Behold! The capsule wardrobe…
You may recall that in my last post I wrote about showing how I pull together a capsule wardrobe…
So here goes…
I’ve gone with less than 20 clothing items, but added several accessories and 1 (yes 1!) pair of boots!
Don’t panic!
I clearly have wayyyy more than one pair of shoes (more than 50 to be precise!)
I am simply demonstrating that the items selected are super versatile, you could quite easily swap the boots for a more seasonal pair as and when required, the clothing items however, could easily last you months.
How?!
Simple really, by mixing and matching the pieces I’ve selected you can come up with hundreds of different outfit ideas that will carry you right through spring and in to Summer.
You will need to have an idea on how you want to create your own personal look, using key pieces throughout and ‘classics‘ that pretty much don’t date, you should find it easy to achieve.
So, firstly I’d like to show you the options I have chosen, followed by a small selection of outfits (I literally could’ve filled this whole post with outfit ideas!)
The bottom options were easy…from left to right Slim fit ‘selvedge‘ denim, Portland chinos in navy blue and (the most exciting!) ‘Two year two washes’ stretch slim fit denim all by Fatface available here.
If you know me, you will know that I’m passionate and slightly obsessed with 2 things…Coffee (don’t do instant or cheap) and Denim (usually Japanese, always selvedge!)
Why selvedge?
What is selvedge?
This explains it…
Initially known as ‘self-edge’, the selvedge is the narrow, tightly woven band on both edges of the denim fabric. A selvedge end prevents the edge of the denim from unravelling and shows a clean, finished look. Old shuttle looms produce denim where selvedges are closed.
Having purchased a couple of pairs of expensive selvedge jeans (both Japanese) I went through the pain barrier of only washing them twice in 12 months (storing them in the freezer to self clean) and spent over £250 for the pleasure!
Good denim isn’t cheap and cheap denim isn’t good!
How impressed was I then, when I spot the two styles of denim above both available without the ridiculous price tag, both incredible pieces that fit and look superb!
The Portland Chino is an absolute classic, I personally would wear them rolled up above the ankles, to pay homage to the effortless ‘coolness’ demonstrated by Japanese and Scandinavian street styles.
(See my last post ‘Find you own groove‘)
From left to right: Denim Jacket, Heysham popover hoody, graduated stripe crew neck, Roseville Jacket, Contrast ringer stripe t-shirt, light indigo stripe crew, indigo Breton crew neck, organic cotton t-shirt in ‘dark ink’ and Phillimore Utility denim shirt.
All items apart from the denim jacket are available from Fatface here
From left to right: Contrast ringer stripe t-shirt, Clachan fine stripe shirt in Japanese blue, Plain Oxford shirt in Redwood, Plain Oxford shirt in white and Stripe Oxford shirt.
All available from Fatface here.
last but not least…
from left to right: Military Overshirt/Jacket, Navy beanie, Organic t-shirt white, Textured scarf in Olive and Gold (actually ladies!), Burgundy beanie, Leather stitch detail belt and canvas belt.
All available from Fatface (apart from the boots!)
As the weather improves, replace the scarves and beanies with more seasonal relevant products.
The outfit builds…
Styling tips…
It’s personal preference, but I prefer my shirts buttoned to the top, unless I’m layering with a striped t-shirt (see image 7)
Remember to roll up those jeans to show off the selvedge details, you can do double denim, just make sure you layer it and choose different washes!
As for the accessories, I often wear a nice scarf, quite often a ladies scarf at that!
Be brave in your choices and dress to impress…yourself!
Hope you liked it!
Until next time…
Peace and love.
Find your own groove…
Greetings friends…
Now that I am in my 46th year of existence/existing on this beautiful planet, I’ve been thinking a lot about my legacy…(don’t worry, I’m not planning on going anywhere just yet!)
I’ve pretty much been doing the same type of job for over 25 years (yikes!) and in that time have seen many businesses go under, two recessions and still find the energy and passion to keep doing what I’m doing.
What drives me on?
Good question.
Thanks 🙂
Back in the late 80’s (probably before most of you were even born!), I fell in to the fashion industry.
As a young man, I’d joined the armed forces hoping to follow in my father’s footsteps, it all came to an abrupt end through injury, I got into retail as a stopgap.
That’s one looooonnnngggg stopgap!
I’m actually a big fan of khaki, just not all over!
There has been several occasions when I almost quit the industry, the aforementioned recessions (the first one was a lot worse and I don’t mean the one in the 1930’s!), then there was the time when shops first decided to open on a Sunday (yes, I really am that old, that I remember the days before Sunday opening!) and there has been times when I felt that I was probably ‘doing it all wrong’ because I cared too much about colleagues and customers.
In fact, I wasn’t doing it wrong, I was just working for people who really couldn’t care less as long as they made profit
I took a sabbatical, after 25 years, I took myself away from it and tried to find my own groove.
I loved fashion, style, shopping, writing, and prior to my epiphany had worked very closely with buyers and press teams to advise and showcase products.
I appeared on live ‘Google hangouts’ about men’s style and also wrote online magazine articles about the same, I’d really made a big impact with one of the high streets big players.
That said, it was also becoming quite apparent that despite all of my extra curricular effort, at store level things weren’t great.
Product quality was suffering and the cost saving exercise was really affecting the morale of my people.
Two years down the line and the very same company have announced a fall in Sales and profits, blaming lower footfall and excessive discounting on the high street (a bit of a cheek when you consider that they are one of the worst for constantly discounting and running offers!)
I have always been really interested in fashion, men’s style in particular has always intrigued me. Especially when you consider that in most cases, it’s menswear that has the biggest growth potential.
In the olden days there were no such words as ‘metrosexual’ or ‘hipsters’, guys definitely didn’t care about their skincare regime and bought clothes when the holes in their pants became obscene!
It’s interesting then to fast forward 20 years, and men’s skincare has gone from half a shelf to a whole aisle in your local pharmacy, and barbershops are popping up everywhere!
Dudes are really starting to think more about their appearance, whether it’s the way we dress or how we groom ourselves.
This guy has never even heard of Nivea for men!👆🏿
Now, you’ve probably guessed that I take my style quite seriously, or more that I’m serious about what I consider style.
I’m not a sheep.
I don’t follow fickle fashion fads (try saying that with a mouthful of wine gums!), I dress how I like, I’m not trying to impress, I’m not obsessed and to an extent don’t really care what people think about the way I dress (trust me, I get comments!)
So, where is this going?
I’ll tell you…
My style comes from loving what I do, it comes from years of experience, it comes from trial and error (yes, I even had a pair of boot cut jeans!), but mostly it comes from being comfortable with who I am and how I look.
Joking apart, I don’t have too many hang ups, we all have bad moustache days right?
Our ideas of what is ‘fashionable’ is primarily dictated by advertising and labels, the high street is awash with fad fashion, trends come and go in a flash, what was considered cool one week, is soooo ‘last week’ the next.
Charity shop chic? Wrong! This was taken at one of the high street behemoths prime locations! Seriously! Look at the outfits?!
Ok, some folk might consider the above image cool, horses for courses right?
Not for me…
My wardrobe is made up of items that I can wear year after year, ‘classics’.
I’ve also invested well too, I have bought a few ‘key’ items that can make your wardrobe versatile ( I’ll go into that more at a later date 😉)
What am I wearing?
I’m a big fan of Japanese denim and Japanese style, and also love the simplistic style of the Scandinavians ( I am a Norseman after all!)
You don’t have to break the bank and buy overpriced labels either, I’ll show you in my next blog how to achieve cool looks on a budget, I’ll also show you how to create a capsule wardrobe that will take you through a whole season!
Until next time…
Peace and love.
The style Viking 