<Drake’s is a company that we’ve referenced many times through the course of this blog. For those of you who are familiar with the company, they first got their start in the 1970’s selling ties and pocket squares.  30 years later, the company has expanded their product offering!  They’ve begun to offer shirts, sportcoats, sweaters, and (now) high-rise pants!  To celebrate their latest products and the opening of their first American store, I decided to do an “Inspiration for Less” based on their newly released Fall 2016 look book.

The Inspiration

Michael Hill, creative director of Drake’s, has created a great, simple lookbook.  Right away, we can see the main two pieces that Drake’s is especially fond of:  their sportcoats and trousers.  Both of these (especially the trousers) are a new item for Drake’s to offer, so it makes sense that they are featuring them so prominently.  All of their sportcoats are 3 roll 2 and unlined, which calls to mind the style of Ivy sack suits.    A friend of mine has described the Armoury as “Italian prep” and Drake’s as “British Ivy”.  I think it reflects the style rather accurately!

Brown is definitely a great choice for a fall sportcoat, and Drake’s offers them in plain and checked varieties.  The brown matches nicely with the muted fall palette and is a natural partner for other “soft” earth tones like green, reds, and blue.

Also note the high-rise grey flannel trousers; I wonder if The Armoury had anything to do with it.  Mark Cho does have a hand in the leadership of both firms!  So far, they only offer grey wool and flannel trousers, but don’t fret.  Grey is simply one of the best pants to get because they go with everything. We’ve seen them work with blue jackets and Drake’s shows us that they even go with brown jackets.

While most gentlemen would prefer muted colors, as stated above, I like how Drake’s went decided to showcase the power of injecting color into an outfit.  With neutrals supplied by the grey pants and brown jacket, you are definitely able to have some fun.  The use of purple in both the tie and the socks is a great move.  I would’ve opted for muted socks, since I’m not a fan of the current trend of loud socks, but they work really well in this example.  Be aware that green and purple definitely work together (as in the large floral print tie)!

The above picture is what I based my inspiration outfit from.  Yellow isn’t as deep a color as purple, but it works really well when worn with neutrals.  When your tie is an “earthy” yellow instead of a golden yellow, it’s definitely much more versatile.  I’m also appreciating that the colors are very similar the previous two outfits, keeping the same trousers and grabbing a darker, solid brown sportcoat.  With some typical 1930’s pattern matching (print tie, striped shirt), the micro print tie pops really well.

Micro Bean Tie, untipped and handrolled: 125 pounds

Brown Jacket:  995 pounds

Grey High Rise Flannel Trousers:  295 pounds

Total:  1,415 pounds or $1,878.27 USD

My Outfit

Like with some of my previous entries into “Inspiration for Less”, I kept things pretty close to the original.  I still have a brown jacket, yellow tie, striped shirt, and grey trousers.  The outfit just screams for fall weather to come to LA.

Just like the Drake’s model, my jacket has triple patch pockets and is made of wool.  It’s from Suit Supply and is also a part of a full suit! We’ll probably feature this brown suit as fall weather comes closer!

Note that everything is cleanly tailored, emphasizing the age-old theme that suits are meant to create clean lines.  The center crease on my pants really help that aesthetic!

I’ll admit that my outfit isn’t a straight copy.  Note that my shirt is blue with white stripes!  My tie isn’t as yellow as the Drake’s one, but it works for my own version of that outfit. I think that adding the blue adds a bit more color in a different wa.  The tie is now allowed to “pop” even though it’s not as a saturated as the Drake’s one. Colors are fun!

The tie is from the 1940s and even though it isn’t untipped, the tie has very thin interlining.  This detail allows me to make a tight, four-in-hand knot.  The back blade is slipping out, but I really don’t give a damn.  If it bothers me more, i’ll just tuck it in!

The pocket square is also worth noting, since this is the best use of such an item.  My pocket square is a brownish-red with a white border; these colors are in the same theme as the rest of the fall outfit.  The red plays with the red in the tie, while the white border pulls from the white stripes in the shirt.  A good pocket square should always coordinate with your outfit without being too matchy-matchy.

It’s an Ivy/Trad staple to have a grey trouser, but gentlemen from that tribe prefer to have flat front pants.  If you look at my 1960’s ivy suit, you’ll see that flat fronts were preferred.  My use of my slim-straight, double pleated trousers turns this outfit into something a bit more “fashion forward”.   In fact, it looks like something the Armoury boyswould wear rather than the Drake’s team!  But who said that it had to be a straight copy? I’m all for open interpretations.

I don’t have suede chukka boots, but I thought that my trusty loafers were a good alternative! They’re beaten to hell, but I like that aesthetic party because it looks lived in and I’m incredibly lazy to take care of them like I should.

Suit Supply Flannel Jacket: $300

Massimo Dutti Shirt: $30

Vintage tie: $10

Pleated, 1980s trousers:  $40

Total:  $380

Conclusion 

While my outfit is considerably less than the Drake’s variety, I sincerely prefer their version due to the details they posses.  My jacket only has two buttons and the lapels are wide, but in the Italian way, rather than the Ivy-Trad way that Drake’s has designed.  Additionally, Drake’s jacket is unlined another precious Ivy detail that you can’t find at “mall brands”.  However, I still try to make things work on my budget, like my glorious tailored 80’s pleated pant that look Ambrosi bespoke but were just a whimsical experiment brought to my tailor.

What we can learn from both outfits is that grey and brown are definitely the way to go for this upcoming fall season.  It’s not exactly a “fall trend” like the green parka or field jacket from the past two years, but its definitely something to keep in mind when dressing up for the (hopefully) colder weather.  You can do it like Drakes and I did, with grey wool trousers and a brown jacket, or you can do grey chinos and a brown sweater!  Either way, use these items as your grounding agents and use some saturated fall colors like yellow, green, and red for some pop!  I really hope to see these on you guys as we move further into fall!

Always a pleasure,

Ethan W.

Street x Sprezza

Drake’s images are not owned by Street x Sprezza. Ethan’s photography by Spencer O.