ve noticed some really ugly discolouration on the right sleeve and the back. It spent some months at the bottom of my wardrobe, but then I thought I might buy some dye and see if it covers the discoloured areas. I then threw the jacket into the washing machine with a bag of dye, and hey – looks like it helped. Of course if the jacket actually had any padding or construction, washing it in a washing machine would’ve likely destroyed it. But I didn’t really have anything to lose.

And a long-sleeve polo is a discovery of the season for me. As I said: I’m a skinny guy. Short sleeves look bad on me. Rolled-up long sleeves – way better. Also, I like something showing from under the jacket’s sleeve.