Even though it’s winter, it has been quite warm in California.  And when its warm, nothing feels and looks cool like white pants.  Rajesh, Christian, and I decided to don our own white trousers  and have a common theme of green.  Though we’re wearing the same colors, we each put our outfits together to ensure that our individuality remains.

White pants have their history in being apart of school uniforms.  Commonly matched with navy blue blazers, they give a preppy air to any outfit.  In the past, these white (or cream) were made of flannel; now you can find them in denim, cotton, or linen (my personal favourite).  It’s a great asset for any outfit.

Sprezzatura on Christian 

Since fashion is a mix of styles, we use the term sprezzatura generally.  By this, we mean wearing wide ties, with the back peaking out and being longer than the front. Christian isn’t a fan of being too bold, so he dressed in very simple colors.  Usually it’s odd to wear a white shirt and white pants, but he makes it work.

First let’s talk about the pants.  Notice that they aren’t too skinny and creasing in every direction like jeans.  Made of cotton, they give volume to his slim figure.  This is how pants should fit; it should go straight down.  Even note his patterned black socks.  He doesn’t just wear plain black socks.  It’s important to have sock game.

Now that we have a closer look, check out his jacket.  It’s plaid with a subtle blue stripe. These colors are echoed in his pocket square.  A man’s pocket square game is as important as his sock game.  It shows where he likes to show his personality.  The blue is also shown in neck tie.  Overall, his look is very italian inspired and very simple as well.

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White Shirt from H&M, Floral Tie from Banana Republuc,  White cotton pants from H&M, 

Pocket square from H&M, Grey patterned blazer from Uniqlo

Italian Prepster on Rajesh

Like I’ve maintained before, Rajesh is a big fan of preppy clothes.  In this particular case, he put a little sprezza into his outfit, again show casing that fashion isn’t just one set of rules.

Gingham is a pattern I recommend to anyone, not just prepsters.  The reason its associated with a preppy style is that it reminds one of the pattern on picnic blankets or picnic table covers.  It’s a uniquely American look.

Rajesh’s button-down collar, gingham shirt is of the light green and white variety and he pairs it with our school’s necktie.  Even though it isn’t a true floral pattern, it gets the job done.  Notice that the patterns of the shirt smaller than the patterns on the tie; this is the key to mixing patterns in your shirt, tie, and blazer.  Make sure the sizes vary.  This way it won’t look so matchy-matchy or create an optical illusion.

The sprezzatura of his outfit comes out now.  We see that, like Christian, the back of his tie is longer and peaking out.  It creates a casual, sloppy look that still seems well put together; this is the meaning of sprezzatura.  He wears a straight fit pair of linen trousers and matches them perfectly with a casual, light brown suede pair of tassel loafers (without socks!).  Most preppy people wear boat shoes or penny loafers, but these make the look distinctly italian.

Overall, his look is great due to the one thing:  the blazer.  Like I said before about grounding, it is important to have a single color be the focus of where all the patterns are happening. His vintage blazer is navy blue and encapsulates around the green of his shirt.

Vintage navy blue patch pocket blazer, Gingham shirt from Polo Ralph Lauren, SALSU necktie,

White linen trousers from J. Crew, Suede Tassle loafers from Nordstrom

Modern Regatta on Ethan 

My outfit is unique because it is vintage inspired.  If you look at old regatta galas or boating events in Britain, you will see men wearing white (or cream) pants with  vertical striped blazers.  These vertical striped blazers became known as “regatta blazers” and are considered to be one of the first blazers ever made.  For my outfit, I decided to keep that look, but use the vertical stripes in my shirt rather than the blazer.

Vertical lines are interesting because I honestly find them hard to match up with a tie.  For this, I recommend using plain ties.  The tie I chose was a silk, black knit tie which adds texture to the outfit.  If you haven’t noticed, I love using texture.  My shirt is a very light green and has vertical white stripes, making it a natural match to my white trousers.  This is also a great shot where you can see the pattern of my jacket.  It’s a very dark blue with some dark red and brown window panes.  Like I said with Raj, scaling with patterns is important.  The knit has a tight weave, the shirt has a medium scale of stripe, and the windowpanes on the blazer is large.  It’s also interesting to note that the jacket I’m wearing is apart of a suit.  You can always wear suits as separates to expand your wardrobe.

Here we can see the full outfit.  As you can tell, my legs aren’t the skinniest yet they still can look good in the fit of these white pants.  I keep it old school with my favourite pair of shoes, the spectators.  They are dark and ground the outfit well.  Even my socks echo the color of the jacket.

Window Pane Suit Jacket from H&M, Shirt from Ralph Lauren, Silk Knit Tie from J. Crew

Pocket Square from J. Crew, White Cotton/Linen Pants from Banana Republic, Vintage Spectator shoes 

As you can see, even though we are wearing the common theme of “White and Green” we each put our personal style into our outfits.  It’s always okay to go simple (Christian) but it definitely shows a mastery of colors and patterns when you get to mix (Rajesh and Ethan).  Whenever in doubt, I recommend going with either my outfit or Christian’s.  Looking to what is old-school or simple can help you look great matter the occasion.

If not that, just remember that white pants are in invaluable asset to any wardrobe.  Go out and by a pair.

Sincerely,

Ethan W.

Street x Sprezza

Photography by Ethan W.